EPO staff group sets out five Battistelli concerns
A group of staff at the European Patent Office (EPO) has written to the office’s supervisory body, the Administrative Council, explaining why it thinks the office’s president Benoît Battistelli is “bad for Europe”.
In a letter sent yesterday (March 17), the workers outlined five reasons to back up their claims. They cited allegations of human rights abuses, changes to staff’s working conditions, cronyism, a failure of the AC to hold Battistelli to account, and a lack of strategy.
The EPO has rejected the claims in an official post on its website.
The letter, seen by WIPR, has been sent by a group calling itself the “EPO-Flier Team”, which describes itself as a “group of concerned staff” who wish to remain anonymous.
In a covering letter accompanying the five reasons, the group said it was inspired to write to the AC by a question on the IPKat Blog that was directed to the British delegation on the AC. The question had asked what the biggest issues at the EPO were.
The letter comes as the AC, which is made up of representatives from each EPO member state, is due to meet next week to discuss changes to staff’s working provisions, including sick leave.
Alleging human rights breaches, the staff group’s “five point” letter discussed Battistelli’s efforts to “curb the powers” of the EPO’s staff union and staff representatives.
Last year, WIPR reported that Battistelli had allegedly introduced several limits on how the office’s staff union, SUEPO, should operate. It apparently meant, for example, that meetings should not be organised in working hours and that publications are “professional and respectful”.
On working conditions, the group said that EPO workers are “highly educated people but are not treated as such”.
“New rules are imposed upon them [staff] without reasonable consultation with their representatives and an explanation of why the new rules are necessary,” it added.
The group also accused Battistelli of employing French citizens in “many key positions”, including head of international co-operation, head of human resources and head of external audit.
“No matter how qualified and deserving these people are, this just looks bad. A balanced and Europe-minded president would have avoided any risk, whatever favouritism,” the group said.
The group also criticised the AC for rubber stamping proposals, including a “house ban” that Battistelli placed on a member of the office’s Enlarged Board of Appeal despite him allegedly not having the power to do so.
Finally, the group called on Battistelli to explain why his actions and plans will benefit the EPO and European patent system.
WIPR contacted the EPO for comment before the office published its statement online.
