Links 23/06/2024: Hey Hi (AI) Scrapers Gone Very Rogue, Software Patents Squashed at EPO
Contents
- Leftovers
- Education
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Transparency/Investigative Reporting
- Environment
- Finance
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Censorship/Free Speech
- Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Digital Restrictions (DRM) Monopolies/Monopsonies
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Leftovers
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Education
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Pro Publica ☛ Greg Abbott’s School Voucher Crusade Is Three Decades in the Making
As proponents of private school vouchers racked up win after win across the country in recent years, the largest Republican-led state in the nation remained stubbornly outside their grasp — until now.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott succeeded in persuading primary voters to remove from office members of his party who had defied him by voting against legislation that would allow the use of state money to pay for private school tuition.
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Hardware
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Pen Test Partners ☛ Dodgy disks. My 32TB SSD Adventure
TL;DR “Hard drive” had reflashed firmware to make it look larger Buyer beware: Cheap storage may not be the value you think it is
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Tom's Hardware ☛ DisplayPort vs. HDMI: Which Is Better For Gaming?
HDMI and DisplayPort are the two most common video output standards in use today. We look at bandwidth, resolution, refresh rate and more to see the differences between DisplayPort and HDMI connections of various revisions and explain the pros and cons of each.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong health chief draws criticism over comments urging women to conceive early or else ‘soil’ may be bad
Hong Kong’s health chief has drawn criticism from lawmakers after likening women’s fertility to “soil,” saying it deteriorates over time and therefore couples in the city should give birth to children while they are young.
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New York Times ☛ A Surgeon General Warning, The Disinformation Battle and The Rise of CryptoPACs
Will a social control media warning really help children’s mental health?
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Several Hey Hi (AI) companies said to be ignoring robots dot txt exclusion, scraping content without permission: report
Some AIs bypass robots.txt protocol, perhaps risking lawsuits.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ AI titans Abusive Monopolist Microsoft and Nvidia reportedly had a standoff over Microsoft's use of B200 Hey Hi (AI) GPUs in its own server rooms
AI titans Abusive Monopolist Microsoft and Nvidia reportedly had a standoff over what server racks were to be used for Microsoft's newly acquired B200 GPUs. Abusive Monopolist Microsoft won the fight and will use its own custom racks that can be adapted to Nvidia's competitor's GPUs if needed, rather than Nvidia's proprietary solution.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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Chrome sends AI history search data to Google | Wilders Security Forums
Google is working on a new feature in Chrome that gives artificial intelligence control over a user's browsing history.
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Keeping your data from Apple is harder than expected, finds study | Wilders Security Forums
I believe this research was based on the iPhone but I wouldn't be surprised if privacy was just as bad on macOS. :) "Privacy.
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Techdirt ☛ Oh Look, Some Cop Just Got Busted For Abusing Access To Clearview AI | Techdirt
The inevitable is upon us: a police officer has been caught using Clearview AI for non-law enforcement purposes. That wouldn't mean anything if the officer had private access to the most ethically dubious player in the facial recognition tech market.
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Techdirt ☛ Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk Removes Tweets Revealing Ted Cruz Fundraising Notes | Techdirt
If ExTwitter is the bastion of free speech, you would think that it would allow for the publishing of newsworthy documents revealing a politician's funding briefings, right?
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Defence/Aggression
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Reason ☛ USC Dismisses Charges Against Professor Who Said Hamas Should Be Killed
From the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) (assembled from the Ex-Twitter thread, with some nonsubstantive modifications): USC has just dismissed charges against a professor who was filmed telling a group of protesters last fall, "Hamas are murderers. That's all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are."
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New York Times ☛ Na Kyung Taek’s Photos Exposed a Bloody Crackdown. His Identity Was a Secret.
Na Kyung Taek’s photos bore witness — and helped bring international attention — to the military junta’s brutal suppression of a pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1980.
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New York Times ☛ Israeli Official Describes Secret Government Bid to Cement Control of West Bank
Israeli judges have long ruled that Israel’s control of the territory is a temporary military occupation and complies with international law. A powerful minister’s recent speech, caught on tape, suggested the government is trying to change that.
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ Arden Hills bar owner admits to hiding gun after his friend fatally shot man
James Welsch stashed the gun at his bar then lied about surveillance video.
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New York Times ☛ Middle East Crisis: Strike on Area Where Displaced Gazans Were Camped Kills Up to 25
The strike in Al-Mawasi damaged the offices and residences of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the group said. The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident.
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NYPost ☛ Is he a keeper? Put your love to the test Gen Z-style, with these trendy social control media challenges
Can your relationship survive these trendy Fentanylware (TikTok) trials?
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Digital Music News ☛ TikTok Seeks Court Injunction Blocking Forced-Sale Law Ahead of September Oral Arguments
Ahead of September oral arguments in TikTok’s legal battle challenging the much-publicized forced-sale law, the app is mounting a vigorous defense – now including a demand for an injunction to prevent the measure from going into effect.
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CS Monitor ☛ After years of expanding gun rights, Supreme Court sets a limit on Second Amendment
The 21st century has so far seen a steady expansion of U.S. gun rights. On Friday, the Supreme Court said that domestic abusers could be temporarily barred from owning firearms.
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ACLU ☛ The Supreme Court's Gun Decision Is Not a Victory for Women
The U.S. Supreme Court today broke from its recent embrace of gun rights, leaving in place a federal criminal law that makes it a felony for anyone subject to a civil domestic violence restraining order to possess a gun.
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Marcy Wheeler ☛ Garrett Ziegler Done in by His Chateau Marmont Field Trip
Garrett Ziegler's own California field trip were cited to deny his motion to dismiss Hunter Biden's lawsuit against him.
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RFERL ☛ Pakistani Security Forces Killed In Bomb Attack Claimed By Tehrik-e Taliban
Pakistan's military said at least five soldiers in a troop convoy were killed by a roadside bomb in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province near the Afghan border, in an attack claimed by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TPP), a longtime ally of the Taliban.
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Defence Web ☛ Are the SANDF’s operational logistics fit for purpose?
With the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) operating in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mozambique, the issue of expeditionary logistics is pertinent. The SANDF faces a number of challenges with its logistics, especially during deployments on the continent, with its logistics problems laid bare during a recent conference.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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NYPost ☛ Terrified of ‘escalation,’ Biden is being bluffed into losing Ukraine to Putin
‘History is watching. The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will not be forgotten,” President Biden said on the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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NYPost ☛ How rising anti-American axis sees US weakness, and is ready to pounce
For anyone slow on the uptake, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un provided some helpful show-and-tell in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
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Transparency/Investigative Reporting
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JURIST ☛ Australia appeals court rejects tax whistleblower appeal for immunity under Public Interest Disclosure Act
South Australia’s Supreme Court of Appeal rejected Australian Taxation Office (ATO) whistleblower Richard Boyle’s appeal to secure immunity from prosecution under section 10(1)(a) of Australia’s Federal Public Interest Disclosure (PID) Act on Wednesday.
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Environment
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CS Monitor ☛ Hawaii reaches pathbreaking climate settlement with children
Youth-led lawsuits over climate change are rising around the world. A case in Hawaii stands out, as the state agrees to a settlement with plaintiffs.
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TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ At least 6 heat-related deaths reported in metro Phoenix so far this year as high hits 115 degrees
At least six people have died from heat-related causes this year so far in sizzling metro Phoenix, where the temperatures this week hit 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius), Arizona’s Maricopa Department of Public Health reported this week. Another 87 deaths are under investigation for possible heat-related causes through last Saturday, public health officials said in the most recent weekly update to its online heat surveillance information. Phoenix hit 115 degrees F (46 C) on Thursday and Friday, making them the hottest days of 2024 up to now. The metro area continued to swelter through an excessive heat warning under a dome of high pressure, with some moisture and a slight cooling possible over the weekend.
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Energy/Transportation
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Finance
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BIA Net ☛ One in 4 retirees in Turkey continue working due to economic strain
The number of retirees who continue to work and pay social security support premiums has more than doubled since 2017.
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FAIR ☛ Saru Jayaraman on Tipped Wages
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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LRT ☛ Lithuanian PM nominates two candidates for vacant minister positions
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė on Friday nominated Deputy Minister Vytautas Šilinskas for the position of social security and labour minister and MP Radvilė Morkunaitė-Mikulėnienė for education, science and sport minister, the government said.
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Defence Web ☛ African refugees neglected as crises worsen
World Refugee Day – marked on 20 June – is a reminder that Africa and the world cannot peacefully maintain the current pace of displacement.
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FAIR ☛ ‘They Are Not Applying Universal Principles as Philosopher Kings’ CounterSpin interview with Jim Naureckas on Secret Alito Tape
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RFA ☛ Episode 9a and 9b: Let there be pride! And there was pride.
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The Straits Times ☛ Japanese Emperor Naruhito finally begins delayed UK state visit
The trip was originally scheduled in 2020 but was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Press Gazette ☛ Telegraph vindicated by IPSO over ‘Whatsapp files’ Matt Hancock front page
Hancock complained the 'Lockdown Files' gave an incomplete picture and he was not approached for comment.
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TechCrunch ☛ X still has a Verified bot problem — this time they came for TechCrunch writers | TechCrunch
Really, X should have learned its lesson by now.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Man charged under new Hong Kong security law over ‘seditious’ social control media posts remanded in custody
A man has been charged under Hong Kong’s new security legislation over the publication of “seditious” statements on social control media. Au Kin-wai, 58, did not apply for bail and was taken into custody after he appeared before Magistrate Don So at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Friday morning.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Sculpture with figures in yellow raincoats ‘under repair,’ Hong Kong gov’t says as removal sparks censorship fears
The government has said that a sculpture formerly on display outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre was being repaired after it was covered by hoarding boards and later removed, sparking censorship concerns online.
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Digital Music News ☛ Paramount+ Documentary Promises ‘The Uncensored Story of ‘80s Hair Metal’
Paramount+ documentary promises ‘the uncensored story of ‘80s hair metal,’ with interviews with bands like Poison, Skid Row, Ratt, and Guns N’ Roses. Paramount+ has announced a new documentary series, “Nöthin’ But a Good Time: The Uncensored Story of ‘80s Hair Metal,” which will premiere on the service later this year.
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JURIST ☛ US Supreme Court rules First Amendment retaliatory arrest claims permissible despite probable cause
The US Supreme Court held Thursday in Gonzalez v. Trevino that the existence of probable cause does not necessarily defeat retaliatory arrest claims.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Flaws Remain in Amended California Journalism Preservation Act
California’s proposed link tax is back in the spotlight, as legislators’ proposal to subsidize media conglomerate newsrooms [...]
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Civil Rights/Policing
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France24 ☛ Namibian court declares law criminalising same-sex relationships unconstitutional
A high court in Namibia on Friday declared unconstitutional two colonial-era laws that criminalised same-sex acts between men, in a landmark win for the LGBTQ community in the southern African nation.
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Reason ☛ Review: An Arkansas Jail Unlocked the Cells. Did it Work?
A new DRM spreader Netflix documentary series shows what happened when inmates were free to roam the cellblock with no guards in sight.
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JURIST ☛ Class action against Australia youth detention centre on track to deliver AU$75 million to victims
The lawyer representing former detainees of an Australian youth detention centre announced in a media release on Friday that the Tasmanian state government plans to give AU$75 million to members of a class action abuse lawsuit against the state.
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New York Times ☛ In Japan, These Women Want to Opt Out of Motherhood More Easily
A lawsuit challenges the onerous requirements for getting sterilized, calling the regulations paternalistic and a violation of women’s constitutional rights.
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Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Digital Music News ☛ Breaking: Spotify Launches Music-Only Subscription Tier In the U.S. — After Switching 97% of Subscribers to Bundled Offering
After switching 97% of its long-time Premium subscribers to its bundled offering, Spotify now launches a music-only subscription—putting the onus on customers to switch. Spotify is facing a lawsuit from the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) for underpaying royalties to publishers and songwriters because of its bundling scheme.
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Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ Rothschild entity, Mobile Health, health tracking patent monopoly challenged
On June 21, 2024, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 11,468,984, owned and asserted by Mobile Health Innovative Solutions, an NPE and Leigh M. Rothschild entity. The ’984 patent monopoly relates to a mobile unit that analyzes a user's load levels.
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 awarded for Keysoft information sharing patent monopoly prior art
Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners, Yasodha Madhaiyan and Mani Manikandan, who split an award of $2,000 for their prior art submissions on U.S. Patent 8,271,315, owned by Keysoft, Inc., an NPE. The ‘315 patent monopoly relates to a personal information utilization system utilizing off-premise communication networks such as the Internet.
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Unified Patents ☛ $2,000 awarded for Helios Streaming multimedia patent monopoly prior art
Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners, Dinesh Swami and Ekta Aswal, who split an award of $2,000 for their prior art submissions on U.S. Patent 8,549,164, owned by Helios Streaming, LLC, an NPE. The patent monopoly generally relates to multimedia streaming.
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Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Abbott Diabetes Care Inc. v Sibio Technology Limited
Introduction On 19 June 2024, The Hague Local Division handed down a judgment in a dispute brought by Abbott Diabetes Care Inc. (“Abbott”) against Sibio Technology Limited and Umedwings Netherlands BV (together “Sibio”).
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Patentees Out of Luck Again: CAFed Sides with DraftKings that Remote Gambling Patent Ineligible
The Federal Circuit has affirmed a D.N.J. court’s dismissal of patentee Beteiro’s infringement complaints against DraftKings, et al., agreeing that the asserted claims are directed to patent monopoly ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Beteiro, LLC v. DraftKings Inc., No. 2022-2275 (Fed. Cir. June 21, 2024). The patents at issue were directed to methods of facilitating remote gambling activity using devises equipped with GPS.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Double Trouble: IPO asks for Supreme Court review of PTA/ODP Cellect dispute
A second amicus brief has been filed – this one from the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) – encouraging the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in Cellect, LLC v. Vidal, No. 23-1231. The case concerns the interplay between the Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) statute, 35 U.S.C. § 154(b), and the judicially-created doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting (ODP). IPO-Final-Brief-Cellect-v-Vidal
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States Join Together to Defend Against NPEs
In 2013, Vermont became the first state to pass an “anti-patent troll” law. Since then, more than 30 states have passed similar laws to rein in patent monopoly trolls. These efforts, which range from allowing companies and states to sue patent monopoly trolls for bad-faith assertions, to providing civil penalties and to giving companies [...]
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Unified Patents ☛ Vbrick joins Unified Patents
We are pleased to announce that Vbrick, a leading enterprise video solution, is now a Unified Patents member. Vbrick is joining 300+ other companies committed to deterring the assertion of bad patents by non-practicing entities (NPEs). In 2023, NPEs still accounted for 58% of all patent monopoly litigation, similar to its 5-year average. Unified is the only entity which deters invalid patent monopoly assertions and never pays NPEs.
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Unified Patents ☛ Facet traffic recognition patent monopoly challenged
On June 20, 2024, Unified Patents filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 9,671,328, owned and asserted by Facet Technology Corp., an NPE. The '328 patent monopoly relates to a system of assessing and classifying road signs depicted in a video stream.
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Kangaroo Courts
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JUVE ☛ UPC judges: The new complete overview [Ed: UPC is illegal and unconstitutional; JUVE got paid to try to give credence to this totally illegal kangaroo 'court']
“All is flux” goes the proverb, and this also applies to the Unified Patent Court and its judges. The court had a good start, with 373 cases at the end of May already and these have continued to accumulate over the last three weeks.
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Software Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ Dolby's HEVC EPO patent monopoly found invalid
On May 22, 2024, the European Patent Office revoked the original claims of EP 3767950, owned by Dolby International AB. The original claims of EP‘950 were identified as essential to the Access Advance Patent Pool.
Claims during the opposition process, however, were allowed. But the amended claims of the EP’950 patent monopoly do not appear to be essential to the HEVC standard for at least two reasons—(1) the process required by H.265 is different from that recited in the claims and (2) the indicator used in H.265 is a two-bit indicator when the claims recite a one-bit flag.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ On Remand, TTAB Again Dismisses I-FIT FLEX Opposition Due to Difference in Goods and Services
On May 3, 2024, the CAFC remanded to the Board its decision in iFit's opposition to registration the mark I-FIT FLEX for safety eyewear. iFit claimed likely confusion with its registered mark IFIT for exercise equipment and related services. The Board originally dismissed the opposition, finding that the first DuPont factor favored iFit, but deeming the second factor dispositive: "Opposer has failed to show that the parties’ goods and services are related, or that they travel in the same channels of trade to the same classes of consumers." The Board has again dismissed the opposition. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc. v ERB Industries, Inc., Opposition No. 91264855 (June 13, 2024) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Michael B. Adlin).
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Copyrights
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Internet Archive forced to remove 500,000 books after publishers’ court win | Wilders Security Forums
Internet Archive fans beg publishers to stop emptying the open library....
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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