Leftovers

• Science

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] By 6, kids think boys are better than girls at computer science. These programs aim to change that

• Career/Education

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] Quesnel, B.C., mayor wins lawsuit against city after residential school book controversy

  • Federal News Network ☛ Education Dept cuts workforce by nearly 50% in mass layoffs

    An email states employees with approved telework agreements may work from home on Wednesday, and that offices will reopen on Thursday.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Sapphire Edge+ VPR-5050 “AMD Embedded+” mini-ITX motherboard combines AMD Ryzen V2748 CPU and Versal Hey Hi (AI) Edge VE2302 SoC FPGA

    Right in time for Embedded World 2025, Sapphire Technology has introduced the Edge+ VPR-5050 “AMD Embedded+” mini-ITX motherboard with AMD Ryzen V2748 octa-core CPU, and AMD Versal Hey Hi (AI) Edge VE2302 adaptive SoC that combines Cortex-A72 hard core with FPGA fabric. It’s an update to last year’s VPR-4616-MB mini-ITX motherboard with the same Versal VE2302 adaptive SoC, but a lower end AMD Ryzen R2314 quad-core processor.

  • CNX Software ☛ Infineon PSoC 4000T multi-sense low-power MCU features capacitive, inductive, hover, and non-contact liquid sensing

    Infineon Technologies has introduced the PSoC 4000T Multi-Sense low-power MCU, along with the upcoming PSoC 4100T Plus which will feature higher memory and more I/Os. These MCUs integrate fifth-generation CAPSENSE technology along with Multi-Sense capabilities, including proprietary inductive sensing, and non-contact liquid sensing solutions. This combination makes it easy to develop advanced HMI applications, such as touch-over-metal, hover touch, and accurate liquid-level detection.

  • CNX Software ☛ congatec unveils acetone-based heat pipe cooling solution for embedded systems operating in freezing temperatures

    Consumer-grade heat pipe cooling solutions typically rely on water as a working fluid. This works great until a system needs to be used in freezing conditions, since the water could turn into ice and damage the pipe or even parts of the computer. That’s why congatec has unveiled a heat pipe cooling solution that relies on acetone as a working fluid in the heat pipes instead of water. It will work reliably at extreme sub-zero temperatures down to -40°C, and the company also claims the solution is insensitive to mechanical stresses such as shock and vibration.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-01 [Older] The legacy of Quebec's controversial pandemic curfew

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] The world has moved on. But those who lost loved ones to COVID-19 feel stuck in time

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] 'People will die,' says Canadian charity in Kenya as Cheeto Mussolini's USAID cuts threaten HIV medications

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] Use of psychedelics is on the rise in Canada. Doctors are starting to look at long-term risks, benefits

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] Autoworkers feeling 'mental anguish' in anticipation of possible tariffs Tuesday

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover a Trait in Speech That Foreshadows Cognitive Decline

    A hidden signal.

  • Science Alert ☛ COVID Was Declared a Pandemic 5 Years Ago. Are We Better Prepared Today?

    Here are the lessons we've learned.

  • CS Monitor ☛ Five years ago, the world shut down. COVID’s imprint lingers from politics to schools.

    The World Health Organization declared a global COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020. Our reporters see wide lasting effects.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • Scoop News Group ☛ X suffered a DDoS attack. Its CEO and security researchers can’t agree on who did it. [Ed: They probably fired all the people who could prevent it by technical means]

      X’s wave of outages resembled a DDoS attack and Dark Storm Team, a prolific threat group specializing in such attacks, claimed responsibility.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Age AU ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] Calls for more security in Adelaide shopping centres

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Suicide Bombing Kills at Least 9 in North-West Pakistan, Police Say

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-07 [Older] Hamilton woman still wants accountability after inquest into brother's 2017 death in jail

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-07 [Older] Who stashed $200K worth of pills in a N.B. bush? Police haven't ruled out 'a very large drone'

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-07 [Older] Military planners map out restructuring the Canadian Army, says top soldier

  • Counter Punch ☛ 2025-03-07 [Older] Oh Canada: We Stand on Guard for Thee

  • New Yorker ☛ 2025-03-07 [Older] Canada, the Northern Outpost of Sanity

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Exclusive-Fired US Government Workers With Top Security Clearances Were Not Given Exit Briefings, Sources Say

  • Defence Web ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Public-private partnerships are key for enhanced maritime security – Vreÿ

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Dangerous offender who sexually abused boys in Niagara region granted unescorted leave from prison

  • Vox ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini doesn’t seem to know why he launched a giant trade war

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] Cold case killer admits to fatally stabbing Calgary teen girl 49 years ago

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] Canada's military should fix white supremacy problem before it starts: analyst

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Mexico to Impose Retaliatory Tariffs on US Following China and Canada as Trade War Heats Up

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini tariffs: China, Canada and Mexico retaliate in kind

  • ADF ☛ Unity, Cooperation Take Wing in Libyan Air Support Event

    United States and Libyan personnel trained together in a mission that built capacity to conduct effective joint tactical air control. The work also had another goal: to promote the reunification of long-divided Libyan military and security institutions.

  • New York Times ☛ Pakistan Separatists Hijack Train With 400 Onboard and Give Ultimatum

    The militants, Baloch ethnic fighters, said they would kill dozens of seized security personnel if the Pakistani government did not agree to a prisoner exchange.

  • Defence Web ☛ The evolving role of PPPs in peacekeeping and security in Africa

    In recent years, the landscape of conflict in Africa has shifted from traditional wars between states to internal conflicts involving increasingly sophisticated non-state armed actors.

  • The Strategist ☛ The threat spectrum

  • France24 ☛ Author Charlie English on the best-kept secret of the cold war

    It's a book that tells the astonishing story of the books that were smuggled across the Iron curtain during and after the Second World War. Described by the Observer as a “gripping account of an intriguing and little-known Cold War moment”, "The CIA book Club – the best kept secret of the cold war" recounts the tale of how millions of books made it across the longest and most heavily guarded border on earth. In Perspective, we spoke to author Charlie English.

  • Vox ☛ 2025-03-06 [Older] Two numbers that explain why Cheeto Mussolini can’t make up his mind about tariffs

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Meduza ☛ Kyiv: Ceasefire details to be discussed next week

    • Meduza ☛ Saakashvili sentenced to nine years in embezzlement case

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] The Cheeto Mussolini-Zelensky Meeting: A Wake-Up Call for Canada in an Era of Strategic Autonomy

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • CBC ☛ 2025-03-06 [Older] Pipeline operator South Bow says tariffs could create challenges in its marketing segment

    • CBC ☛ 2025-03-06 [Older] Workers will fight if American car producers move to take Canadian jobs, union vows

    • CBC ☛ 2025-03-01 [Older] Vehicles could be trapped for weeks after Ottawa parking garage collapse

    • CBC ☛ 2025-03-02 [Older] Public servant spotted cracks before downtown parking garage collapsed

    • CBC ☛ 2025-03-01 [Older] Horn heist: B.C. train museum gets railroaded by targeted thefts

    • CBC ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] Despite record-high gold prices, mining exploration in Canada's North declines

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Revelator ☛ How Will Your Garden Grow? New Books to Inspire Your Home Gardening, Landscaping, and Community Green Spaces

    • CBC ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] Manitoba cancels polar bear ecotourism permits for company owned by PC leadership candidate

• Finance

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] No deal between Canada Post and union during mediated weekend talks

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] Homes without basements or stairs piquing interest in northern Ontario as way to ease housing crunch

  • International Business Times ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] New Cheeto Mussolini Tariffs Imposed On China, Canada: Here Are the List Of Products That Might Get Affected

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] Canada, Citing Trade Turmoil, to Crack Down on Foreign Takeover Bids

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini's Tariffs on Canada Could Make US Power Bills Even Pricier

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini Exempts Some Automakers From Canada, Mexico Tariffs for One Month

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-05 [Older] Trudeau Not Willing to Lift Canada's Retaliatory Tariffs if Cheeto Mussolini Leaves Some Tariffs on Canada

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Canada’s Sovereignty Push Could Reshape Its Economy

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Cheeto Mussolini’s Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China Will Cost the US $3,000 a Household

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Markets shaken as U.S. tariffs against Canada, Mexico go into effect

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] B.C. budget aims to balance deficit reduction, election promises and tariff threat

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Angry, betrayed and anxious: Canadians react to Cheeto Mussolini's tariffs and annexation threat

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Premier Danielle Smith to announce Alberta's response to American tariffs

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-02 [Older] From Alaska to Maine, Communities That Border Canada Worry US Tariffs Come at a Personal Cost

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-02 [Older] Exclusive-Canada to Extend Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for Two More Years, Minister Says

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-03-02 [Older] Canada PM Trudeau Says Protecting Independence Is His Priority in Talks With King Charles

  • CBC ☛ 2025-03-02 [Older] Trudeau expected to meet with King Charles to discuss 'matters of importance to Canada'

  • TruthOut ☛ 2025-03-03 [Older] Elon Musk Spreads Falsehoods About Social Security, Calling It a “Ponzi Scheme”

  • International Business Times ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] US Public Pension Recipients To Receive One-Time Social Security Payments Immediately Under New Law

  • International Business Times ☛ 2025-03-04 [Older] Former US Social Security Chief Warns of Benefits Disruption and a System Collapse Within the Next 30 to 90 Days

  • New Yorker ☛ Inside the DOGE Threat to Social Security

    A day in the life of a claims rep for America’s largest government program.

  • Defence Web ☛ State Security Agency refutes claims of forced retirement for employees over 50

    The State Security Agency (SSA) has denied allegations that employees over the age of 50 are being forced into early retirement or face dismissal.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • European Commission ☛ Remarks by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen and Commissioner Brunner on the proposal for a new Common European System for Returns

  • European Commission ☛ Presentation to the European Parliament of the proposal on a new common approach on returns

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • The Conversation ☛ How poor sleep could fuel belief in conspiracy theories

      Sleep is crucial for mental health, emotion regulation and cognitive functioning. Poor sleep has been linked to increased anxiety, depression and paranoia – all of which are also associated with conspiracy belief.

      However, sleep is rarely discussed in explanations for conspiratorial thinking.

      One study found that insomnia, a clinical disorder, affects conspiracy beliefs. Building on this work, our research, published in the Journal of Health Psychology, examined how poor sleep quality, a nonclinical condition, influences conspiracy beliefs.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia court jails transgender for ‘hate speech’ remark

    Ratu, who sold beauty products online, made the comment during a Fentanylware (TikTok) livestream.

  • The Nation ☛ We Are Asking the Wrong Questions About Mahmoud Khalil’s Arrest

    The only relevant question is not “How can the government do this?” It is “How can we who oppose this fascist regime stop it?”

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ Mahmoud Khalil Is Being Charged Under an Anti-Communist Law

    In their efforts to deport Khalil, the Trump administration has appealed to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Enacted in 1952, the bill restricted immigration based on race and nationality quotas — but it also contained three crucial provisions: [...]

  • New Yorker ☛ Mahmoud Khalil’s Constitutional Rights and the Power of ICE

    Khalil is currently being held in Louisiana; his lawyers are trying to get him moved back to New York City, and to prevent his deportation. The case is expected to turn on exactly what basis the government had to arrest him. (Trump and others in his Administration have claimed that they are protecting college campuses from antisemitism.) To talk about the legal issues involved, I recently spoke by phone with Lindsay Nash, an associate professor at Cardozo School of Law and the co-director of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed the obscure and potentially unconstitutional legal provision that the Trump Administration might end up relying upon, how ICE’s power became so unchecked, and whether courts will be extra sensitive to the possibility that someone is being punished for speech the government dislikes.

  • Vintage Everyday ☛ The Story Behind Johnny Cash’s “Flipping the Bird” Iconic Photo at San Quentin State Prison, 1969

    Rubin delved deep and invested $20,000 to place a full-page ad in Billboard magazine. The ad showcased the iconic Cash, defiantly flipping the bird, accompanied by the caption “American Recordings and Johnny Cash would like to acknowledge the Nashville music establishment and country radio for your support.”

  • The Verge ☛ Meta is trying to block ex-employee’s book alleging misconduct and harassment | The Verge

    However, it’s unclear if this arbitrator actually has the authority to halt the publishing of the book or if Wynn-Williams can stop the creation of future versions; as of this writing, it’s currently for sale at stores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In the decision, the arbitrator noted that the lawyer representing Macmillian and Flatiron objected to its jurisdiction. Wynn-Williams appears to have signed an arbitration agreement when she left Meta in 2017.

  • US News And World Report ☛ Trump Campaigned as a Protector of Free Speech. Critics Say His Actions as President Threaten It

    The Trump administration also has gone after the news media.

    The president has sued several outlets for coverage he dislikes, and his appointees at the Federal Communications Commission have helped pressure those media companies. Meanwhile, Trump's FCC is opening investigations of other media companies with which Trump has feuded, and the administration has barred The Associated Press from the White House press pool because it won't use Trump's preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico. The AP is suing to restore its access on First Amendment grounds.

  • BoingBoing ☛ Trump to Tesla protestors: "You're going to go through hell" (video)

    No matter that the right to protest peacefully is protected under the First Amendment — Donald Trump threatened Tesla protestors today with an ominous warning: "We're going to catch you, and you're going to go through hell."

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • BIA Net ☛ bianet reporter Evrim Deniz files complaint over online violence following Women's Day post

    Deniz faced sexist and racist harassment after sharing a photo emphasizing LGBTI+ rights.

  • The Dissenter ☛ More On The Brewing Crackdown On Reporters And Media Sources For ICE Leaks

  • EFF ☛ Ten Years of The Foilies

    A lot has changed over the last decade, but one thing that hasn't is the steady flow of attempts by authorities to avoid their legal and ethical obligations to be open and accountable. Sometimes, these cases are intentional, but just as often, they are due to incompetence or straight-up half-assedness.

  • Vested LLC ☛ Job changes Archives

    Oliver Darcy writes in his Status newsletter about how The Wall Street Journal laid off the bulk of its tech news staff last week. Darcy writes, “Last Tuesday morning, a murmur began to ripple through The Wall Street Journal’s San Francisco bureau: Senior management was conspicuously in the building. Marie Beaudette, a top editor overseeing business, finance, and economic […]

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • Nebraska Examiner ☛ ‘Not quite there yet’: Nebraska teachers union now ‘neutral’ on proposed retirement tweaks

    The Nebraska State Education Association formally shifted its stance this week, two months after urging caution and encouraging teachers statewide to speak out against Legislative Bill 645, which was introduced by State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln at Gov. Jim Pillen’s request.

    The bill would create stepped-down contribution levels from the state to the school retirement plan, depending on its actuarial funding level. As of July 1, the plan was 99.9% funded.

  • Omicron Limited ☛ US workers with remote-friendly jobs still work from home nearly half the time, five years after the pandemic began

    Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted office life, American workplaces are settling into a new rhythm. Employees in remote-friendly jobs now spend an average of 2.3 days each week working from home, a research team that tracks remote employment has found. And when you look at all workers—and not just those in remote-friendly positions—they're working remotely 1.4 days a week, or 28% of the time.

  • Jacobin Magazine ☛ Donald Trump Is Trying to Bust the Airport Screeners’ Union

    In a memo that that one TSA employee said sounded like “a teenage blogger writing about someone they don’t like,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced March 7 that it was canceling the union contract for 47,000 workers at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

    The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) signed its contract with TSA in May 2024, and it wasn’t set to expire until 2031.

    DHS also stopped deducting union dues and ordered all union officers to immediately return to their transportation security officer (TSO) duties. Workers voted in the union in 2011.

  • 404 Media ☛ 'Pretty Vile:' Spotify Removes Andrew Tate 'Pimping Hoes' Class After Employees Complain

    Some Spotify employees are not happy that the audio streaming giant was, until this week, hosting and profiting from a course about “pimping hoes” by Andrew Tate, according to internal Spotify communications viewed by 404 Media.

  • Daniel Pipes ☛ Possessed by the Right Hand: The Problem of Slavery in Islamic Law and Muslim Cultures :: Reviewed by Daniel Pipes

    Juristic consensus (ijmāʿ), Freamon argues, provides that basis: "There are simply no lawfully owned slaves that could be purchased or obtained [by way of the civil administration of property and inheritance law] because slavery is illegal in all of the world's jurisdictions, including the world's Islamic jurisdictions." Therefore "no self-respecting mujtahid [legal interpreter] would disagree with the conclusion that it is impossible to legally purchase a slave in any open market in the world today and that slavery and slave trading should remain illegal."

  • Los Angeles Times ☛ LAPD cops have shot 21 bystanders in last decade, new data reveals

    The Times analyzed 10 years worth of LAPD shooting data, finding 21 instances where officers hit fellow cops or bystanders, including three deaths.

  • University of Michigan ☛ UMMA hosts new photography exhibit ‘Strange You Never Knew’ on the Asian-American diaspora

    The University of Michigan Museum of Art opened their newest exhibition “Strange You Never Knew” Feb. 1, reflecting on the Asian-American diaspora, family and identity. Chinese American artist Jarod Lew’s first solo exhibition is composed of three series of photographs and a multimedia installation. 

  • FTC: Staffing Cuts Could Delay Amazon Trial

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says staffing cuts could delay its case against Amazon.

    As CNBC reported Wednesday (March 12), attorneys for the regulator have asked a judge to hold off on the start of a trial into whether Amazon had tricked customers into signing up for the company’s Prime program.

    The reason? Staging and budget shortfalls, Jonathan Cohen, an attorney for the FTC, told Judge John Chun during a status hearing in federal court in Seattle ahead of the trial, which had been scheduled to begin Sept. 22.

    “We have lost employees in the agency, in our division and on our case team,” Cohen said, asking the judge for a two-month continuance.

  • FAIR ☛ US Media’s Sorry History of Abetting Immigration Panics

    Deportees have been shipped to remote camps and militarized hotels in Panama and Costa Rica, facing horrifically unsanitary, overcrowded conditions, and denied access to aid, lawyers and press. Venezuelan deportees detained at Guantánamo Bay—who have since been deported to Venezuela via Honduras—had been similarly mistreated by US immigration officials.

• Digital Restrictions (DRM)

  • [Old] Ingeniøren ☛ Chinese electric cars equipped with cameras could spy on Danish military bases

    In addition to collecting video, images, and location data, Audun Jøsang also warns that the Chinese cars could potentially be remotely controlled and thus cause damage to a military base. For example, if the braking systems are deactivated via software.

    Audun Jøsang points to a well-known example from Ukraine in 2022. A few months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian soldiers stole John Deere tractors worth millions from a farm equipment dealership.

    John Deere succeeded in shutting down the tractors from the USA so that they could not be used by the Russian soldiers. Similarly, it is safe to assume that Chinese electric cars can be shut down remotely.

  • EFF ☛ Right to Repair: A Prime Example of Grassroots Advocacy

    And this movement has had an impact beyond specific right to repair legislation. In a similar vein, just a few months ago, the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that users can legally repair commercial food preparation equipment without breaking copyright law. Device manufacturers themselves are also starting to feel the pressure and are creating repair-friendly programs.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• The Register UK ☛ Hardware locks us Apple's and Microsoft's monopolistic cages

  Any computer that can't offer me a terminal window, root access, and the ability to type "python" to get into a REPL shell feels fake - an incomplete simulation of a real computer. Yes, I have iSH and aShell on my iPad Pro - great tools, yet neither offering the kind of power that I need when using PyTorch (which runs great on a bare-metal M2).

  I could single out Apple for its ridiculous policies that make iPads less useful than Macs, but Cupertino is not alone: Microsoft won't let users upgrade their older boxen to Windows 11. I have a first-generation Surface Go (magically, both a laptop and a tablet) that still works perfectly, and which will become so much electronic detritus later this year because Microsoft refuses to let its own hardware run its own operating system.

• Patents

  • JUVE ☛ FRAND licence disputes did not lead to more cases at UK patent monopoly courts [Ed: FRAND is a misnomer and part of monopolistic rackets]

    The UK High Court and Court of Appeal have established themselves globally as the go-to courts for determining FRAND rates between SEP holders and implementers. Many UK lawyers had hoped this would attract more cases and business to London firms. However, according to the UK civil justice statistics, this did not materialise in 2024. >

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ What Does it Mean to Prove Prior Art Date by a Preponderance of the Evidence?

    by Dennis Crouch

    In CQV Co., Ltd. v. Merck Patent GmbH, No. 2023-1027 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 10, 2025), the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded a PTAB post-grant review (PGR) decision that had upheld the validity of Merck's patent monopoly against sales of a commercially available product. This case highlights a significant divergence between the evidentiary standards for proving prior art status in district court litigation versus AIA trials. It also sets up another increasingly common scenario where neither the patentee nor the patent monopoly challenger are US entities. Here, Merck is German and CQV is Korean.

  • John Squires Nominated as Next USPTO Director

    On March 10th, Hell Toupée officially nominated John Squires as his next USPTO Director, according to a notice on Congress.gov and as widely reported today.

  • Ubisoft Shareholders Threatening To Sue Them For “Hiding Information”; EA And Microsoft Potentially In Talks To Buy Its IPs [sic]

    Ubisoft’s road to recovery now seems almost impossible. The French publisher is struggling to get on its feet following multiple game cancellations, layoffs, and plummeting stock.

    As if this weren’t enough, the company’s internal situation is no better. Ubisoft is now facing retaliation from its shareholders over a lack of transparency and withholding information.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ Finding Restaurant Services Related to Paper Food Containers, TTAB Sustains DON'T MESS WITH TEX-MEX Opposition

    Less than one month after oral argument, the Board sustained this opposition to registration of DON'T MESS WITH TEX-MEX for restaurant service, finding confusion likely with the registered mark DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS for paper food containers, paper bags, and cups. However, opposer's dilution-by-blurring claim was dismissed due, in part, to failure to prove its mark famous for the stated goods. Texas Department of Transportation v. El T. Mexican Restaurants, Inc., Opposition No. 91264923 (March 7, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Thomas L. Casagrande).

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Which of These Three Section 2(d) Refusals Was/Were Overturned on Appeal?

    The TTAB affirmance rate for Section 2(d) appeals last year fell just under 90%. So far this year it a bit lower, but the year is young. Here are three recent Board decisions, at least one of which reversed the refusal. How do you think they came out? [Answer in first comment].

• Copyrights

  • Public Domain Review ☛ Master of Claude de France’s Book of Flower Studies (ca. 1510–1515)

    Illuminations of European plants by an anonymous master.

  • Walled Culture ☛ Massive expansion of Italy’s Piracy Shield underway despite growing criticism of its flaws

    Far from taking these criticisms to heart, or acknowledging that Piracy Shield has failed to convert people to paying subscribers, the Italian government has decided to double down, and to make Piracy Shield even worse. Massimiliano Capitanio, Commissioner at AGCOM, the Italian Authority for Communications Guarantees, explained on LinkedIn how Piracy Shield was being extended in far-reaching ways (translation by Google Translate, original in Italian). In future, it will add: [...]

  • Press Gazette ☛ Why Google AI Mode could bleed publishers dry

    The only way to stop Google summarising your content in an AI Overview – or now via AI Mode – is to either come out of search entirely or to give it a ‘no snippet’ instruction which has the effect of dramatically reducing prominence in all search results.

  • Paris Buttfield-Addison ☛ Beyond Bad Output

    These systems aren’t creating—they’re processing vast quantities of human-created work without permission or compensation. This massive appropriation of creative labour affects writers who haven’t consented to having their work used this way. Many are struggling financially only to see their work exploited to build tools threatening their livelihoods. The distinction between content being accessible to read and available for commercial exploitation is crucial (something that even Microsoft seems confused about). Publishing a story doesn’t grant permission for it to be processed as training data for systems designed to replace writers.

    Copyright law protects creative works and provide creators with control. AI training methodologies undermine this protection, resulting in ongoing litigation as creators fight for their rights. The legal foundation of these systems grows shakier by the day. Or doesn’t, which is even more concerning.