Links 23/03/2024: Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet From Hell and Microsoft Patent Troll Intellectual Ventures Uses EPO-Granted Patents for Blackmail in Europe
Contents
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Leftovers
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Ruben Schade ☛ Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s IT overhaul
Peter Hannam in The Guardian Australia:
The CEO and director of the Bureau of Meteorology, Andrew Johnson, revealed to staff the cost of its delayed IT overhaul – one of Australia’s most expensive ever – despite repeatedly telling senators such details must be kept under wraps for cabinet secrecy reasons.
“We’ve heard unconfirmed reports that the amount is around the $1bn mark, which is said to be three times the original budget for this project,” [South Australian senator Barbara Pocock] said. “Why on earth can’t we find out how much an IT project at the weather bureau will cost?
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Ruben Schade ☛ He’s Nico Cartron
My post yeterday about the WITCH computer mentioned that Nick Cartron had shared it with me. This was wrong, his nickname is Nico.
I’d messaged three different Nicks yesterday, so I guess my brain was primed to write it as such. Pardon, Nico!
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Pro Publica ☛ How the U.S. Waged a Global Campaign Against Baby Formula Regulation
When Gustun Aunlamai arrived at school at age 4, he was so overweight that his teacher worried he’d have trouble breathing during naptime. His arms and legs were thick. His mouth peeked out from two ballooning cheeks. He moved slowly.
Throughout his toddler years, Gustun had regularly asked his parents to refill his bottle with his favorite “milk” — a type of formula made especially for kids his age. And they were happy to oblige. Sumet Aunlamai and Jintana Suksiri, who lived in a rural province north of Bangkok, had carefully chosen the brand.
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New York Times ☛ Long Before Amsterdam’s Coffee Shops, There Were Hallucinogenic Seeds
A nearly 2,000-year-old stash pouch provides the first evidence of the intentional use of a powerful psychedelic plant in Western Europe during the Roman Era.
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Science Alert ☛ US Happiness Ranking Plummets as One Group Struggles Most
The first year out of the top 20.
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Science Alert ☛ 'Forever Chemicals' Could Be Putting Us at Greater Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Here's what's happening.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Cloudbooklet ☛ YouTube’s Measures Against Deepfakes and Hey Hi (AI) Videos
Get the latest updates on YouTube fight against deepfakes and Hey Hi (AI) videos with comprehensive measures.
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The Drive ☛ How a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet From Hell Slowed Williams' F1 Cars For Years
One of history's greatest Formula 1 teams, Williams, has apparently been hamstrung by a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for years.
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Defence/Aggression
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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The Daily Beast ☛ Surge in War Recruitment Among Russian Inmates Prompts Prison Closures
The Kremlin has recruited so many inmates to boost its manpower in the war in Ukraine that some Russian prisons are shuttering altogether.
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Meduza ☛ Several prisons in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region to close because army recruitment has led to fewer prisoners, official says — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Russian authorities call on all Grayvoron residents to evacuate as border town continues to come under fire — Meduza
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YLE ☛ Finnish government aims to accelerate eastern border fence effort
The plan is to build stretches of fencing totalling around 200 km in length, along the 1,300-km border's most crucial areas.
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Vox ☛ The Pentagon wants thousands of cheap, AI-enabled drones to fight China - Vox
Ukraine’s drone innovations have changed how the US is planning for a war with China.
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RFERL ☛ Nobel Winners Call For Release Of Fellow Laureate In Belarus
More than two dozen Nobel Prize laureates have signed a letter calling for the release of hundreds of political prisoners in Belarus, including the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, veteran human rights defender Ales Byalyatski.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Russian victory in Ukraine would leave Europe at Putin’s mercy
A Russian victory in Ukraine would reinvigorate Putin's war machine and leave much of Europe at the mercy of the Kremlin, writes Mykola Bielieskov.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Putin fires navy chief as Ukrainians cheer success in Battle of Black Sea
The chief of the Russian Navy has been dismissed by Vladimir Putin in the latest indication that Ukraine is winning the Battle of the Black Sea, writes Peter Dickinson.
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France24 ☛ Several injured as Russia targets Kyiv in missile attack, mayor says
Russia fired more than 30 missiles at Kyiv early Thursday, the largest attack on the Ukrainian capital in weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution for escalating strikes on Russia’s border regions.
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RFERL ☛ Orban Congratulates Putin On Reelection
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection despite condemnation of the vote by many Western governments.
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RFERL ☛ Russian Groups Document 'Dirty' Vote As Election Commission Certifies Putin Win
Observers continue to document irregularities in Russia's presidential election as the Central Election Commission (TsIK) announced Vladimir Putin had officially won a landslide victory in a vote that the international community has called a "sham" and not "free and fair."
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teleSUR ☛ CEC Officially Proclaims President Vladimir Putin's Re-Election
The Russian leader achieved his re-election with 87.28 percent of the votes.
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New York Times ☛ Why Do Autocrats Like Putin Bother to Hold Elections?
These votes can demonstrate control, serve as a warning and create the illusion of accountability.
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European Commission ☛ Opening remarks by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Michel following the meeting of the European Council of 21 March 2024
European Commission Statement Brussels, 21 Mar 2024 Let me start with Ukraine and the consequences of Russia's war of aggression.
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European Commission ☛ Keynote speech by Commissioner Simson at high-level event on 'Energy and Climate Governance in Ukraine - Towards Green Rebuilding'
European Commission Speech Brussels, 21 Mar 2024 Ladies and Gentlemen,
I'm very happy to be joining you today.
Just last week, we marked an important anniversary.
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Latvia ☛ Lithuanian, Latvian initiative brings together birdhouses and drones
The astronomical spring has begun, and birds are beginning to return to Latvia. “Let's give returning birds a home and fighting Ukrainian soldiers wings” is the motto of the Ukrainian support campaign, which brings together Latvians and Lithuanians to raise money for drones by painting birdhouses, Latvian Television reports.
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AntiWar ☛ Why is the West Suddenly Revealing That It Has Troops in Ukraine?
It has long been an open secret that the West has been providing Ukraine with funding, weapons, training, maintenance, targeting intelligence, intelligence on the position of Russian forces and vulnerabilities and even war-gaming. They have provided Ukraine with everything but the bodies.
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The Strategist ☛ Ukraine-style naval attack drones present challenges, but they are not revolutionary
Many believe attacks on Russian warships by Ukrainian forces using uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) represent a fundamental shift in warfare at sea.
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France24 ☛ Life across the Russian border: Young Latvians face an uncertain future
In Latvia, the war in Ukraine has rekindled fears of being attacked by Moscow's forces. The youngest citizens of this little-known Baltic country, which shares a nearly 300km-long border with Russia, now fear becoming a collateral victim of Moscow's war.
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RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Pushes EU To Use Profits From Frozen Russian Assets To Aid Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on EU leaders at the opening of their two-day summit in Brussels on March 21 to "progress on the issue of fair use of Russia's frozen assets."
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RFERL ☛ First F-16s Should Be In Ukraine This Summer, Says Dutch Defense Minister
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren says Ukraine should receive its first F-16 fighter jets this summer as Europe pushes to aid Kyiv amid complications sparked by a stalled aid package in the U.S. Congress.
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RFERL ☛ Residents Of Russian Region Bordering Ukraine Urged To Leave
Residents of the Graivoronsky urban district of Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine have been advised by authorities to temporarily leave the area, which has been frequently targeted by drones and missile attacks from Ukrainian and Ukraine-aligned forces.
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RFERL ☛ Massive Russian Missile Attack On Kyiv Leaves Destruction, Many Wounded
A massive wave of Russian missiles targeting Kyiv was largely repelled by the air-defense systems of the Ukrainian capital early on March 21, but several people were wounded by the falling debris while extensive damage was reported in parts of the capital.
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CS Monitor ☛ Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán acting in the West as Moscow’s man on the inside
Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán predicts that under Donald Trump, Washington will cut all aid to Ukraine and that Europe will not make up the shortfall.
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New York Times ☛ Russian Missile Attack on Kyiv Leaves 10 Injured
Ukraine said it had intercepted all 31 missiles fired at the capital. But debris injured at least 13 people and damaged several buildings.
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New York Times ☛ Thursday Briefing
The E.U.’s plan to make Russia pay to arm Ukraine.
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Meduza ☛ Russian region plans sperm bank to collect semen from childless men leaving to fight in Ukraine — Meduza
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Latvia ☛ Belarusian cars will not face same fate as Russian cars on Latvian roads
On Thursday, March 21, the Saeima gave back to the responsible committee amendments to the Road Traffic Law that would apply the same restrictions to cars registered in Belarus as to those registered in Russia.
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Latvia ☛ 1.4 million tonnes of manganese ore went to Russia through Latvia in 2023
In 2022, 1.2-1.3 million tonnes of manganese ore were transported by rail in transit through Latvia to Russia, 1.4 million tonnes in 2023, and slightly less than 100 thousand tonnes of manganese ore in the first months of this year, Latvian Television's "What is happening in Latvia/Kas notiek Latvijā" program reports.
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Latvia ☛ Latvia blasts sloppiness of 'Der Spiegel' article
Latvia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has written to the popular German magazine Der Spiegel to point out a host of inaccuracies and tendentious claims in a recent article about Russian speakers in Latvia, reports Latvian Radio.
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LRT ☛ Lithuania reports decline in grain flow from Russia amid tighter controls
Lithuania’s authorities have found no violations since the tightening of controls on grain imports from Russia and other heightened-risk countries on Monday but recorded a decline in the volume of shipments.
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RFERL ☛ Arrest Warrant For Self-Exiled Russian Rights Defender
A Moscow court has issued an arrest warrant for the self-exiled founder of the Gulagu.net group, which monitors inmates' rights. The warrant was issued on March 21 after the Federal Security Service launched a probe against Vladimir Osechkin on a charge of justifying terrorism.
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RFERL ☛ Russia, China Ties 'Vital' For Belgrade Says Acting Serbian PM
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, who is also acting prime minister, said on March 21 that relations with Russia and China are in Belgrade's "vital national interest."
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RFERL ☛ Tatarstan Court Cancels Fine Of Activist Who Supported Detained RFE/RL Journalist
The Supreme Court of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan has canceled a lower court ruling to fine sociologist Iskander Yasaveyev for holding a poster demanding the release of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who has been held in Russian custody since October 18.
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RFERL ☛ Moscow Expels Spanish Journalist Over Coverage Of Protests Held By Wives Of Russian Military
Russia refused to extend the visa for Spanish journalist Xavier Colas and ordered him to leave the country within 24 hours, the reporter's employer, the El Mundo newspaper, said on March 21.
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RFERL ☛ Russia Blocks SOTA And Memorial Websites
The websites of Russian independent news outlet SOTA and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Memorial Center for Protection of Human Rights have been blocked by media-monitoring agency Roskomnadzor.
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teleSUR ☛ Russia Liberates Tonenke in the Donetsk Region
This smal town is located about eight kilometers west of Avdivka, which was also taken by the Russian Army in February.
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The Straits Times ☛ EU, US discussed how to address China's role as conduit for goods to Russia
The European Union and its allies are considering steps to address the export from China of goods that could help Russia's military, including by imposing further sanctions, the bloc's sanctions coordinator said on Thursday.
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YLE ☛ Helsinki amusement park stops selling Russia-linked ice cream
The park's director said it was a question of values.
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YLE ☛ Russian nickel and fertiliser continues to flow into Finland
The ongoing political strikes impacting rail transport have not stopped deliveries of Russian raw materials.
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Environment
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Latvia ☛ Fine likely after illegal dump discovered
An illegal construction debris dump has been discovered in the Upper Daugava region along the banks of a local stream, which contains waste harmful to humans and nature.
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Energy/Transportation
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DeSmog ☛ A Green New Shine for a Tired Playbook
When a corner of the internet comes to life, it always looks a bit different than you’d expect. It’s less snarky, less vitriolic, less apocalyptic. It’s decidedly more human. Sometimes, in fact, it’s downright pleasant, particularly when the place you encounter it is a pristine movie theater in the suburbs.
Earlier this week I traveled to the Angelika Film Center in Fairfax, Virginia, for the premiere of Climate the Movie: The Cold Truth, a new documentary film that promises to reveal the real story behind what the film calls “the climate scare” — in other words, the notion that human beings are changing the climate through our use of fossil fuels. Directed by climate denier filmmaker, Martin Durkin, the screening was organized by the CO2 Coalition, a nonprofit that promotes carbon dioxide as playing a “vital role . . . in our environment.” The Heartland Institute and Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) co-sponsored the event.
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DeSmog ☛ Activists Launch Their Own Investigation of Mud Spill Near Pennsylvania LNG Pipeline
On February 15, Pennsylvania’s environmental regulator received an anonymous complaint that a mysterious white material was covering the bottom of a creek in Chester County — a tributary of nearby Marsh Creek Lake located about a thousand feet from the underground Mariner East pipeline.
A day later, an inspector from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed that the clay-like material was flowing from a nearby sinkhole into the stream and nearby wetlands.
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Finance
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Federal News Network ☛ Congress proceeds with $20B cut to IRS modernization fund in FY 2024 spending deal
Lawmakers plan to cut $10 billion in funds the IRS got in the Inflation Reduction Act, in a spending deal for the rest of fiscal 2024.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Reason ☛ Brickbat: Misogyny on Main
German police raided homes across the nation and interrogated 45 people suspected of posting misogynistic content online on what the police called a "combating misogyny on the internet" day of action.
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Libel
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Reason ☛ $160K Libel Verdict for Ex-Student Based on Professor's Research Misconduct Allegations
In Rossi v. Dudek (D. Utah), plaintiff sued her former professor for libel, based on his allegations that she had committed research misconduct.
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Reason ☛ Brief Opposing Pseudonymity in Ohio Libel Case
I thought I'd pass along this friend-of-the-court brief that I just filed a couple of days ago in the Ohio Court of Appeals (Doe v. Roe), with the help of invaluable local counsel Jeffrey M. Nye (Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson) and UCLA LL.M. student Bhavyata Kapoor.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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APNIC ☛ Empowering tomorrow — technical capacity building for Internet development
Guest Post: Insights from the Cooperation SIG at APRICOT 2024 / APNIC 57.
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Ars Technica ☛ Cable ISP fined $10,000 for lying to FCC about where it offers broadband | Ars Technica
Small ISP admitted lying to FCC about size of network to block funding to rivals.
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Silicon Angle ☛ DOJ sues Fashion Company Apple over antitrust violations related to iPhones
Updated: The Department of Justice today sued Fashion Company Apple Inc., charging that the company prevented software and mobile game developers from offering new services on the iPhone and causing consumers to pay higher prices.
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Patents
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JUVE ☛ Intellectual Ventures brings multi-party telecom fight to Paris Court of Appeal [Ed: Intellectual Ventures, a Microsoft patent troll, as covered by the corrupt publisher that promoted the UPC crimes for a fee (raising money from Team UPC, now enabler of trolls inside the EU)]
Today, the judicial panel around presiding judge Veronique Renard will decide whether a patent monopoly belonging to NPE Intellectual Ventures, EP 1 694 020, is infringed and valid by multiple parties. In September 2021, the Paris Judicial Court invalidated the patent-in-suit due to added matter (case ID: 17/13837).
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for Emerald Lake Hills operational management patent monopoly prior art
Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claims 1 and 2 of U.S. Patent 11,636,413, owned by Emerald Lake Hills, LLC, an NPE.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Judge Dodging: Fashion Company Apple loses Mandamus Transfer Action This Time
In re Fashion Company Apple Inc., No. 24-111 (Fed. Cir. 2024)
Federal Circuit has denied Apple’s petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to transfer a patent monopoly infringement case from the Western District of Texas to the Northern District of California. The case, Carbyne Biometrics, LLC v. Fashion Company Apple Inc., involves six patents related to authentication and fraud reduction technologies used in Fashion Company Apple devices. U.S. Patent Nos. 10,929,512; 11,475,105; 11,514,138; 9,972,010; 10,713,656; 11,526,886.
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Software Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 for Jeffrey M. Gross entity Media Key media distribution patent monopoly prior art
Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 17 of U.S. Patent 7,606,876, owned by Media Key LLC, an NPE and entity of Jeffrey M. Gross. The ‘876 patent monopoly relates to the usage of media with content for the distribution of remotely updateable information.
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Trademarks
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APPLE JAZZ Trademark Owner Strikes Out in Latest TTAB Ruling
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) on Wednesday, March 20, denied APPLE JAZZ mark owner Charles Bertini’s petition to cancel Apple, Inc.’s mark APPLE for entertainment services. While the Board found that Bertini had “proven and maintained his entitlement to a statutory cause of action,” it ultimately held that he had failed to make a prima facie showing of Apple’s abandonment of the APPLE mark for those services.
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Right of Publicity
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New York Times ☛ Tennessee Makes Hey Hi (AI) an Outlaw to Protect Its Country Music and More
Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed a first-in-the-nation bill to prevent the use of artificial intelligence to copy a performer’s “voice.”
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Copyrights
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Cloudbooklet ☛ Google Fined $270M by France Regulatory Authority for News Content Misuse
Google fined $270M in France for using news publishers' data for Gemini AI, violating intellectual property rules.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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