Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Radio Apocalypse: HFGCS, The Backup Plan For Doomsday

  To the extent that you have an opinion on something like high-frequency (HF) radio, you probably associate it with amateur radio operators, hunched over their gear late at night as they try to make contact with a random stranger across the globe to talk about the fact that they’re both doing the same thing at the same time. In a world where you can reach out to almost anyone else in an instant using flashy apps on the Internet, HF radio’s reputation as somewhat old and fuddy is well-earned.

• Hackaday ☛ Cisco Ball Is The Tumbleweed Opposite Of A Disco Ball

  Inspiration can strike a maker at any moment. For [Laura Kampf], it happened in the desert when she saw a tumbleweed.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ The Moon Has a Mysterious Atmosphere, And We Finally Know Its Source

    It should have vanished long ago.

  • Science Alert ☛ Olympics: Beetroot Really Can Boost Athletic Performance, And This Is Why

    But would it work for you?

  • Science Alert ☛ NASA Beamed a Laser Message to Earth From 10 Million Miles Away

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Wonder Material' Graphene Has Been Discovered on The Moon

    Embedded in the lunar soil.

  • Science Alert ☛ New Super-Black Material Made of Wood Can Absorb 99.3% of Light

    Nature's dark secret discovered accidentally.

  • Science Alert ☛ Gold Treasure Trove Found in Untouched Graves of Ancient Egyptian Necropolis

    So we touched it.

  • Science Alert ☛ Higgs Particles And Tiny Black Holes Could Have Destroyed Our Universe

    Boom.

  • Science Alert ☛ Researchers Claim Long-Lost Technology Used to Build Iconic Pyramid of Djoser

    Water power.

• Education

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese University of Hong Kong merges politics department into school of governance as enrolment declines

    The Chinese University of Hong Kong has merged its 54-year-old politics department with two newer programmes and restructured them into an interdisciplinary school of governance amid what it said was a shortage of student intakes.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ The 555 As A MOSFET Driver

    To drive a MOSFET requires more than merely a logic level output, there’s a requirement to charge the device’s gate which necessitates a suitable buffer amplifier. A variety of different approaches can be taken, from a bunch of logic buffers in parallel to a specialised MOSFET driver, but [Mr. T’s Design Graveyard] is here with a surprising alternative. As it turns out, the ever-useful 555 timer chip does the job admirably.

  • Hackaday ☛ A Two-Stroke Engine Made From Scratch Using Basic Hardware Store Parts

    How hard could it to be to build a two-stroke internal combustion engine (ICE) from scratch? This is a challenge that [Camden Bowen] gladly set for himself, while foregoing such obvious wastes of time like first doing an in-depth literature study on the topic. That said, he did do some research and made the design in OnShape CAD before making his way over to the hardware store to make some purchases.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • CS Monitor ☛ Where texts and lots of photos are critical data for farmers and residents

    Progress roundup: Southern California addresses industrial boilers as source of pollution; chocolate gets a makeover using more of the cacao pod.

  • Science Alert ☛ These 2 Key Lifestyle Changes Can Treat Mild Depression as Well as Therapy

    This world-first study could be a game-changer for mental health.

  • Science Alert ☛ 3D Molecular Structure of Alzheimer's Brains Revealed For The First Time

    An incredible advancement.

  • New York Times ☛ Study Puts a $43 Billion Yearly Price Tag on Cancer Screening

    The estimate focused on five cancers for which there is medically recommended screening — breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate — and found that colonoscopies accounted for most of the costs.

  • France24 ☛ UK swimming legend Peaty laments ‘lack of transparency’ amid China doping row

    Britain's triple Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty called for stricter testing for doping after China won the final men's swimming race of the Paris Olympics, telling FRANCE 24 that the lack of transparency was undermining faith in the sport.

  • BIA Net ☛ One infant killed, seven others rescued in ceiling collapse in İstanbul hospital

    The hospital was constructed during the pandemic as an emergency facility on the grounds of İstanbul's Atatürk Airport. A health workers union says the hospital lacks appropriate infrastructure.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • New York Times ☛ Elon Musk Revives Lawsuit Against Proprietary Chaffbot Company and Sam Altman

    The Tesla chief executive has renewed claims that the Hey Hi (AI) start-up put profits and commercial interests ahead of the public good.

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Elon Musk files new lawsuit against Proprietary Chaffbot Company over for-profit shift

    Elon Musk has sued Proprietary Chaffbot Company for allegedly misleading him about the goals of its artificial intelligence development efforts. The lawsuit was filed today with the District Court for the Northern District of California.

  • CER ☛ For the reasons liberal arts and sciences majors should learn to program, AI’s not really that big a deal

    “It’s the end of Computer Programming as We Know It” wrote Farad Manjoo in the NYTimes last June. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, said earlier this year that programming is no longer important: “It is our job to create computing technology such that nobody has to program.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • WhichUK ☛ Beware of fake Amazon calls and emails

      Retailer warns that Amazon Prime membership scams are circulating

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Reason ☛ Prostitution Surveillance Tower Goes Up in San Diego

      Warrantless surveillance, Comic Con "sex trafficking," and the persistence of trafficking myths

    • Public Knowledge ☛ Public Knowledge Hails U.S. v. Surveillance Giant Google Decision Finding Monopoly Hold on Search Markets

      D.C. District Court finds that Surveillance Giant Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

    • Trail of Bits ☛ Cloud cryptography demystified: Surveillance Giant Google Cloud Platform

      By Scott Arciszewski This post, the second in our series on cryptography in the clown, provides an overview of the clown cryptography services offered within Surveillance Giant Google Cloud Platform (GCP): when to use them, when not to use them, and important usage considerations. Stay tuned for future posts covering other cloud services.

• Defence/Aggression

  • RFA ☛ North Korea to send new missile launchers to southern border: state media

    South Korea’s military said the weapons will likely be used to threaten the South.

  • JURIST ☛ Australia raises terrorism threat level from ‘possible’ to ‘probable’ due to rising extremist views

    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Monday that the country’s threat level is being increased from “possible to probable” at a press conference in Canberra with Mike Burgess, the Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

  • Defence Web ☛ Police upscaling efforts to tackle kidnappings

    Recent weeks have seen a noticeable increase in kidnappings around South Africa. National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola stated these incidents were a “concern,” and that dedicated teams in each province have been making good progress in rescuing victims.

  • RFA ☛ Cuba’s past may be with North Korea but its future is with the South

    It had been Pyongyang’s closest ally in the Americas, but now Havana is cozying up to Seoul.

  • JURIST ☛ UK riots continue as Prime Minister condemns ‘far-right thuggery’

    Rioting and unrest continued Monday across the United Kingdom, with numerous towns and cities reeling from the ongoing violence. The disorder prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to condemn the riots as”far-right thuggery.”

  • AccessNow ☛ Open letter on technology-enabled political violence in Venezuela

    We call for unfettered access to the internet, social control media platforms, and other communication channels for people in Venezuela at all times.

  • New York Times ☛ Myanmar Rebels Gain Regional Military Base in Lashio, a Major Win

    The seizure of the military’s northeastern command post gives the resistance control of a city and airport on a crucial trade corridor to China.

  • RFA ☛ Philippine coast guard rejects China’s ‘illegal stranding’ claim

    China said the vessel’s presence on a South China Sea shoal violates its sovereignty.

  • The Strategist ☛ Many Chinese military arrests touch on crewed spaceflight agency

    The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) is a common element in an extraordinary number of high-level corruption arrests of military offices and defence-industry officials, a review of Chinese documents and official statements reveals.

  • New York Times ☛ Netanyahu’s Spat With Biden Echoes Dispute With Israel’s Security Chiefs

    Senior Israeli security officials have grown frustrated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his perceived resistance to a swift cease-fire deal with Hamas.

  • Defence Web ☛ SANDF leadership to fix SANDF “challenges” – Holomisa

    Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa has pledged that from this week, senior military leadership will brief Defence Minister Angie Motshekga on fixing challenges in the Department of Defence after media reports of generals living in luxury homes while defence facilities deteriorate.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Is Iran Expected to Attack Israel? Here’s What to Know.

    Iran has vowed to retaliate for the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran last week in an attack for which it has blamed Israel.

  • TwinCities Pioneer Press ☛ A rocket attack at an Iraqi military base injures US personnel, officials tell AP

    Several U.S. personnel were injured in a suspected rocket attack at a military base in Iraq, U.S. defense officials said Monday, in what has been a recent uptick in strikes on American forces.

  • France24 ☛ 🔴 Live: UN calls for 'urgent de-escalation' as tensions mount in Middle East

    UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Monday pleaded “all parties” to “urgently de-escalate what has become a very precarious situation” amid growing fears of an Iranian attack on Israel. Regional tensions have soared since last week's assassination of Hamas's political leader in Tehran and Israel's killing of Hezbollah's military chief in Beirut.

  • NYPost ☛ Israel takes out commander of elite Hezbollah unit in drone strike

    Video of the attack shows the moment the Israel Defense Force drone focuses on the car carrying Ali Jamal al-Din Jawad on a dirt road in the village of Aabba, with a missile fired within seconds to blow up the vehicle.

  • European Commission ☛ TikTok commits to permanently withdraw Fentanylware (TikTok) Lite Rewards programme from the EU to comply with the Digital Services Act

    European Commission Press release Brussels, 05 Aug 2024 Today, the Commission has made TikTok's commitments to permanently withdraw Fentanylware (TikTok) Lite Rewards programme from the EU binding.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • RFERL ☛ More Than 50,000 Detained Since Protests Started In Belarus, Vyasna Says

      More than 50,000 people have been detained for political reasons after mass protests broke out following the August 2020 presidential election, said Leonid Sudalenko, a member of Belarusian human rights center Vyasna and a former political prisoner.

    • RFERL ☛ EU Adds More Than 2 Dozen Belarusians To Sanctions List For Role In Crackdown

      The European Union has added 28 Belarusians to its sanctions list for their role in the "ongoing internal repression and human rights violations" in the country.

    • LRT ☛ Belarusian opposition re-appoint Tsikhanouskaya as leader ‘until free and fair elections’

      Representatives of the Belarusian civil society and political opposition met in Vilnius over the weekend and confirmed Sviatlana Tsikhaoukaya as their leader until democratic elections are held in their country.

    • LRT ☛ EU announces new sanctions against Belarusians

      The European Union has added 28 Belarusians to its sanctions list for their role in the "ongoing internal repression and human rights violations" in the country.

    • JURIST ☛ EU sanctions 28 additional Belarus officials amid ongoing human rights repression

      The Council of the EU on Monday announced that existing sanctions will extend to 28 new individuals for participation in “ongoing internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus”. 

    • France24 ☛ Belarus's Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who fled Tokyo, runs for Poland at Paris Olympics

      Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya fled the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in dramatic fashion after threats from her country’s authorities. Now a Polish citizen, she is finally fulfilling her dream of taking part in the Paris Olympics.

    • Meduza ☛ ‘I said to leave it at home’: Russian state media releases first footage of Evan Gershkovich’s and Paul Whelan’s arrests — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ He Was Freed From a Brutal Russian Jail. Here’s Why He Wanted to Stay.

      The dissident Ilya Yashin calls his release in a prisoner swap last week an ‘illegal expulsion’ by Russia that damages his ability to be heard at home.

    • RFERL ☛ Russian Blogger Andrei Trunov Detained In Karelia

      Police in Russia's northwestern region of Karelia on August 5 detained blogger Aleksei Trunov as he planned to attend an event to commemorate thousands of victims of the Soviets' "Great Purge" campaign buried in the region’s Sandarmokh area.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Detains 2 More Defense Officials On Corruption Charges

      Russia's Investigative Committee said on August 5 that a court in Moscow sent to pretrial detention Vyacheslav Akhmedov, the director of the Defense Ministry's Patriot Park near the capital, on fraud charges.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Recognizes Konrad Adenauer Foundation As 'Undesirable Organization'

      The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office on August 5 recognized Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation as an "undesirable organization."

    • Defence Web ☛ AFB Hoedspruit final South African stop for Russian Long Range Aviation delegation

      A day ahead of exiting South Africa, a Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS – Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily) delegation spent time at Air Force Base (AFB) Hoedspruit in Limpopo as “part of reconnaissance” ahead of Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) in September.

    • Meduza ☛ Volodymyr Zelensky unveils newly arrived F-16 fighter jets on Ukraine’s Air Forces Day, in pictures — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Breaking points: Russia’s ongoing advance has plunged five key areas of Ukraine’s defense into simultaneous crisis — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Former Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway Lobbies for Ukrainian Interests

      The former campaign aide indicated in a Justice Department filing that she will be paid $50,000 a month by an oligarch to seek support for Ukraine.

    • CS Monitor ☛ How Ukrainians fend off Russia, while awaiting new US military aid

      Throughout the Russian war, Ukrainian defenders have fought to maintain their morale against a powerful enemy. After a frustrating wait for supplies, fighters on the front are hoping for a shift in momentum.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Says At Least 1 Russian Su-34 Destroyed In Strike On Morozovsk Air Base

      At least one Russian warplane and ammunition storage facilities were destroyed in a Ukrainian strike on the Russian military base in Rostov region, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate said on August 5.

    • RFERL ☛ Russia Adds Kremlin Critic Krasheninnikov To Wanted List

      Russia' Interior Ministry on August 5 added Kremlin critic and political analyst Fyodor Krasheninnikov to its wanted list on unspecified charges.

    • RFERL ☛ Former 'Hero Of Russia' Returns To War In Ukraine After Receiving Prison Term

      Colonel Irek Magasumov, a former "Hero of Russia" who last month was sentenced to 11 years in prison over the death of a teen girl in Russia-occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk, has rejoined Russian troops invading Ukraine, his wife said on August 5.

    • RFERL ☛ Ukraine Olympian Mahuchikh Urges Russian Athletes To Speak Out Against War

      Ukraine's newly crowned Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh on August 5 urged Russian athletes to speak out against the invasion, saying she was disappointed they remained silent at the Paris games.

    • LRT ☛ Lithuanian government allocates almost €9m for Ukrainian refugees

      The Lithuanian government last week allocated almost 9 million euros to help Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania.

    • LRT ☛ Prosecutors probe reports on Lithuanian man fighting for Russia in Ukraine

      Lithuanian prosecutors are looking into reports that a Lithuanian man is claiming on social control media that he is fighting on the Russian side against Ukraine.

    • LRT ☛ Moscow’s propaganda in Baltics achieves limited success – LRT Investigation

      Moscow’s mouthpieces continue to spread propaganda and lies in the Baltic states, but a leaked hatch of reports suggests that their results have been quite limited. Fentanylware (TikTok) and Telegram are their channels of choice after most of their websites have been banned.

    • RFERL ☛ Mali Breaks Off Relations With Ukraine Over Alleged Role In Separatist Attack

      Mali's military rulers have cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine over its alleged involvement -- which Kyiv denies -- in an attack by rebels that resulted in the killing of dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries.

• Environment

  • RFA ☛ North Korean flood victims who lost their homes or families told not to show sadness

    They are under constant surveillance and are made to watch propaganda about how Kim Jong Un ‘rescued’ them.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • MIT Technology Review ☛ Hydrogen bikes are struggling to gain traction in China

      If you are in China and looking to ride a shared bike in the city, you might find something on the bike that looks a little different: a water-bottle-size hydrogen tank. At least a dozen cities in China now have some kind of hydrogen-powered shared bikes for their residents.

    • H2 View ☛ Hydrogen’s supporting role in cleaning up our grids

      Turning excess energy into green hydrogen on the other hand creates a storable, transportable fuel that can be converted back into electricity when needed, writes Greg Harris, Chief Commercial Officer at Intelligent Energy.

• Finance

  • Zimbabwe ☛ Zim govt calls on individuals to help fund startups through national venture capital fund

    Everyone knows just how hard it is to raise capital in Zimbabwe. Very few startups or small businesses get funding such that many don’t even try anymore.

  • BIA Net ☛ Turkey’s monthly inflation rate spikes in July

    Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek acknowledges the monthly increase in inflation but says it’s ‘temporary.’

  • Silicon Angle ☛ Dell lays off thousands of workers in sales reorganization

    Dell Technologies Inc. is laying off an unspecified number of employees in a reorganization of sales and marketing teams, according to sources. According to Bloomberg today, the reorganization includes a new group focused on artificial intelligence services.

  • The Register UK ☛ Dell makes new round of layoffs while it looks to unlock modern AI

    ell has made another round of layoffs, which The Register understands have cut deep and seen even company veterans let go.

    HR exit meetings kicked off on Tuesday morning, spurring a wave of LinkedIn status changes, while others found comfort venting or trading information in online forums.

    Dell confirmed the layoffs to The Register.

    "Through a reorganization of our go-to-market teams and an ongoing series of actions, we are becoming a leaner company. We are combining teams and prioritizing where we invest across the company. We continually evolve our business, so we're set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners," Dell told The Register by email.

  • New York Times ☛ The Economy Is Looking Pre-Recessionary

    Will a sluggish Fed snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ 5,000 Hong Kong public housing units recovered in 2 years amid crackdown on ‘rich tenants’

    The Hong Kong government has recovered around 5,000 subsidised rental units which had allegedly been “misused” by “rich tenants” amid a crackdown on pubic housing abuse. Rosanna Law, director for housing, told Commercial Radio on Saturday that by taking back the units, the government had saved around HK$5 billion.

  • NYPost ☛ Bitcoin, crypto shares plunge as investors pull back on risky stocks amid recession fears

    The drop in Bitcoin and crypto shares was a sharp turnaround from the Trump-related high crypto was riding after the former president's speech at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference.

  • Latvia ☛ Indexo Bank to start work at end of August in Latvia

    The new Indexo Bank will start its operations on August 28, the bank said in a press release August 5.

  • New York Times ☛ Samsung Employees Return to Work After Strike Fails to Win Concessions

    The indefinite strike, the first in the electronics company’s history, comprised only a sliver of its labor force and lasted less than a month.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • RFA ☛ Chinese state TV pulls plug on Taiwan's badminton victory

    Taiwanese fans and the medals ceremony were edited out after China's top-seeded players took silver.

  • Digital Music News ☛ 50 Cent, Lionsgate, Starz and Others Beat $1 Billion ‘Power’ Defamation Claims

    50 Cent has topped three related lawsuits, seeking $1 billion in damages for alleged defamation and more, dating back to 2021. The rapper and entrepreneur took to social control media to tout the victory, consisting in part of a motion to dismiss with prejudice and a motion for summary judgement.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong man charged over online comments after police stabbing did not intend to incite violence, court hears

    A Hong Kong man charged over anonymous comments posted in an online forum following an attempted murder-suicide against a policeman did not intend to incite people to wound officers, a court has heard.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ Local heroes: The independent titles making news pay in London

    Making local news work against the odds in Enfield, Havering and The City.

  • New York Times ☛ Mexican Reporter Gunned Down, Even With a Security Detail at His Side

    Alejandro Martínez had received so many threats that the Mexican government appointed him protection. On Sunday, he was shot and killed and his bodyguards wounded.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • RFA ☛ Hunan banner protester was also in 'white paper' movement, video says

    Prominent citizen journalist identifies the protester as Fang Yirong, 22, who says he is being targeted by police.

  • The Strategist ☛ Gender mainstreaming in UN peace operations: an unfulfilled promise?

    ­Despite the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security in 2000, progress towards gender equality for uniformed women in UN peace operations has been exceedingly slow.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Public Knowledge ☛ How the ​FCC Can Lower Broadband Costs and Increase Consumer Choice for Apartment Residents

    The ability to opt-out of bulk billing agreements could lower costs for millions of consumers nationwide.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• New York Times ☛ What’s Next in the U.S. Antitrust Cases Against Amazon, Apple, Surveillance Giant Google and Meta [Ed: Why not Microsoft?]

  The federal government has more lawsuits in the pipeline trying to rein in the tech giants, including another antitrust case against Surveillance Giant Google that goes to trial next month.

• Silicon Angle ☛ Federal court rules against Surveillance Giant Google in landmark search monopoly case

  A federal court today ruled that Surveillance Giant Google LLC has illegally maintained a monopoly in the search and search text advertising markets. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the decision in connection with an antitrust lawsuit brought against the company by the Justice Department.

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Federal Circuit Narrows AIA Grace Period: Public Disclosure Must Make Invention ‘Reasonably Available’

    The Federal Circuit’s new decision in Sanho v. Kaijet highlights the narrowness of the pre-filing grace period (safe harbor) provision under the America Invents Act (AIA) and serves as a reminder that there are a number of patents that would have been valid under the pre-AIA patent monopoly system may no longer be valid under the current law. Sanho Corp. v. Kaijet Technology International Limited, Inc., No. 2023-1336 (Fed. Cir. July 31, 2024).

    The basic holding is that the 102(a)(2)/(b)(2) safe harbor triggered by an inventor’s pre-filing “public disclosure” of the invention requires that the invention be made “reasonably available to the public.” Neither public uses nor private sales satisfy this requirement. This is a long post, because the issues are both important and interesting. In the end, I suggest a panel rehearing in the case because I believe that the Federal Circuit unfairly found forfeiture of key arguments whose resolution would help clarify the law.

  • Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Are we facing a change in the patent monopoly protection of inventions in the phytosanitary sector in Bolivia?

    Bolivia’s industrial property law, Decision No. 486 of the Andean Community, contains an article that defines what cannot be patented. This article 20 b) is currently the subject of controversy due to Bolivian Patent Office’s interpretation thereof.

  • Bruce Schneier ☛ New Patent Application for Car-to-Car Surveillance

    Ford has a new patent application for a system where cars monitor each other’s speeds, and then report then to some central authority.

    Slashdot thread.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ Amycel scores a win as UPC decides on patentability of fungi [Ed: But it is not a a real court. it derives its power from a violation of laws and constitutions, representing - at best - corruption]

      The local division The Hague has granted a PI against a Polish mushroom producer in a dispute over a patent monopoly protecting a mushroom strain. US-based company Amycel develops mushroom strains and provides mushroom spawn, supplements, and services to mushroom growers. Its EP 1 993 350 protects brown mushrooms for commercial production.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Precedential No. 17: TTAB Rules that Retail Offering of One's Own Goods Qualifies as a "Service" Under the Trademark Act

    In this opposition to registration of the mark BLIZZARD for various business services, Applicant Ava Labs, Inc., counterclaimed to cancel two pleaded registrations owned by Opposer Blizzard Entertainment for online retail store and mail order services. Ava asserted that the registered marks BLIZZARD and BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT have never been used or have been abandoned because the offering of one's own goods does not constitute a service done primarily for the benefit of others and therefore does not qualify as use of the marks. The Board disagreed. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. v. Ava Labs, Inc., Opposition No. 91285851 (July 18, 2024) [precedential].

• Copyrights

  • JURIST ☛ US appeals court rejects First Amendment DMCA challenge, penalizing unauthorized access of copyrighted material

    The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected a First Amendment challenge to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which penalizes unauthorized access to copyrighted material and limits the scope of “fair use” exceptions.