Märpel learned that a staff member committed suicide in The Hague earlier this week. That person worked in formalities.
Everybody knows that examiners are under high pressure, but people always forget about formalities, while they are under even greater pressure:
-they are downstream from the examiners and got the same increase in files
-their number decreased as old, experienced staff is not replaced when leaving: the EPO believes software will do their job automatically
-far from being automatic, the software often makes their job more complex as workarounds are needed when the data entered automatically is wrong
-the ergonomy of their tools is badly lacking
-they experienced a brutal reorganisation lately with drastically increased requirements on their job.
Management simply wants to get rid of formalities, expecting computers to replace them, while we have several incompatible procedures (EPC, PCT...) and any mistake bears legal consequences. It is a disaster in the making.
3 comments:
Formalities officers are not really repaced by computers. IT developments do not work as expected.
Lots of tasks done previously by formalities officers are outsourced.
On the same day that the EPO receives the invention from an applicant, the IT systems send the claims and the description to several subcontractors located outside the EPO premises.
A rumor says that some subcontractors resent the documents outside Europe where the manpower is cheaper.
@ Anon,
Does it means that the invention is disclosed to subcontractors before the first publication?
Yes, it does mean exactly that, if his allegations are true.
I find it a pity that the AC does not limit contractors (and sub-contractors) of the EPO to be memberstate resident companies, like the USPTO is to a degree ("America First"), and because the EPO should work in the interest of those states....
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