World Intellectual Property Review published an article about the new call for strike "Unity - still!". In this petition, staff claims that they want timely access to justice, freedom of communication for unions and other staff members, changes with respect to the investigation guidelines and the strike regulations. They also express concerns relating to the alterations to starting salaries and career prospects.
Some 10 days ago the Chairman of the Staff Union at WIPO was suspended without pay. Last Friday 19 September he was summarily dismissed in retaliation for whistleblowing.
For background information, see the article of IP Watchdog, Will Scandal Cost Francis Gurry a Second Term at WIPO?. Needless to say, Mr Gurry was nevertheless re-elected.
Please find a statement of the person concerned and his letter of defence. More information can be found in this article of the UNOG Staff Cooordinating Council.Staff unions of the UN system around the world wrote a letter of support.
The parallels with the EPO are striking. SUEPO is doing what it can to support our colleague at WIPO. In the mean-time we will continue our efforts to introduce some measure of accountability for Heads of International Organisations.
In an interview (printable version) with World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) at the AIPPI World IP Congress 2014, Mr. Battistelli accused the trade union of a defamation campaign.In addition to that, Mr Battistelli claims that he is transparent. However, the terms of the extension of the mandate of Mr Battistelli remain unknown and the call for an investigation by Transparency International is still unanswered.
Transparency International critically examines how national political systems all around the world address corruption risks and foster integrity. They publish and encourage best practice in integrity and expose the effects of conflicts of interest and lack of transparency. Recently, TI also assessed how the EU institutions deal with ethics, how they ensure transparency and accountability, and how they ultimately prevent corruption. The Central Staff Committee suggested to the EPO Administrative Council that a similar study be done for the EPO. TI has signaled its interest in the matter. But until now the Council cloaks itself in silence.
World Intellectual Property Review reported on this matter in its article of 15.09.2014 (printable version).
The questions and answers are also available in this document as well as translations in English, German and French by scrolling through the document.
An article titled "Suspicion of High-Level Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO)"describes the controversial appointment of Mr. Topi? as vice-president of the EPO. Since his appointment in March 2012, Mr. Topi? has become the subject of a number of critical news reports in the Croatian media: Mr. Topi? appears to have a background of corruption and his appointment to the EPO too is believed to be reliant on systemic corruption.
The IPKat Blog has published a post on 27.07.2014 describing in a literate and historical way the problems of governance at the EPO and the extension of the mandate of the Mr. Battistelli.In the post of 31.07.2014, it even questions the lack of transparency of the negotiation of Mr. Battistelli's original contract as well as the conclusion of the terms of the extension.
The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf published an article describing how the employees of the EPO are currently silenced.The text is also available in English, French and German by srcolling through the document.
The website of De Telegraaf contains the same text with a different title "Terreur op de werkvloer onder Franse despoot".
Mediapart is a French information website edited by former journalists of Le Monde.In its article of 24.06.2014, Mediapart describe the tensions among the employees and the request from the French Minister Arnaud de Montebourg to conduct an independent social audit.The text is also available in English, German and Dutch by scrolling through the document.
Mediapart also published a tribune written by the French deputy Philip Cordery who represents the French expatriates in the Parliament.Philip Cordery criticises the fact that employee rights are violated with complete impunity at the EPO. The text is also available in English, German and Dutch
The French Deputy Pierre-Yves Le Borgn' raised questions in the French Parliament on the problems of governance at the EPO and the lack of social dialogue. The text is also available in English, German and Dutch. See also his blog.