Software for Begoña Gómez's Chair Registered in Her Name

SDG Software Registered Under Begoña Gómez's Name

How does software designed for a public university end up registered under an individual? The case begins with Begoña Gómez's chair at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), created so SMEs could measure their compliance with Sustainable Development Goals and receive advice to improve their social and environmental impact. Indra, Telefónica and Google were set to handle development. For free.

All three agreed to participate. It is worth highlighting a non-trivial detail: two of them, Indra and Telefónica, are state-owned enterprises. The reconstructed version suggests the companies sensed something was off, pulled out, and left the work unfinished. From that point on, the story stops being an academic project and starts looking like something else.

A €60,500 Public Tender to Finish the Software

With the first attempt stalled, the university tendered a contract to finance the final phase of the project with public funds. Deloitte Consulting won the bid for €60,500, according to published reports. Development concluded at UCM facilities, and sources from the institution maintain that since it had university funding and was developed within its premises, the software belongs to the university.

Hence the conflict. According to circulating accounts, the tool is offered as a system for companies to certify their sustainability and bid for government contracts. The combination of public money, university location, and subsequent commercial exploitation has raised alarms. Figures cited for closing the development range from the €62,000 mentioned in the thread to the €60,500 finally awarded.

Registration at the Patent Office: €127.88

On October 10, 2022, according to circulated data, the president's vvife paid a fee of €127.88 at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office to register the software under her name, using a commercial designation starting with "TSC Plataforma de Medi". Additionally, she reportedly established a company of which she owns 100% and which offers the product to businesses needing it.

This is the heart of the matter. Some messages in the thread argue that what was registered was not the code, but a trademark or the commercial name under which the program would operate in the market. And that registration was signed by a private individual, not the university that had paid for the final phase.

Software Is Not Patented: Source Code Is Registered

Here, a technical nuance often lost in the noise is relevant. In Spain, software is not patentable. It goes into intellectual property registration, where one must deposit the source code, a digital-signed executable, and a specifications document. The difference matters: a trademark certifies the commercial use of a name, not authorship of the development.

The dean of the Professional Association of Technical Computer Engineers of Andalusia, Pedro José de la Torre, submitted a written statement to the Governing Board of the General Council of Associations regarding this issue. He maintained that Begoña Gómez herself signed one of the tender documents, specifically drafting the most complex technical part, without qualifications backing such work.

Vice-Chancellor Said One Thing, Rector Said the Opposite

The institutional narrative doesn't help clarify anything either. On May 31, the vice-chancellor dealing with Begoña Gómez stated that public money had been used and that he gave instructions to register the software under the university's name, as it was public property. The next day, the rector emerged saying, "I don't know who paid for it nor do I care." The estimulante ilegal of the denial is, at least, striking.

Some argue that chairs of this type cannot be financed this way. The Sponsorship and Patronage Law, they claim, exists for universities to raise additional private funds, not for them to spend third-party money. And a rector, they add, has no authority to give away what belongs to the institution.

The Application Aimed at Chambers of Commerce

The intended use, as described in the thread, was different. The tool was presented to chambers of commerce with a very specific commercial argument: companies need to certify their sustainability to bid for public administration tenders. Whoever bought the software entered that circuit; and incidentally, it is insinuated, there was the possibility of a recommendation letter with a certain surname behind it.

Such a scheme, involving a public tender, has led to it being characterized in the thread as a sort of digital plot: influence peddling with an academic wrapper. The complete calculation of what was paid, who paid it, and what was registered under whose name is what needs careful examination.

The Other Leg: The Brother and €1.7 Million in BBVA

In parallel with the software, another front has circulated. Begoña Gómez's brother is implicated for accumulating €1.7 million in BBVA shares while receiving a gross annual salary of around €50,000, working for the Badajoz Provincial Council and residing in Portugal. The contrast, it is said, does not withstand minimal scrutiny. A participant argues that for an average employee, a share package of that size would result in a tax inspection at their doorstep.

With this material on the table, a thorough investigation and clear explanations of who put up each euro would be logical. For now, we have a rector who neither knows nor cares, software with a private owner, and a university looking the other way. All very normal.