FOSS Patentsconsiders that, "the EU institutions should take a closer look at the current situation before the EPO starts to grant the EU unitary patent".

There are two key areas of concern:

• the impact of the future UPC's rules of procedure on the tech industry, particularly companies that have to defend themselves against patents that wouldn't survive an invalidity challenge, and
• the human rights conflict at the European Patent Office (EPO), which has recently escalated because EPO staff won a ruling form a Dutch appeals court but the Dutch government won't allow it to be enforced against the EPO for immunity reasons.

Pr. Liesbeth Zegveld, legal counsel of SUEPO The Hague has sent a letter to all member states' Ministers in charge of IP matters.

Agnes Jongerius, a Dutch member of the European Parliament has posed questions (fr,de) to the European Commission under the title "Abuses at the European Patent Office in The Hague".

In a communiqué (en,fr,de) published by the European Federation of Public Service Unions, Agnes Jongerius asks, "Does Europe apply double standards?".

The governing body of the EPO will meet on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 March in Munich (Germany). On the agenda is a reform that allegedly should improve staff health. In practice it will seriously weaken the position of sick staff vis à vis the Office. Amongst others, the new regulations would oblige staff to remain at their place of employment during at least 10 years of full incapacity to work, before the Office will consider recognizing their invalidity. During this time they will need to request permission from their employer for every absence. According to SUEPO this is an impermissable infringement of their privacy.

On Wednesday 25 March 2015 a demonstration will take place in Munich in front of the EPO Isar building (Bob-van-Benthem-Platz 1) starting at 12.30h.

The demonstration aims in particular at the German delegation in the Administrative Council. As the representatives of a host country and of one of the founding Member States, the German delagation has a special responsibility towards EPO staff.

Staff of the EPO reproach the German delegation that it has thus far uncritically supported all previous reforms that in various ways infringed staff’s fundamental rights to freedom of speech, freedom of association, inviolability of the home and other.

Pierre-Yves Le Borgn', member of the French Parliament, has published an article (printable version) on the "deleterious social climate" and the "governance crisis" at the EPO.

In his view, the judgment of the Dutch Court of Appeal "would merit, at the very least, with regard both to its expectations and its consequences, a debate between the Member States within the Administrative Council" but Mr Battistelli has already "announced to the staff that theorganisation would not be submitting to the ruling by the Court". "When one has lost immunity from jurisdiction, it is futile to invoke despairingly immunity from enforcement."

Pierre-Yves Le Borgn' also makes a series of proposals to emerge from the cricis. These include an independent social audit, a conference of the ministers every two years (none took place since 2000), and that the exercise of the Chairing of the Administrative Council becomes incompatible with candidature for the Presidency of the EPO.

Translations in English, German and Dutch are available by scrolling through the document.

James Carver, a British member of the European Parliament made an intervention on 11 March 2015 titled "European Patent Office breaches human rights and claimsimmunity".

The intervention is available on YouTube. A transcript is available here.

IPKat reveals the minutes of the Administrative Council meeting of December 2014 in two posts:

• Part I deals with the "house ban" controversially imposed on a member of the Boards of Appeal,
• Part II deals with the "new career system" at the EPO.

"Readers from European Patent contracting states may wish to note how their own delegations responded to the EPO at this critical time. Bearing in mind that the delegations to the Administrative Council are effectively the legislature of the EPO and their primary constitutional function is to act as a check on the executive (namely the President and his management structure)."

Philip Cordery, member of the French Parliament, has published an article(en,de) criticising the "antisocial policy of the EPO" recently condemned by the Dutch Court of Appeal in The Hague.

In his view, Benoît Battistelli "has once again distinguished himself by rejecting a court decision from a democratic State, on the pretext that this would be contrary to the principle of immunity which the EPO enjoys"."It is now a matter of urgency for the management to realise that the EPO cannot be an area where law does not prevail, and that it must respectinternational working standards and the European Charter on fundamental rights."

In this spirit, Philip Cordery has called upon Guy Ryder, Director General of the ILO(Letter to Guy Ryder (en,de))and the European Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska(Letter to European Commissioner (en,de)), to intervene.

A SUEPO lawyer addresses Heiko Maas and informs him of the latest reforms and developments at the EPO.A copy of the letter and a translation in English are available.

Dennis de Jong, a Dutch member of the European Parliament has posed questions to the European Commission under the title "Rights of staff and ethical standards at the European Patent Office".