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Links 17/1/2022: digiKam 7.5.0 and GhostBSD 22.01.12 Released



  • GNU/Linux

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Kernel Space

      • Install Linux Kernel 5.16 on Pop!_OS 20.04 - LinuxCapable

        Linux kernel 5.16 has many new features, support, and security. The Linux 5.16 kernel release has a great new feature, FUTEX2, or futex_watv(), which aims to improve the Linux gaming experience, growing considerably with better native Linux porting for Windows games utilizing Wine.

        Other improvements have seen write include improved write congestion management, task scheduler for CPU clusters sharing L2/L3 cache, amongst many other additions. More information can be found on the Linux 5.16 Kernel release changelog.

      • Rust For Linux Kernel Patches Revised With Upgraded Rust Toolchain, Build Improvements

        Miguel Ojeda has published his third iteration of the patches implementing the basic infrastructure for supporting the Rust programming language within the Linux kernel.

        Back in December were the v2 patches and now just over one month layer the version 3 patches are ready for testing.

        The updated Rust for Linux kernel code now moves to Rust 1.58 as the compiler version targeted, automatic detection whether a suitable Rust toolchain is available, other build system improvements, and improved documentation as well as other general code clean-ups and improvements.

      • Developer Steps Up Wanting To Maintain Linux's FBDEV Subsystem - Phoronix

        The Linux kernel's frame-buffer device "FBDEV" subsystem has thankfully been on the decline over the past number of years thanks to the success of the more useful DRM/KMS drivers and having FBDEV compatibility emulation support. While not actively maintained, the FBDEV subsystem and some drivers remain within the Linux kernel and are used with some interest primarily in some legacy/embedded environments. The subsystem was orphaned while now a Linux kernel developer has stepped up to serve as its maintainer.

      • Linux 5.16.1
        I'm announcing the release of the 5.16.1 kernel.
        
        

        All users of the 5.16 kernel series must upgrade.

        The updated 5.16.y git tree can be found at: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-5.16.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser: https://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-s...

        thanks,

        greg k-h
      • Linux 5.15.15
      • Linux 5.10.92
      • Linux 5.4.172
    • Applications

      • FFmpeg 5.0 "Lorentz"

        FFmpeg 5.0 "Lorentz", a new major release, is now available! For this long-overdue release, a major effort underwent to remove the old encode/decode APIs and replace them with an N:M-based API, the entire libavresample library was removed, libswscale has a new, easier to use AVframe-based API, the Vulkan code was much improved, many new filters were added, including libplacebo integration, and finally, DoVi support was added, including tonemapping and remuxing. The default AAC encoder settings were also changed to improve quality. Some of the changelog highlights...

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Do you need to manage your money properly? Install Akaunting on Debian 11!

        Hello, friends. In this post, you will learn how to install Akaunting on Debian 11. Thanks to it, you will be able to manage your money properly. Let’s go for

      • Install & Configure Gitlab on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS - LinuxCapable

        GitLab is a free and open-source web-based code repository for collaborative software development for DevOps, written in Ruby and Go programming languages. GitLab’s main motto is “Bring velocity with confidence, security without sacrifice, and visibility into DevOps success.” It is quite a popular alternative to GitHub providing wiki, issue-tracking, and continuous integration and deployment pipeline features, using an open-source license, developed by GitLab Inc.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install and configure Gitlab on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa Desktop or Server, along with how to get started by logging in with root so you can begin setting up GitLab to your liking or for your team’s requirements.

      • How to Install and Configure Zabbix Server 5 on Rocky Linux/Alma Linux 8

        Zabbix is an open-source monitoring software tool for diverse IT components, including networks, servers, virtual machines and cloud services. Zabbix provides monitoring metrics, among others network utilization, CPU load and disk space consumption. Zabbix has a rich set of features to enable users to monitor more than just hosts, offering great flexibility to administrators when it comes to choosing the most suitable option for each situation.

        Zabbix uses XML based template which contains elements to monitor. The backend of Zabbix is written in C programming and PHP is used for the web frontend. Zabbix can send you alerts to notify the different events and issues based on metrics and thresholds defined for your IT environment. It supports agent-based and agentless monitoring. But Zabbix agents installation can help you to get detailed monitoring e.g. CPU load, network, disk space utilization.

        As of the writting of this article, the latest Zabbix version is 5.4. In this guide, we will learn how to install and configure Zabbix on Rocky Linux 8. This guide also works for other RHEL 8 based systems like Oracle Linux 8 and Alma Linux 8.

      • How to enable/disable wayland on Ubuntu 22.04 Desktop

        Wayland is a communication protocol that specifies the communication between a display server and its clients. By default the Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish desktop already uses Wayland but it’s also possible to load to Xorg display server instead.

        In this tutorial, you will see how to disable and enable Wayland in Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.

      • How to install Gnome Shell Extensions on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux Desktop

        The functionalities of the GNOME desktop environment can be expanded by downloading GNOME shell extensions. These are plugins written and submitted by normal users and developers that seek to improve the desktop environment and want to share their extension with other users.

        In this tutorial, you will learn how to install Gnome Shell Extensions on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Desktop.

      • How to install, uninstall and update Firefox on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux

        Every Ubuntu user that uses a graphical interface will have to interact with Mozilla Firefox in some capacity, since it’s the default internet browser on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish. Even if you just want to uninstall it and use a different browser, you’ll at least be dealing with it for a short time. In this guide, we’ll show you how you can install, update, and uninstall Firefox on Ubuntu 22.04.

      • Install Python 2 on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux

        This tutorial will show how to install Python 2 for Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish. Python 2 has not been the default installed version on Ubuntu versions for a few years, but it’s still possible to install Python 2 and to install Python 2.7 on Ubuntu 22.04.

        Follow the step by step instructions below to see how to install Python 2 and use it as the default Python interpreter on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.

      • How to customize dock panel on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux

        In this article, we will show you a few methods for customizing the dock panel in the default GNOME desktop environment on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux.

        GNOME is the default desktop environment for Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish, and one of the first things you’ll see on your desktop is the dock panel to the left of the screen. The dock panel is highly customizable, so it’s easy to tailor it to your liking.

      • Matthew Garrett: Boot Guard and PSB have user-hostile defaults

        Compromising an OS without it being detectable is hard. Modern operating systems support the imposition of a security policy or the launch of some sort of monitoring agent sufficient early in boot that even if you compromise the OS, you're probably going to have left some sort of detectable trace[1]. You can avoid this by attacking the lower layers - if you compromise the bootloader then it can just hotpatch a backdoor into the kernel before executing it, for instance.

      • Ubuntu 22.04 GUI installation

        The purpose of this guide is to install a desktop environment on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish, whether you already have a GUI installed and wish to use a different desktop environment, or if you are only using the command line and would like access to a GUI.

        You can also use these instructions to install a GUI on Ubuntu Server 22.04, which doesn’t have a desktop environment installed by default. Follow along with the step by step instructions below to install a GUI on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Server and Desktop.

      • How to install Discord on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux

        Discord is an application for text, image, video and audio communication, which was developed for video gaming communities. Discord runs on various Linux distributions of your choice and, in particular, on Ubuntu 22.04. The objective of this guide is to install Discord, the gamer’s chat platform, on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.

      • How to install Steam on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux

        Steam is easily the most popular PC gaming client, and with hundreds of titles available for Linux systems, it’s no wonder why Linux gamers would want to install Steam on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish. Valve, the company behind Steam, officially targets Ubuntu and Debian with their Linux support, which is great news for Ubuntu users.

        In this tutorial, we will guide you through the instructions to install Steam for Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish using the standard Ubuntu repository as well as to perform a manual installation using the official Steam package.

      • Ubuntu 22.04: Connect to WiFi from command line

        The purpose of this tutorial is to connect to a WiFi network via the command line on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.

        This could be useful if you are running a headless Ubuntu 22.04 system such as server or Ubuntu 22.04 on Raspberry Pi. Connecting from command line is done through configuration of Netplan on Ubuntu. Follow the step by step instructions below to see how.

      • How to Install Adobe Acrobat Reader on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux

        The objective of this tutorial is to install Adobe Acrobat Reader on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.

        Since Ubuntu does not have a native way to open PDF documents by default, users will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader for Linux, or some other program capable of opening the documents.

        The advantage of Acrobat Reader, of course, is that it’s the official program and recommended for reading PDF documents in the way they are intended.

      • How to Configure IP Networking with nmcli Command in Linux

        Nmcli (network manager command-line interface) is a command-line utility used to control the NetworkManager daemon which is used to configure network interfaces.

        With the nmcli utility, you can display, create, edit, enable and disable network interfaces or connections. It is especially handy for servers and headless systems which do not have a GUI.

        In this tutorial, we focus on how you can configure IP networking with the nmcli command in Linux.

      • Install Pantheon Desktop Environment on Fedora 35 - LinuxCapable

        The Pantheon Desktop Environment is a free, lightweight, fast, and elegant desktop environment that stands out amongst most of its competitors in this field. Pantheon is the default featured desktop environment for elementaryOS, taking inspiration from macOS and combining it with one of the most visually appealing desktops around and a bonus for any macOS users wanting to take the plunge into Linux.

        In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install the Pantheon Desktop Environment on Fedora 35 Workstation.

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • digiKam - digiKam 7.5.0 is released

          Dear digiKam fans and users,

          After one month of active maintenance and a huge bug triage, the digiKam team is proud to present version 7.5.0 of its open source digital photo manager. This new version arrives with more than 700 files closed in bugzilla and main improvements about usability.

          See below the list of most important features coming with this release.

      • GNOME Desktop/GTK

        • GNOME Mulls ’Cleanup’ of Background Settings in Pursuit of New Features

          The plans are a work-in-progress and yet to be confirmed, but if approved they will involve “getting rid of a bunch of features” that are not currently exposed to users in the GNOME Settings app, and whose code is otherwise surplus to requirements.

          Plus, as is so often the case in situations like this, doing so will ease the maintainability burden.

    • Distributions

      • The best Linux distributions for 2022

        The year 2022 is upon us! That means it’s time to choose a new Linux distribution. Here’s a list of the best Linux distributions for 2022 that will help you not get lost in the variety of versions of your favorite operating system.

      • What Linux Distros And FOSS Projects Can Learn From Zorin OS

        I don’t envy any individual or small organization that has to market a Linux distribution (or a FOSS project, or an indie game). There are currently hundreds of Linux distros in active development. 72 of those employ the GNOME desktop environment, and 77 use KDE. There are 51 Linux distributions based on Ubuntu. And Searching Google with the phrase “Linux distro for beginners” returns an astounding 9 million results.

        If you think it’s challenging for new Linux users to make the right choice, imagine how challenging it is for Linux distro teams trying to be those chosen ones.

      • What Distribution and Version Pulled You into Linux?

        I recently watched a video posted by my good friend (and former Linux Journal colleague) Shawn Powers introducing viewers to Linux and Linux distributions. And it got me thinking about my own personal experience and when I first started to dabble in the world of open source operating systems.

      • Reviews

        • Review: instantOS Beta

          A project that has been sitting on the DistroWatch waiting list for several months is instantOS. The instantOS project is currently in its beta stage of development, but has been around long enough to review and it claims to offer a number of intriguing features. instantOS is based on Arch Linux and strives to be both light and fast. The distribution's website reports instantOS requires less than 200MB of RAM.

          The project also ships with its own graphical environment. This custom environment is called instantWM and it reportedly offers both tiling and floating window management. This window manager seems to be the centre piece of the distribution.

          instantOS is available in a single edition for x86_64 computers and is provided through a 1.4GB download. Booting from the downloaded media brings up a menu which offers options for booting into "Arch Linux".

          Booting into instantOS brings up a graphical environment. A thin panel is placed across the top of the screen. This panel provides access to an application menu, nine virtual desktops, a clock, and system tray. Shortly after the window manager loads we're presented with a welcome application which looks just like a simple drop-down menu. This menu lists a handful of options, including Get Started, Install, Documentation, Settings, GitHub, Support, and Close.

      • BSD

        • GhostBSD 22.01.12 ISO is now available | GhostBSD

          This new ISO contains fixes, improvements, and software updates. Finally, the installer hanging at the cleaning stage for ZFS installation got fixed, and OpenRC and dhcpcd were removed from the base code. Furthermore, automation configuration for HD 7000 series and older GPUs has been added. I also added the support for os-release to show GhostBSD name and GhostBSD version in applications like mate-system-monitor, python distros, pfetch, and neofetch and added a new set of wallpapers for 2022 and removed p7zip from the default selection since it is vulnerable and unmaintained.

        • GhostBSD 22.01.12 Released With Automatic Detection For Old AMD GPUs

          For those wanting a desktop-friendly, easy-to-use BSD operating system to try out the GhostBSD project is one of the better bets in modern times. GhostBSD 22.01.12 is now available with a variety of fixes and improvements for this desktop-minded BSD.

          GhostBSD 22.01.12 can now auto-detect older AMD Radeon graphics cards that rely on the Radeon KMS/DRM driver rather than the newer AMDGPU driver. This helps the support for the Radeon HD 7000 series / GCN 1.0 (and should be GCN 1.1 too albeit not mentioned in the notes) with a better out-of-the-box experience on this BSD rather than needing to configure the driver manually.

        • LibreSSL update

          Undeadly reached out to Theo asking whether he would share with readers an explanation of the changes. He kindly responded: [...]

        • Early Days at Bell Labs

          It's Brian Kernighan discussing the formation of Unix, starting from the back story of the creation of Bell Labs, including predecessors CTSS and Multics, and C predecessors BCPL which was modified to become B, and why Dennis Richie added types to B to make C.

          This video really hits its stride when Kernighan discusses piping and redirection, and the ease of creating wonderful things out of small parts that, and Kernighan used these words, "do one thing and do it well."

      • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

        • Lubuntu 21.04 End of Life and Current Support Statuses – Lubuntu

          Lubuntu 21.04 (Hirsute Hippo) was released April 22, 2021 and will reach End of Life on Thursday, January 20, 2022. This means that after that date there will be no further security updates or bugfixes released. We highly recommend that you update to 21.10 as soon as possible if you are still running 21.04.

          After January 20th, the only supported releases of Lubuntu will be 20.04 and 21.10. All other releases of Lubuntu will be considered unsupported, and will no longer receive any further updates from the Lubuntu team.

        • Ubuntu 22.04 LTS "Jammy Jellyfish" - New Features and Release Details

          It's time to unwrap the new features of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS "Jammy Jellyfish". We give you all the relevant information, and you stay up to date until the final release.

        • Edge ISO available for Linux Mint 20.3

          This is a quick announcement to let you know an “Edge” ISO image is now available for Linux Mint 20.3.

          This image is made for people whose hardware is too new to boot the 5.4 LTS kernel included in Linux Mint 20.3. It ships with kernel 5.13.0-25 instead.

    • Devices/Embedded

  • Leftovers

    • Education

    • Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

      • Biden Urged to Fire Covid Response Chief Over 'Damning' Failures

        President Joe Biden is coming under growing pressure to fire White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients—a former private equity executive with no public health background—as the administration continues to face criticism over its slow-moving and inadequate efforts to combat Covid-19.

        Watchdog groups have long warned that Zients is not qualified to take on the massive task of leading the federal government's pandemic response given both his lack of scientific and medical experience as well as his record in the private sector, where his firm invested in a company accused of exploitative surprise billing.

    • Integrity/Availability

      • Proprietary

        • web3 is Centralized

          The funny thing is, web3, as it exists today and appears to be building towards, is actually more centralized than the web it seeks to replace.

        • YouTube temporarily suspends, demonetizes Dan Bongino's channel

          YouTube took action against conservative commentator Dan Bongino’s channel Friday, suspending it for violating the platform’s COVID-19 misinformation policy and demonetizing it for at least 30 days.

          The weeklong posting suspension stems from a video where Bongino said that masks are “useless” in stopping the spread of the disease.

        • Security

          • Privacy/Surveillance

            • Even After Release, Guantánamo Survivors Live Under Surveillance and in Anguish
            • Walmart is getting serious about the metaverse

              The retail giant filed for several trademarks on December 30th, suggesting plans to start selling virtual goods, including electronics, toys, appliances, sporting equipment, apparel, home decor, and more, as noted by CNBC. There’s mention of offering customers a digital currency, as well as the opportunity to buy and sell NFTs. Meanwhile, another application details possible “physical fitness training services” and “classes in the field of health and nutrition” that could take place in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality environments (VR) — the company made a separate filing for the use of its name and logo in VR and AR.

            • Walmart is quietly preparing to enter the metaverse

              The big-box retailer filed several new trademarks late last month that indicate its intent to make and sell virtual goods, including electronics, home decorations, toys, sporting goods and personal care products. In a separate filing, the company said it would offer users a virtual currency, as well as NFTs.

            • Safari 15 bug can leak your recent browsing activity and personal identifiers

              As explained by FingerprintJS, IndexedDB abides by the same-origin policy, which restricts one origin from interacting with data that was collected on other origins — essentially, only the website that generates data can access it. For example, if you open your email account in one tab and then open a malicious webpage in another, the same-origin policy prevents the malicious page from viewing and meddling with your email.

            • Why you might want a secure file-sharing service now that you’re working from home

              Probably the easiest way to share a file is to just attach a document to an email, or to a Slack or other instant message. But either way invites trouble on several fronts. If you rely too much on your email or messaging system, your poorly archived files could become available to prying hackers with phishing lures. If you’re sharing traditional documents that way, you could also quickly find yourself playing the “who has the most current version” game. It’s hard to keep track of updates when multiple people are working on the same document, spreadsheet, or presentation.

            • Women human rights defenders speak out about Pegasus attacks

              A new investigation led by Front Line Defenders reveals the hacking of two women human rights defenders (WHRDs) from Bahrain and Jordan using NSO Group’s notorious Pegasus spyware. The hacking discovery comes on the heels of the Pegasus Project revelations of governments in the MENA region and beyond using the spyware to perpetrate human rights abuses and repress activists and journalists.

              The impact of surveillance on women is particularly egregious and traumatizing given how governments have weaponized personal information extracted through spyware to intimidate, harass, and publicly smear the targets’ reputations. As a result, women targets of surveillance live in a perpetual state of fear, become socially isolated and restricted in their social lives, work, and activism. As expressed by one of the victims, Ebtisam Al-Saegh, “personal freedoms are over for me, they no longer exist. I am not safe at home, on the street, or anywhere.”

            • Unsafe anywhere: attacked by Pegasus, women activists speak out - Access Now

              Women human rights defenders and activists are under attack in Bahrain and Jordan — NSO Group’s notorious Pegasus spyware is the weapon. Read Front Line Defenders and Access Now’s new report, Unsafe anywhere: women human rights defenders speak out about Pegasus attacks, that unpacks the first-hand experiences of women navigating an increasingly hostile and dangerous environment.

              “When governments surveil women, they are working to destroy them,” said Marwa Fatafta, MENA Policy Manager at Access Now. “Surveillance is an act of violence. It is about exerting power over every aspect of a woman’s life through intimidation, harassment, and character assassination. The NSO Group and its government clients are all responsible, and must be publicly exposed and disgraced.”

              Led by Front Line Defenders, the new investigation reveals the true extent of the impact invasive surveillance has on targeted women, exploring the personal journeys of human rights defenders, Ebtisam Al-Saegh and Hala Ahed Deeb.

    • Defence/Aggression

    • Environment

      • Opinion | Tonga's Volcanic Tsunami Foreshadows Effects of Glacier Melt From CO2

        A massive eruption in an undersea volcano, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, 40 miles north of the South Pacific island of Tongatapu on Saturday caused a low-level tsunami and flooding on the island, the most populous in the Tonga archipelago. The tsunami spread out from there, causing one- to three-foot waves in Hawaii and some one-foot waves on the West Coast of the US and down to Chile. The waves created rip tides that endangered marinas and swimmers. Further eruptions cannot be ruled out.

      • Energy

        • [Cryptocurrency] Enthusiasts Meet Their Match: Angry Gamers

          But to some, the [cryptocurrency] craze has gone too far, too fast. Skeptics argue that cryptocurrencies and related assets like NFTs are digital Ponzi schemes, with prices artificially inflated beyond their true value. Some question whether cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, which are slippery concepts, have any long-term utility.

          Nowhere has there been more unhappiness than in the games community, where clashes over [cryptocurrency] have increasingly erupted between users and major game studios like Ubisoft, Square Enix and Zynga. In many of the encounters, the gamers have prevailed — at least for now.

    • Finance

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • Misinformation/Disinformation

      • Cognitive cascades: How to model (and potentially counter) the spread of fake news

        Understanding the spread of false or dangerous beliefs—often called misinformation or disinformation—through a population has never seemed so urgent. Network science researchers have often taken a page from epidemiologists, and modeled the spread of false beliefs as similar to how a disease spreads through a social network. However, absent from those disease-inspired models is an internal model of an individual’s set of current beliefs, where cognitive science has increasingly documented how the interaction between mental models and incoming messages seems to be crucially important for their adoption or rejection. Some computational social science modelers analyze agent-based models where individuals do have simulated cognition, but they often lack the strengths of network science, namely in empirically-driven network structures. We introduce a cognitive cascade model that combines a network science belief cascade approach with an internal cognitive model of the individual agents as in opinion diffusion models as a public opinion diffusion (POD) model, adding media institutions as agents which begin opinion cascades. We show that the model, even with a very simplistic belief function to capture cognitive effects cited in disinformation study (dissonance and exposure), adds expressive power over existing cascade models. We conduct an analysis of the cognitive cascade model with our simple cognitive function across various graph topologies and institutional messaging patterns. We argue from our results that population-level aggregate outcomes of the model qualitatively match what has been reported in COVID-related public opinion polls, and that the model dynamics lend insights as to how to address the spread of problematic beliefs. The overall model sets up a framework with which social science misinformation researchers and computational opinion diffusion modelers can join forces to understand, and hopefully learn how to best counter, the spread of disinformation and “alternative facts.”

    • Censorship/Free Speech

    • Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press

      • Kashmiri Media Describe Toll of Legal Harassment

        Shah said that cases like the one against Gul, in which reporters or media outlets are accused of sharing or posting anti-national sentiment, are increasing in Kashmir, and that the threat of legal action is having an impact in a region where journalism plays a significant role.

        It’s not an isolated problem. Lawsuits against media are on the rise across India, with a growing trend of judicial harassment and intimidation against those who do not toe the line of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said Daniel Bastard, the Asia-Pacific lead for media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • IFF writes to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT on the “Bulli Bai” and “Sulli Deals” Incidents

        The recent “Bulli Bai” and “Sulli Deals” incidents, a fake online auction of almost 100 Muslim women, was a blatant violation of their data security and privacy rights. It severely impacted their constitutional right to life and free speech by displaying sensitive information without consent. Hence, we have sent a letter to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology requesting them to investigate the matter to understand the reasons behind the delayed response of the relevant authorities.

    • Monopolies

      • States appeal a judge’s decision to throw out their Facebook antitrust case.

        Nearly four dozen states on Friday asked a federal appeals court to reconsider an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook that a judge threw out last year.

        In June, Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia said the states had waited too long after some of the deals under scrutiny were made to file their suit.

      • Download tool: Music industry is suing the host provider of Youtube DL

        Whether YouTube DL facilitates copyright infringement has been the subject of heated debate for years. The Association of the US Music Industry (RIAA) had the Python library initially blocked on GitHub in autumn 2020 on the basis of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). After loud protests, the platform operated by Microsoft restored the directory a little later. She justified this by saying that the software did not violate the DMCA according to the assessment of her own lawyers.

        Uberspace now apparently wants to fight the matter through. The value in dispute is 100,000 euros, which does not make the procedure cheap. The Youtube DL developers write on the controversial website: The hoster has already “spent thousands of euros on his legal defense”.

      • The New Separation of Powers Formalism and Administrative Adjudication [Ed: Enemies of patent quality still pursuing new angles for scuttling PTAB, for 'daring' to squash fake patents]

        The Supreme Court has entered a new era of separation of powers formalism. Others have addressed many of the potentially profound consequences of this return to formalism for administrative law. This paper focuses on an aspect of the new formalism that has received little attention—its implications for the constitutionality of administrative adjudication. The Court has not engaged in an extensive discussion or reformulation of its separation of powers jurisprudence concerning administrative adjudication since its highly functionalist decision in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Schor more than three decades ago, but recent opinions of individual Justices show signs that such a doctrinal restatement may be on the horizon.

        Despite the current lack of doctrinal clarity, administrative adjudication is generally valid either because Congress may vest the determination of so-called “public rights” in non-Article III tribunals or because administrative agencies adjudicate cases as adjunct factfinders for the courts. The foundation for the emergent Article III formalism, advanced most prominently by Justice Gorsuch in a pair of cases involving the legality of administrative adjudication of patent validity, is a categorical rule that Article III requires an independent judiciary to have decisional authority in adjudications that affect private property (and other protected rights), in much the same way that the unitary executive principle requires Presidential control over matters within the executive branch. Under this view, however, the judicial power is subject to a formalistic, historically defined exception for matters of public rights, which can be adjudicated without the involvement of the judiciary. This approach may be gaining traction as part of the broader resurgence of separation of powers formalism.

        We argue, however, that Justice Gorsuch’s approach is flawed because it does not account for the structural role of the Article III judiciary. Although the cases have long recognized that Article III has both structural and individual rights components, separation of powers is ordinarily understood primarily in structural terms. Article III analysis therefore must account for the structural role of the Article III courts and protect the structural interests of the federal judiciary. Focusing on the structural issues raised by non-Article III adjudication highlights two essential points. First, the status and character of the non-Article III tribunal is critical to the separation of powers analysis—a point that is typically ignored under current doctrine. Second, the structural interests of the federal courts may be implicated even when the adjudication of a matter does not implicate any individual right to an Article III court, especially in light of the courts’ role in protecting the rule of law. The rule of law applies even when executive action does not deprive anyone of a private right.

        Building on these points, our core argument is that, properly understood, most administrative adjudication is fully consistent with separation of powers formalism because it involves the execution of law by officials within the executive branch. In other words, the initial implementation of statutory provisions by agencies using quasi-judicial procedures is executive in character. This understanding brings coherence to the public rights doctrine that has long governed the constitutionality of administrative adjudication. It also reveals that the critical separation of powers question for administrative adjudication is the availability and scope of judicial review, rather than the propriety of initial administrative adjudication. It is the availability and scope of judicial review which determine the extent of any encroachment on the exercise of judicial power under Article III.

      • Inventing While a Black Woman: Passing and the Patent Archive [Ed: Patent as class and race warfare, using "law" as excuse for oppressing other people]

        This Article uses historical methodology to reframe persistent race and gender gaps in patent rates as archival silences. Gaps are absences, positioning the missing as failed non-participants. By centering Black women and letting the silences fill with whispered stories, this Article upends our understanding of the patent archive as an accurate record of US invention and reveals powerful truths about the creativity, accomplishments, and patent savviness of Black women and others excluded from the status of “inventor.” Exposing the patent system as raced and gendered terrain, it argues that marginalized inventors participated in invention and patenting by situational passing. It rewrites the legal history of the true inventor doctrine to include the unappreciated ways in which white men used false non-inventors to receive patents as a convenient form of assignment. It argues that marginalized inventors adopted this practice, risking the sanction of patent invalidity, to avoid bias and stigma in the patent office and the marketplace. The Article analyzes patent passing in the context of the legacy of slavery and coverture that constrained all marginalized inventors. Passing, while an act of creative adaptation, also entailed loss. Individual inventors gave up the public status of inventor and also, often, the full value of their inventions. Cumulatively, the practice amplified the patent gaps, systematically overrepresenting white men and thus reinforcing the biases marginalized inventors sought to avoid. The Article further argues that false inventors were used as a means of appropriating the inventions of marginalized inventors. This research provides needed context to the current effort to remedy patent gaps. Through its intersectional approach, it also brings patent law into broader conversations about how law has supported systemic racism and sexism and contributed to societal inequality.

      • Jamaica joins Madrid Protocol

        WIPO has announced that Jamaica deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol on 27 December 2021, meaning that the Protocol will enter into force in the country on 27 March 2022.

        [...]

        - in accordance with Article 8(7)(a) of the Madrid Protocol (1989), the Government of Jamaica, in connection with each international registration in which it is mentioned under Article 3ter of the said Protocol, and in connection with the renewal of any such international registration, wants to receive, instead of a share in the revenue produced by the supplementary and complementary fees, an individual fee.

      • [Guest Post] Mercado Libre’s second Transparency Report [Ed: Misuse of terms like IP (not Internet Protocol) and calling it a "right", which is also outright false]
      • What will property look like in the Metaverse? [Ed: It is not property and it's ludicrous hype like Second Life was]

        Amongst many other things, writer Neal Stephenson is famous for having coined the term “Metaverse” in his 1992 cyberpunk novel “Snow Crash”, but he has also written a lot about virtual worlds in some of his later work, particularly the novel “Reamde“, which is a techno-political thriller which introduces a popular virtual world called T’Rain. To me, T’Rain is one of the most interesting depictions of the Metaverse in fiction, it’s an open world MMO that has been designed with geologically-accurate terrain, it is vast, and has an in-game currency that is exchangeable with “real” fiat currencies. The game is designed with scarcity in mind, value is derived from the difficulty in getting things done, from transportation to gold mining, everything takes a some effort, which justifies the economic value of the currency.

      • A Look Back at India’s Top IP Developments of 2021 [Ed: The term "IP" is misleading]

        Here’s wishing all our readers a very happy, safe, and healthy new year!

        Continuing our annual tradition of recounting the significant developments that impacted the Indian IP landscape in the year that has been, we bring you a round-up of 2021’s developments.

      • Bulgaria: 7 Common Mistakes Businesses Make In The Field Of Intellectual Property And How To Avoid Them [Ed: There's no such thing as "Intellectual Property" and using this lie discredits the motivation of the messenger]

        Intellectual property rights are valuable assets to any business. A patent or utility model protects new technologies and methods and establishes a monopoly over them. Trademarks protect a brand and ensure that only the brand owner can use it. Industrial design rights, in turn protect the exterior appearance of a product and establish a monopoly over that particular design. Owning IP rights can lead to significant commercial advantages and in turn, higher revenues and profits.

        Unfortunately, many businesses do not fully take advantage of IP rights. In this article, we will list some of the most commonly encountered mistakes that businesses make in this field, and we will give some suggestions on how to avoid them.

      • Patents

        • Apple Accidentally Reveals iPhone Breakthrough Feature In New Patent [Ed: Breakthrough? Hardly. What a joker.]
        • Senate committee advances Biden's USPTO, Federal Circuit picks [Ed: Biden is about to put a software patents booster from Microsoft's team in charge of USPTO]

          Two of President Biden's key nominations related to intellectual property law moved closer to confirmation on Thursday, when the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced them to the full Senate for a final vote.

          The committee voted 17-5 to advance Winston & Strawn partner Kathi Vidal to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and voted 16-6 for District Judge Leonard Stark to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears patent appeals from around the country.

          During her career as a patent litigator, Vidal has represented companies including Microsoft, Tesla, and Intel. She led Fish & Richardson's litigation group before joining Winston in 2017.

          Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana voted against Vidal based on her ties to major tech companies, an issue he said he also had with the past three PTO directors.

        • 'The system worked:' Canadian CEO of Sonos hopes his takedown of Google inspires other upstarts

          The Canadian executive who won a David-and-Goliath fight over patent infringement with Alphabet Inc.’s Google last week said he hoped his victory would inspire more technology upstarts to invest in intellectual property.

          “To take on one of the world’s most powerful companies and be able to win just shows you that we were well prepared, we are the true inventor of the category and the system worked,” Patrick Spence, CEO of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Sonos Inc., the company that introduced smart speakers to a mass audience, said in an interview.

        • SCOTUS okays Medtronic's $112 million loss in patent contract case [Ed: Misleading title; they just declined an intervention or escalation]

          The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a request by medical-device maker Medtronic Inc to review a case involving surgical-screw patents, letting stand a $112 million verdict against the company for breaching a royalty agreement.

          Medtronic had argued that the case, brought by a spinal surgeon in 2014, didn't belong in state court because it arose under federal patent law, which is reserved exclusively for federal courts.

          The company argued the high court should hear the dispute because lower courts are divided on how to determine when an issue of patent law requires a case to be heard in federal court.

        • Nike sues Lululemon for patent infringement over Mirror home gym

          Nike Inc. has launched a lawsuit against Lululemon Athletica Inc. accusing the athletic apparel maker of patent infringement with its new Mirror home gym.

          The American fitness giant claims Vancouver-based Lululemon’s electronic device for streaming workout classes and its accompanying mobile applications violate Nike’s “robust portfolio of patents” protecting decades of digital sport innovations.

          [...]

          It comes on the heels of Lululemon’s lawsuit against Peloton Interactive Inc. that accused the stationary bicycle maker of selling “knock-off” bras and pants.

          Lululemon acquired Mirror in 2020 as the pandemic catapulted the at-home fitness market to new heights.

        • PODA Granted US Patent for Closed Bottom Vaporizer Pod

          - PODA HOLDINGS, INC. ("Poda" or the "Company") (CSE: PODA) (FSE: 99L) (OTCQB: PODAF) is pleased to announce that it has been granted a US Patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office concerning US Application 16/340,058 for Poda's Closed Bottom Vaporizer Pod. US Patent 11,206,869 B2 was granted on December 28th, 2021.

        • U.S. Chief Justice Roberts pledges to review patent venue rules [Ed: US patent courts going rogue -- to the point where the Supreme Court steps in]

          In a year-end report on the federal judiciary, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said he would direct the Judicial Conference of the United States to address how venue is chosen for patent cases.

          Calling the issue "arcane but important," Roberts acknowledged concerns that patent plaintiffs are funneling cases into a Waco, Texas federal court, and promised the Judicial Conference would work with Congress to make changes if needed.

          The ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had asked Roberts in November to review potential patent forum shopping, citing the "extreme concentration of patent litigation" in U.S. District Judge Alan Albright's court and the "unseemly and inappropriate conduct that has accompanied this phenomenon."

          The senators said nearly 25% of all U.S. patent litigation is pending before Albright, and that he has solicited cases at lawyers' meetings and "repeatedly ignored binding case law" in denying transfer motions, among other things.

          Critics say Albright's patent-owner friendly policies attract alleged "patent trolls" to his court.

        • Covid sparks surge in innovation with 5,070 new patent applications [Ed: Patent lawyers' death cult, celebrating the deaths of millions for the sake of patent profits; innovation as in what? Death?]

          5,070 global patent applications* relating to Covid-19 have been published since the start of the pandemic, shows a new analysis by leading intellectual property law firm Mathys & Squire. The most common type of patent application relates to Covid testing and diagnosis, accounting for 1,668 patents (33% of the total). 325 patents related to face masks (6%), while just 55 related to sanitizer and 38 to ventilators/respirators. Mathys & Squire says a key reason why testing is the most common subcategory of Covid patents is the growing acceptance that the virus has become endemic and societies will have to learn to live with it. As a result, Covid testing has become a viable long-term business model. The law firm says many more Covid patent applications can be expected this year, as it can take up to 18 months for the patent publication process to be completed.

        • New Motorola phone with wrap around display receives patent [Ed: So much fascination with patents (could be vapourware) instead of actual products)]

          Motorola has recently applied for a patent for a wrap-around screen display designed for a smartphone device. The patent has been brought to life in new renders that show the screen seamlessly stretching around both sides and edges of the handset. Back in June 2020, Motorola applied for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a device with a wrap-around display. The actual name of the patent filing reads “Unitary pre-formed fascia tension at least two sides of an electronic device housing and corresponding methods and devices.” The patent, published on December 23, 2021, describes in detail the manufacturing process of a smartphone that is completely wrapped with a flexible display screen.

        • The ‘loneliness’ of starting your own IP firm [Ed: There's no such thing as "IP" and these "professionals" likely claim to cover things they know nothing about, using this fictional, nebulous umbrella, much like "clown computing"]

          Managing IP speaks to five IP professionals about what they’ve learned from going out on their own

        • Opinion: France’s six-month IP plan is welcome but too ambitious [Ed: Max Walters speaks of "‘business-backed’ UPC", but what business? Litigation business? American patent cartels that profit from letting COVID-19 spread and mutate?]

          France boldly throws its weight behind ‘business-backed’ UPC, but the next six months is unlikely to see the project come to life

        • Exclusive: IP5 joint meeting with TM5/ID5 scrapped

          The EPO will still host the next IP5 meeting in June, but trademarks and designs won’t be on the agenda as planned

        • UK: When Does A Disclosure Invalidate A Patent? [Ed: EPO violates confidentiality, discrediting the whole system]

          This brief article explains why and when a public disclosure invalidates a patent. Most inventors and designers do understand that new developments need to be kept confidential prior to making a decision as to whether to apply for legal patent protection or not.

          The confidentiality requirement in many territories around the world is required by law, and the UK is one of these.

          To be granted a valid patent, one of the requirements is that your invention must be novel. Disclosing your invention publicly in any form before the filing date of your patent application can prove fatal to your patent application (or granted patent).

          However, before taking the leap into patenting an idea, the designer will often want to first test their development. One or more prototypes are therefore often required.

        • Software Patents

          • [Older] UK: Drafting AI Patent Applications For Success At The EPO (1) – Patent Eligibility And Claim Drafting [Ed: k00ks and patent lawyers referring to patents on algorithms, which aren't permitted, as "AI inventions"]

            In this article, we take a practical look at the different types of AI inventions that might be encountered and how to formulate claims for each category in view of the European Patent Office's patent eligibility requirements.

            [...]

            At the far left of the figure sit the Applied-AI inventions. These are where the invention lies (as the name would suggest) in the manner in which a known AI algorithm is used. These correspond to the second of the EPO's two dimensions – inventions that the EPO considers technical by means of "adaption to a field of technology".

            The blue box represents inventions that amount to "a better classifier". For these inventions, machine learning may be used to improve or automate known processes. Classifying medical images as containing lesions based on a corpus of annotated training images would be an example of this kind of invention.

            The green box represents inventions where AI is incidental to the invention, and merely one way that the invention might be realised. For example, the invention might involve a step of "predicting", in which case the predictions may be made using a machine learning model (but might also be performed using other methods). For Inventions of this type, AI is an implementation detail, but not the main invention.

            The yellow box represents perhaps the most interesting inventions that, whilst not representing improvements to fundamental AI algorithms, are only possible because of the advent of AI. Real-time camera effects and interactive filters are a good example of inventions of this type. Others include models for performing robotic surgery or self-driving vehicles.

          • The Economic Case Against Licensing Negotiation Groups in the Internet of Things [Ed: Well, many of these are just bogus patents disguised as buzzwords because software patents would not pass muster]

            Competition policy generally prohibits coordination among buyers or sellers, especially coordination on price, price-related inputs, and output. In licensing markets for standard-essential patents (“SEPs”), it has been periodically proposed that this rule should be relaxed to permit the formation of licensing negotiation groups (“LNGs”), which is expected to reduce transaction costs and the purportedly “excessive” royalties paid to SEP licensors. Based on the economic structure of wireless technology markets, and empirical evidence from over three decades of SEP licensing, this policy intervention is likely to degrade, rather than enhance, competitive conditions in wireless communications and other 5G-enabled markets encompassed by the “Internet of Things.” In the short term, LNGs would most likely result in a redistributive (not an efficiency) effect that shifts economic value from innovators to implementers in the wireless technology supply chain without necessarily passing on cost-savings to consumers. In the medium to longer term, LNGs are liable to impose significant efficiency losses by endangering the viability of licensing-based monetization models that have funded continuous R&D investment, promoted broad dissemination of technology inputs, facilitated robust entry in device production, and enabled transformative business models across a wide range of industries. While LNGs may reduce the transaction costs of SEP licensing, pooling structures have a demonstrated record of having achieved the same objective in patent-intensive information technology markets at a substantially lower risk of competitive harm.

      • Trademarks

        • A day in the life of a trademark litigator: Brett Heavner [Ed: Finnegan pays this publisher and gets spammy ads/marketing in exchange, albeit it's disguised as "news" or "reporting"]

          The Finnegan partner tells Managing IP about TTAB challenges, fighting dangerous counterfeits and why he’s stayed at his firm for 25 years

        • Cyberspace and courts: where TM battles will be won or lost [Ed: Monopolies-loving trademark maximalists left in disarray as social control media is hard to police]

          Sources suggest more IP disputes will go viral in 2022. But what do brand owners need to consider before engaging in a social media war?

        • Fighting fire with fire: how to combat new-age counterfeiting [Ed: Trademark tackles copycats; stop saying "IP owners" and other such nonsense, as that short buzzword contains no less than 3 lies]

          Sources from China and India explain how counterfeiters are using technology to boost their business, and how IP owners can fight them

        • Denmark: No likelihood of confusion between trademarks based on the same fictional character

          On 5 November 2021, the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court (the Court) issued a ruling between Kejser Sausage ApS (‘Kejser Sausage’) and Keyser KBH ApS among others (‘Keyser’).

          The case concerned Kejser Sausage’s gourmet hot dog stand in Copenhagen, which used the trademark ‘Kejser Sausage’. Elsewhere in Copenhagen, Keyser used the name ‘Keyser Social’ for its restaurant. The question at hand was whether ‘Keyser Social’ infringed Kejser Sausage’s trademark right.

          First, the Court concluded that the trademark ‘Kejser Sausage’, although the element “sausage” was descriptive (given that the hot dog stand sold sausages), in its entirety was distinctive and consequently protectable under the Danish Trademark Act and the Danish Marketing Practice Act. In this regard it should be noted that under Danish law, a trademark can be established either by registration or by commencement of use, provided that the extent of the use has more than mere local significance.

        • May The Attractive Force Be With You

          Unregistered rights are protected by the law of passing off in the UK. In the recent decision of the IPEC in Stone v Wenman, the court reiterated and applied some key principles in the law of passing off.

          The Claimant in the case, a spiritual author and holistic therapist, applied for and registered the mark ARCHANGEL ALCHEMY in 2019 in relation to training courses. She then brought a claim against the Defendant, active in the same field, for infringing her registered right. The Defendant filed a counterclaim in passing off, claiming that she had in fact been using the sign ARCHANGEL ALCHEMY since 2010 to offer her services.

          The first key issue was whether the Defendant had generated sufficient goodwill prior to the relevant date in the sign ARCHANGEL ALCHEMY to succeed in her counterclaim for passing off. The relevant date for the counterclaim was the date of first use by the Claimant of the mark, which the court found be in September 2019.

          The Claimant’s first argument was that the phrase ARCHANGEL ALCHEMIST was only an allusive or descriptive way for the Defendant to advertise a module of her training courses. However, the judge noted that the Claimant herself had advised the court that she chose the mark ARCHANGEL ALCHEMIST due to its originality. Although the sign had sometimes used to describe the Defendant herself as THE ARCHANGEL ALCHEMIST or her methods as ARCHANGEL ALCHEMY, this did not necessarily mean that use and other evidenced use of the phrase did not constitute use as a sign.

          [...]

          The second key issue was whether the Claimant’s use therefore infringed under the law of passing off. In seeking to make out her trade mark infringement claim against the Defendant, the Claimant had admitted that she herself had used the mark in trade, that the services provided by both parties were identical, and that the customer base of both parties were one and the same. There was therefore no question of whether the Claimant’s use of ARCHANGEL ALCHEMY would mislead consumers under passing off.

          This case reminds us that goodwill, or the “attractive force that brings in custom”, does not need to be substantial, only more than trivial. The judge was particularly persuaded by testimonials from the Defendant’s customers who described knowing the Defendant by her brand. The detailed discussion of the evidence is a lesson for brand owners that keeping good records of brand use is essential for claiming reputation or goodwill. It also reminds us that when facing a counterclaim based on prior rights, a Claimant should carefully consider the pros and cons of making admissions in relation to the similarity of the marks, goods and services, and average consumer.

      • Copyrights

        • Copyright law and football matches: impossible to match? (Part II)

          These choices, which may distinguish the broadcasting and filming from the underlying unprocessed facts of the game, can be expressed in various creative stages, as noted in the CJEU’s Painer decision (C-145/10, par. 89): in the preparation phase, when filming the event and by making editorial choices after the filming phase.

          Choices and constraints: is originality hidden in the details?

          Both the filming and the broadcasting of the match consist of a complex combination of choices and decisions made at various levels, often in collaboration between several contributors.

          The sports director decides on the camera position and the coverage plan for each camera, the visual logic to be followed, what kinds of shots and camera movements to use during the production, and the development of animated wipes used for replays and transitions. They also instruct the technical director how to select the images coming from multiple cameras according to the “storytelling” opted for. Multiple camera operators “propose” shots for selection to the control room. The sports director or the technical director acting on the instructions of the sports director (and possibly in creative collaboration with them) will continuously select the images that will be broadcast live from the “gallery” of video monitors displaying all camera sources.

          Even though constraints regarding shot selection are imposed by the rules and the purpose of the game itself, the director’s choices create a specific viewer experience which has been designed by the director. For instance, the audiovisual representation of the game may be characterised by wide and barely interrupted filming, placing the emphasis on the fluidity of the game, the visibility of tactics, the animation of the system and collective movement without the ball; or the focus could, more individualistically, be on the player who carries the ball, where shots are multiplied so the fluidity of the game is more often interrupted, while the techniques and skills of the individual players are emphasised.

        • Copyright law and football matches: impossible to match? (Part I)

          At the same time, a global paradigm of online piracy enabling the retransmission of sports events on a worldwide basis has dynamically emerged. In this context, an important question is whether the classic copyright and related rights protection offers a solid legal basis for combatting online piracy, specifically regarding the broadcasting of live sports events, or whether the sports industry should be granted additional exclusivity through the establishment at EU level of specific protection, as is the case in certain Member States (currently Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Spain provide specific audiovisual rights, see: European Audiovisual Observatory, Mapping report on national remedies against online piracy of sports content, 17 December 2021).

          This post is divided in two parts. In the first part, the application of the EU concept of work in football matches is discussed (Part I). The second part explores the possible sources of originality in the filming and broadcasting of the match (Part II).

        • Around the IP Blogs

          The Kluwer Copyright Blog wrote about the EU concept of work in relation to football matches (see here) and the possible sources of originality in the filming and broadcasting of the match (see here).

        • Bombay HC Clarifies the Contours of Copyright Infringement and Confidentiality Law

          The Bombay High Court in Tarun Wadhwa v. Saregama India Ltd & Anr deliberated upon the intersection of copyright infringement and confidentiality law and held that ideas cannot be copyrighted but can be protected through the application of confidentiality law.

          [...]

          A major portion of the judgment is spent on explaining the application of confidentiality law through contracts and in equity to hold that when seeking protection for information what is necessary is that such information should not be in the public domain and there must be precise identification of such proprietary information. Particularly, “precision, originality, and completeness of disclosure” was held to be essential to a case of confidentiality. The requirement in confidentiality law is the novelty of information.

          Elaborating further regarding this distinction, the judge noted the breach of confidentiality and infringement of copyright are closely connected. Claims that cannot be covered under copyright infringement are often brought under breach of confidentiality. Hence, it was noted that “an idea, in particular, cannot be the subject of a copyright infringement action; but it may be the subject of breach of confidentiality”.

        • Around the IP Blogs - The IPKat

          SpicyIP analysed a recent decision from the Bombay High Court, in which it was decided that ideas cannot be copyrighted but can be protected through the application of confidentiality law.

        • Columbia Pictures Targets "Spider-Man" Leak Coverage with DMCA Notice

          An anti-piracy outfit, acting on behalf of Columbia Pictures, asked Google to remove our news article on the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" leak. And that's not the only error. The same notice targets several other news sites and even the website of competitor Sony Pictures is flagged as a pirate operation.



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