EPO staff converge in Munich for demonstration
On June 26th 2007 a mass demonstration of approximately 2000 EPO staff took place in front of the Administrative Council in the EPO´s head office on the river Isar, Munich. Other sites were on strike and sent staff to Munich to take part in the demo (photos...)
On June 19th the staff of the EPO in Munich striked (photos...) against the undermining of the European Patent System by the body entrusted with its governance, the Administrative Council. Simultaneously there was a demonstration held in Bern, in front of the Swiss Patent Office - home of Mr. Grossenbacher, the Chairman of the Administrative Council. National and individual interests (many of which financial) are dominating the decision making process and making it increasingly difficult for staff to maintain a high quality output of valid patents. The issue of governance of the EPO and its effect on the future of the European Patent System is a topic of heated debate. Some of the many reports that have more recently appeared in the press are as follows:
Heise: Warnung vor "Global Warming" des Patentwesens (27/06/07).
TZ: Mehr Masse statt Klasse beim Patentamt (27/06/07).
Im Europäischen Patentamt wird erneut gestreikt (15/06/07).
IAM: Civil war at the EPO (12/06/07).
IP::Jur: Landslide, Tremor or quake? (12/06/07).
Digital majority: EPO staff blame Admin Council for EPO woes (11/06/07).
Heise: Wirtschaftsforscher warnen vor ausuferndem Patentsystem (1/06/07).
BMWi Pressemitteilung: Wissenschaftlicher Beirat legt Gutachten "Patentschutz und Innovation" vor (31/05/07) and the Gutachten to which this refers.
VDI Nachrichten: Zukunft geistigen Eigentums steht weltweit auf der Kippe.