Links 18/05/2024: Fury in Microsoft Over Studio Shutdowns, More Gaming Layoffs
Contents
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Leftovers
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Hackaday ☛ Is The Frequency Domain A Real Place?
When analyzing data, one can use a variety of transformations on the data to massage it into a form that works better to tease out the information one is interested in. One such example is the application of the Fourier transform, which transforms a data set from the time domain into the frequency domain. Yet what is this frequency domain really? After enticing us to follow the white rabbit down a sudden plummet into the intangible question of what is and what is not, [lcamtuf] shows us around aspects of the frequency domain and kin.
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Hackaday ☛ Big Server Fan Becomes Fume Extractor
[Anthony Kouttron] wanted a fume extractor for his personal electronics lab, but he didn’t like the look of the cheap off-the-shelf units that he found. Ultimately, he figured it couldn’t be that hard to build own portable fume extractor instead.
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ Switching Off a Sense of Touch Could Put Some in World of Pain
A mysterious link emerges.
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Science Alert ☛ Being Small Appears to Be The Secret to Evolutionary Success
This might be key to life beyond Earth?
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Science Alert ☛ Great Mystery of How Ancient Egyptians Built The Pyramids Finally Appears Solved
A secret hidden for thousands of years.
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Science Alert ☛ Wild Discovery Suggests a Warp Drive Is Possible Within Known Physics
Interstellar space, here we come.
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Education
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Pro Publica ☛ IL School Districts Send Kids to an Unmonitored, Unvetted Out-of-State School
Two years ago, Illinois lawmakers tried to help students with extreme needs who had a limited number of schools available to them.
They changed state law to allow public money to fund students’ tuition at special education boarding schools, including those out of state, that Illinois had not vetted and would not monitor. School districts, not the Illinois State Board of Education, would be responsible for oversight.
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Hardware
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Hackaday ☛ DisplayPort: Hacking And Examples
So far, I’ve talked about why DisplayPort is the future, introduced the basics of how to work with it on the hacker level, took apart and tamed the DisplayPort altmode, and recently, went through the eDP (embedded DisplayPort) display technology. This time, I want to give you a project library to reference, so that your hacking goes as smoothly as possible – real-world examples of open-source DisplayPort boards, a few boards I’ve worked on, part numbers, and whatever other information you might need.
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Hackaday ☛ Pump It Up Gets Homebrew GBA Port That Rocks
Pump It Up is a popular music video game that hails from South Korea. It’s similar in vibe to Dance Dance Revolution and In The Groove, but it has an extra arrow panel to make life harder. [Rodrigo Alfonso] loved it so much, he ported it to the Game Boy Advance.
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Hackaday ☛ MIDI Spoon Piano Is Exactly What You Think It Is
Pianos traditionally had keys made out of ivory, but there’s a great way to avoid that if you want to save the elephants. You can build a keyboard using spoons, as demonstrated by [JCo Audio].
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Hackaday ☛ Customizable Bird Clock Sings The Hours By
For those looking to build their own clocks, one of the easiest ways to get started is with a pre-built module that uses a simple quartz oscillator and drives a set of hands. This generally doesn’t allow for much design of the clock besides the face, and since [core weaver] was building a clock that plays bird songs, a much more hackable clock driver was needed to interface with the rest of the electronics needed to build this project.
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CNX Software ☛ MemryX MX3 edge Hey Hi (AI) accelerator delivers up to 5 TOPS, is offered in die, package, and M.2 and mPCIe modules
Jean-Luc noted the MemryX MX3 edge Hey Hi (AI) accelerator module while covering the DeGirum ORCA M.2 and USB Edge Hey Hi (AI) accelerators last month, so today, we’ll have a look at this Hey Hi (AI) chip and corresponding modules that run computer vision neural networks using common frameworks such as TensorFlow, TensorFlow Lite, ONNX, PyTorch, and Keras. MemryX MX3 Specifications MemryX hasn’t disclosed much performance stats about this chip. All we know is it offers more than 5 TFLOPs.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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New Yorker ☛ Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and the Benefits of Beef
A feud between two of the biggest names in rap quickly escalated into a mutual smear campaign. How did a conflict based in craft become one that was about so much more?
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Science Alert ☛ Unexpected Connection Between Menthol And Alzheimer's Discovered in Mice
Could inhaling menthol help fight the disease?
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong to hire 250 non-locally trained doctors this year, Hospital Authority chief says
Hong Kong’s public hospitals expect to hire 250 non-locally trained doctors this year, a senior official has said as he expressed confidence in addressing a manpower shortage in the sector through overseas recruitment.
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Science Alert ☛ Alzheimer's Could Be Caused by Brain Cells That Age Too Fast
It's different for men and women.
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Science Alert ☛ Eerie Personality Changes Sometimes Happen After Organ Transplants
Scientists can't figure it out.
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New York Times ☛ C.D.C. Warns of a Resurgence of Mpox
A deadlier version of the infectious disease is ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo, while the type that caused a 2022 outbreak among gay and bisexual men is regaining strength.
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University of Michigan ☛ U-M Health to improve access with University Hospital renovation
U-M Health will renovate part of University Hospital, creating 26 incremental private observation rooms to help ease crowding in the emergency department.
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RFA ☛ Vietnamese prisoners allowed health checks after a year of requests
The inmates said their health was suffering because of harsh conditions.
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Latvia ☛ Over half of doctors have been assaulted by patients or relatives in Latvia
In order to protect doctors from violence by patients or their relatives, the Latvian Medical Association (LĀB) wants to change Article 269 of the Criminal Law. If introduced, medical staff would have a similar status to police officers or firefighters: if attacked, perpetrators risk going to jail, Latvian Rado reported on May 15.
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JURIST ☛ Amnesty International reports victims of protest repression in Guinea face roadblocks to healthcare and justice
Amnesty International stated Wednesday that protesters subjected to unlawful force during anti-constitutional amendment demonstrations in Guinea face obstacles to accessing adequate healthcare and justice.
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JURIST ☛ UK government announces draft ‘ban’ on contested sex education topics in UK schools
The UK Government announced on Thursday that it is updating its statutory guidance for schools and introducing age limits for sex education and sensitive topics.
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teleSUR ☛ African Countries for Initiative to Address Health Emergencies
Kenyan Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha said the launch of the World Bank-backed project will strengthen the continent's response to infectious diseases and other public health threats.
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ MN Legislature: GOP bonding threats won’t stop abortion measure, DFL leaders say
DFL lawmakers say they won’t let speeches about fast food or Republican threats to kill a bonding deal derail their efforts to advance a bill that would plot a path for abortion rights.
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European Commission ☛ Commission opens formal proceedings against Meta under the Digital Services Act related to the protection of minors on Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram
European Commission Press release Brussels, 16 May 2024 Today, the Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess whether Meta, the provider of Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram, may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to the protection of minors.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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ZDNet ☛ VMware's Fusion Pro and Workstation Pro are now free for personal use - here's how to access them
More than a consolation prize for ESXi users, Broadcom's surprising move makes advanced virtualization tools more accessible than ever - empowering students, hobbyists, and independent developers.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Bye Bye, AI: How to block Google's annoying Hey Hi (AI) overviews and just get search results
Tired of Google's Hey Hi (AI) overviews and their bad, plagiarized advice? Here's how to avoid them in search.
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Security Week ☛ In First Hey Hi (AI) Dialogue, US Cites ‘Misuse’ of Hey Hi (AI) by China, Beijing Protests Washington’s Restrictions
China advocates for the United Nations to take a leading role in the global governance of AI, a move that could sideline the U.S.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Sony warning to Hey Hi (AI) firms: Hands off our music!
The largest music publisher in the world, Sony Music Group, has sent out a letter to around 700 artificial intelligence developers and music streaming services stating that the music in its catalog is not free for use in training generative AI.
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Musk axes entire Tesla division
Elon Musk, CEO of e-car firm Tesla, decided to fire an entire division at the company after the division chief refused to make further redundancies.
Musk met with the chief of the electric car manufacturer's supercharger division last month (28 April), Rebecca Tinucci, who had laid off around 15% to 20% of her team two weeks earlier as part of wider layoffs at the company, Reuters reported.
Tinucci refused to make further layoffs and on 29 April Musk sent an email to staff that said he was dissolving the entire supercharger team. Musk has since rehired some workers in the division.
Musk's decision showed that ignoring managers' judgment could lead to avoidable lay offs, explained HR consultant Garin Rouch.
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EuroGamer ☛ Fae Farm developer Phoenix Labs lays off staff and cancels projects in significant restructure
Fae Farm and Dauntless developer Phoenix Labs is undergoing a significant restructure, cancelling all other projects and laying off around 140 staff.
The studio shared the news in a LinkedIn post, stating that after a "long period of evaluating how to navigate our economic environment, we have had to significantly restructure the company to pave a path for a strong future."
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World News | UK Watchdog Decides Not to Investigate Microsoft's AI Partnership with France's Mistral [Ed: Microsoft 'lobbying' covers up the corruption]
British regulators said Friday they don't need to open a competition investigation into Microsoft's partnership with French artificial intelligence company Mistral, a month after asking for industry feedback on the deal.
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Activision's New 'Elsewhere' Studio Is Exciting, But It Couldn't Have Come At A Worse Time
Activision has officially announced Elsewhere Entertainment, a new internal studio based in Warsaw, Poland. Activision says this new studio is focused on "creating a new narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise." While exciting, its inception couldn't have come at a worse time for both Activision and the industry as a whole.
According to the company's announcement post, Elsewhere is "built from the ground up" and consists of a collection of storytelling experts whose credits include The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk, Destiny, Tom Clancy’s The Division, and Far Cry.
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Games ☛ Player1 reportedly lays off staff, closes down Insomnia Gaming Festival
Player1 Events has reportedly laid off an unknown number of staff, believed to be the majority of the company, and shut down long-running UK video games event Insomnia Gaming Festival.
Esports News UK reported that several former employees of Player1 Events have shared news of the redundancies online.
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In an era of game industry layoffs, Nintendo is hiring more people
Since January 2023, there have been reports of layoffs in the gaming industry almost every month, including at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, Sega America and Ubisoft- just to name a few. In contrast to these cutbacks driven by factors such as rising development costs and post-pandemic slowdown, it seems that Nintendo is continuing to grow.
Nintendo has been doing the opposite to laying off staff. In fact, the 134-year-old company has increased its intake of new employees this year to 7724 people (up from 7317 people in 2023) according to their most recent Summary of Accounts.
Not only that, but Nintendo’s overall staff numbers worldwide have continued to increase year-on-year since 2016. They have gradually climbed from 5064 consolidated employees in March 2016 to 7724 in March 2024 (source: Nintendo Corporate Information via Wayback Machine). This healthy increase was likely driven in part by the success of the Nintendo Switch (which was released in 2027).
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Games ☛ Phoenix Labs hit by another round of layoffs
Fae Farm developer Phoenix Labs has laid off "many" of its employees and reportedly canceled projects that were in development.
In a post shared to LinkedIn, the studio confirmed that it has entered a period of restructuring as a "last resort."
"After a long period of evaluating how to navigate our economic environment, we have had to significantly restructure the company to pave a path for a strong future," it wrote.
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Palia Dev Singularity 6 Announces Another Round Of Layoffs
American developer Singularity 6 has reportedly laid off more employees in this latest round of layoffs since April 2024. According to reports, this is the third time the studio has had to cut back staff after 49 people were let go from their positions in April 2024 and a smaller number in September 2023.
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Dauntless and Fae Farm Studio, Pheonix Labs Hit with Layoffs
2023 and 2024 have not been pretty for the games industry. As there have been thousands upon thousands of people who have lost their jobs across multiple studios and publishers. From Sony, to Microsoft, and even Sega and Square Enix. It feels more and more like the industry’s workforce is shrinking at an alarming and heartbreaking rate. As even some studios have faced closures. Such an Tanga Gameworks, and Roll7, studios that have made very beloved games that many have enjoyed over the years. But it still has not ended, as Pheonix Labs, the developer and publisher for Dauntless and Fae Farm are also laying off a hundred developers.
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Qt ☛ Streamlining the DevOps Pipeline: Key Areas to Improve Software Development [Ed: Does Qt worship Microsoft?]
Marko Klemetti, CTO of Eficode, delivered a speech on the future of software development, particularly in embedded development.
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Defence/Aggression
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BBC ☛ Israel's army says three hostages' bodies recovered
Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of three hostages in Jabalia in northern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say.
The bodies were those of Shani Louk, Amit Buskila, and Itzhak Gelerenter, it said. The IDF said they had been murdered on 7 October and their remains taken back to Gaza.
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RFA ☛ Kim Jong Un, apparent expert marksman, holds sniper rifle wrong
State media photos show North Korean leader firing gun, supposedly hitting the bullseye 5 times.
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Scoop News Group ☛ Arizona woman arrested and charged in North Korean IT worker scheme
Christina Chapman facilitated remote work and financial transfers for North Koreans tied to that nation’s weapons development programs, according to the U.S. government.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Silicon Angle ☛ Microsoft offers overseas transfers to China-based cloud and Hey Hi (AI) staff amid geopolitical tensions
Microsoft Corp. has reportedly asked hundreds of employees in its cloud-computing and artificial intelligence operations in mainland China to consider transferring outside of the country amid growing geopolitical tensions, but exactly how many staff may have been asked is uncertain.
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Atlantic Council ☛ Experts react: What will Putin and Xi’s ‘new era’ of cooperation mean for the world?
The Russian president and the Chinese leader just met in Beijing to celebrate their increasing cooperation to create a new global order.
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New York Times ☛ Slovakia’s Politics Were Toxic Long Before Its Prime Minister Was Shot
Years of vitriolic rhetoric, worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, left Slovakia with bitter political division.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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New Yorker ☛ Stormy Daniels’s Biggest Role Yet
Naomi Fry on the “epic battle of wills” she witnessed between Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump during Trump’s criminal trial.
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Marcy Wheeler ☛ Three Things: Let the Tedious Bashing Commence!
We haven’t even touched the depths of tedious media bashing in this country let alone at this site.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Stanford University ☛ Graduate Student Council addresses free speech bills
Councilors called for clarity on free speech policies. Several debated how to approach funding from fossil fuel companies towards scientific research.
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IT Wire ☛ Court sets July date to settle eSafety-X stabbing videos stoush
On Monday, Justice Kennett had refused the eSafety Commission's request to extend an injunction to make the social control media platform X [formerly Twitter] to block access to videos of a stabbing in Sydney that occurred on 15 April.
He said: "In this matter which I heard on Friday [10 May], the orders of the court will be that the application to extend the interlocutory injunction granted on the 22nd of April 2024, as extended on the 24th of April, is refused, and that the cost of the application are reserved.”
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Press Gazette ☛ Podcast 71: Daily Mail CEO Rich Caccappolo on keeping journalism free
This episode includes excerpts from an interview between Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford and Rich Caccappolo, CEO of Daily Mail publisher DMG Media. It also features media consultant Matthew Scott Goldstein. They talk about how to save journalism (and democracy) on the open web by adapting to Google’s plan to switch off cookies on Chrome.
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Press Gazette ☛ Don McCullin says ‘photojournalism is dead’ as he reflects on career
Veteran war photographer speaks about difficult relationship with his work capturing "other people's suffering".
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong press group chief won’t seek another term, cites growing pressure and smears
The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) has said he will not seek another term after three years in the post since his re-election “may not be the best option” for the embattled press group.
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Press Gazette ☛ Hard paywalls are ‘dangerous’ says Mail CEO Rich Caccappolo
Revenue up for Mail Online in first half, but potholes lie ahead says CEO.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Jimmy Lai trial: Police officer denies persuading former Apple Daily publisher to testify against media mogul
A police officer has denied persuading Cheung Kim-hung, the former publisher at Apple Daily, to testify against his former boss Jimmy Lai in Lai’s national security trial.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hongkongers may face HK$2K fine and 14 days jail for hiking or surfing during extreme weather
Hong Kong officials have warned against thrill-seeking activities such as chasing storms and searching for big ocean waves during extreme weather, saying offenders could face jail time and a fine. Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk said on Thursday authorities are considering invoking legislation that would close beaches and country parks under extreme weather.
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Federal News Network ☛ Justice Department expands its procurement fraud strike force
Sometimes federal procurements don't go according to the rules. Sometimes its worse, when bribes and kickbacks come into play.
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Patents
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JUVE ☛ A&O Shearman’s first UK patent monopoly outing for Bayer in Xarelto appeal
Today, the UK Court of Appeal will hear Bayer’s pleading against a first-instance decision, in which the high court found the pharmaceutical company’s patent monopoly for active ingredient rivaroxaban invalid for lack of inventive step.
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Unified Patents ☛ DKR Consulting e-commerce patent monopoly challenge instituted
On May 16, 2024, less than six weeks after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 11,455,678, owned and asserted by DKR Consulting, LLC. The ‘678 patent monopoly relates to the generation and distribution of widgets for commerce over the internet. The patent monopoly has been asserted against Shopify.
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Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Outlining the WIPO’s 2024–2026 Strategy on Standard Essential Patents
In 2021 WIPO developed the Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP) (2022-2026) to support global innovation and creativity – and last month, two years into the plan’s implementation, it released its Strategy on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) (2024-2026) to supplement the MTSP in achieving its goals under the SEP framework.
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Copyrights
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IT Wire ☛ OpenAI to use data from Reddit for training ChatGPT
OpenAI chief operating officer Brad Lightcap said: "We are thrilled to partner with Reddit to enhance Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot with uniquely timely and relevant information, and to explore the possibilities to enrich the Reddit experience with AI-powered features.”
Reddit co-founder and chief executive Steve Huffman said: “Reddit has become one of the Internet’s largest open archives of authentic, relevant, and always up to date human conversations about anything and everything.
"Including it in Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot upholds our belief in a connected internet, helps people find more or what they’re looking for, and helps new audiences find community on Reddit.”
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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