● 12.15.21
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●● The EPO’s Overseer/Overseen Collusion — Part XXXVI: Serbian Sour Grapes
Posted in Europe, Patents at 7:28 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Series parts:
Image: Balkan region articleMost but not all Administrative Council delegations from the Balkan region had been “captured” by Benoît Battistelli in June 2013. The exceptions were Serbia and Slovenia.
Summary: Today we take a closer look at Serbia, a country that did not authorise Benoît Battistelli’s illegal “Strike Regulations”
The representatives of the EPO‘s member states from the Balkan region have a rather dismal record as "captured delegates".
However, as can be seen by the actions of the Serbian and Slovenian delegations in June 2013, there have been honourable exceptions to this general rule.
“In June 2013, the Serbian delegation was headed by Branka Totić, Director of the Serbian Intellectual Property Office.”
In an earlier series about EPO affairs, it was already mentioned that the Serbian delegation on the EPO’s Administrative Council frequently took issue with Battistelli’s proposals.
In June 2013, the Serbian delegation was headed by Branka Totić, Director of the Serbian Intellectual Property Office.
Image: Branka Totic as Serbian repHead of the Serbian delegation, Branka Totić.
Serbia, which is the largest of the successor states of the former federal Republic of Yugoslavia, has been a candidate for EU accession since 2012 but like its neighbours Montenegro and North Macedonia it appears to have been permanently consigned to the “waiting-room”.
However, along with North Macedonia, Serbia has managed to qualify for membership of the European Patent Organisation.
North Macedonia joined the EPO on 1 January 2009 and Serbia followed suit some time later on 1 October 2010.
“North Macedonia joined the EPO on 1 January 2009 and Serbia followed suit some time later on 1 October 2010.”
Battistelli did his best to co-opt the Serbs as members of his "Balkan League", but they turned out not to be as “obliging” as their Croatian neighbours who had joined the EPO almost three years earlier on 1 January 2008.
In September 2011 – a little over a year after he had assumed the position of EPO President – Battistelli, paid a two-day visit to the EPO’s newest member state to meet with local dignitaries. On that occasion the “Sun-King” of EPOnia was accompanied by his faithful “batman” Gilles Requena and his cooperation fund “bagman” François-Régis Hannart.
Image: Battistelli in BelgradeBattistelli in Belgrade in September 2011 flanked by “batman” Requena (l.) and “bagman” Hannart (r.).
According to the official puff-pieces published to mark the occasion, Battistelli used his stay in Belgrade “to address the scientific, economic and academic community in Serbia” at an event held in the Ceremonial Hall of the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade. He also took time to pose for a photo-op with the University Rector Branko Kovačević and the Director of the Serbian IPO, Branka Totić.
Image: Battistelli, Branko Kovacevic, and Branka ToticBattistelli (r.) posing for a photo-op with the Rector of the University of Belgrade Branko Kovačević (l.) and the Director of the Serbian IPO, Branka Totić (c.).
However, as it turned out, Battistelli and Totić never really warmed to each other.
“However, as it turned out, Battistelli and Totić never really warmed to each other.”
On the contrary, according to EPO insiders, the head of the Serbian delegation was irritated by the preferment of Željko Topić, the controversial head of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office, who was appointed as EPO Vice-President in 2012 on Battistelli’s insistence.
Following this perceived affront, the Serbian delegation on the Administrative Council often crossed swords with Battistelli and expressed their discontent by occasionally voting against his proposals, or at least – as in the case of the “Strike Regulations” – by withholding support in the form of an abstention.
“…we have no information about what exactly motivated their decision to abstain on that particular occasion.”
Unfortunately, the minutes of the 136th meeting [PDF] of the Administrative Council don’t contain any statement of the Serbian delegation’s position concerning the “Strike Regulations”. This means that we have no information about what exactly motivated their decision to abstain on that particular occasion.
In the next part we will begin an in-depth examination of the delegation representing the other “abstentionist” state from the Balkan region, the Republic of Slovenia. █
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