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Links 25/10/2021: pg_statement_rollback 1.3 and Lots of Patent Catchup



  • GNU/Linux

    • Linux Release Roundup #21.43: MX Linux 21, FreeOffice 2021, Twake 2.0 and More Releases

      In the Linux Release Roundup series, we summarize the new distribution and application version releases in the past week. This keeps you informed of the latest developments in the Linux world.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • Create and Manage KVM Virtual Machines via Command Line

        KVM (Kernel based Virtual Machine) is an opensource virtualization technology built for Linux machines. It comprises a kernel module – kvm.ko which provides the core virtualization platform and a processor-specific module ( kvm-intel.ko for Intel processors or kvm-amd.ko for AMD processors ).

        There are two ways of creating virtual machines using KVM. You can leverage the virt-manager tool which is an X11 server that provides a GUI interface for creating virtual machines. Additionally, you can use the command line to create a virtual machine by defining various parameters associated with the virtual machine you want to deploy.

      • How to Install Gitea using Docker on Ubuntu 20.04

        Gitea is a free and open-source software package for self-hosting a Git server. It also offers collaborative features like bug tracking, wikis, and code review. Gitea is a community-driven and lightweight code solution written in Go.

        Developers need to regularly merge their code changes into a central repository when working. It can happen that you need to have a private central repository for your team that you will host and manage by yourself. You can use Gitea for this purpose. It is similar to GitHub, Bitbucket, and so on.

        In this tutorial, we learn how to install Gitea using docker on Ubuntu 20.04.

      • How to Install Mono Framework on Linux Mint 20 - LinuxCapable [Ed: Better avoided. Microsoft trap.]

        Mono is a free, open-source development platform based on the .NET Framework. Mono’s .NET implementation is based on the ECMA/ISO standards for C# and the Common Language Infrastructure. The Mono project has been in development for over a decade and continues to feature in many applications.

        In the following tutorial, you will know how to install and configure Mono on your Linux Mint 20 system.

      • [Fixed] Permission Denied: Are You Root? Error in Ubuntu

        You follow some tutorial on the internet that tells you to install a certain program or run some command. Probably it is something to do with a server.

        But when you run the command, you encounter this error:

        E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend – open (13: Permission denied) E: Unable to acquire the dpkg frontend lock (/var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend), are you root?

      • How to Install Python 3.10 on Linux Mint 20 - LinuxCapable

        Python is one of the most popular high-level languages, focusing on high-level and object-oriented applications from simple scrips to complex machine learning algorithms.

      • How to Install Rust Programming Language on Linux Mint 20 - LinuxCapable

        Rust is an open-source systems programming language that focuses on speed, memory safety, and parallelism. Developers use Rust to create a wide range of new software applications, such as game engines, operating systems, file systems, browser components, and simulation engines for virtual reality. Rust is syntactically similar to C++ but can guarantee memory safety by using a borrow checker for validating references.

        For users, especially developers wanting to try out Rust Programming language, you will know how to install Rust Programming Language on Linux Mint 20.

      • How to Install SVN on RHEL-Based Linux Distributions

        Written in C programming language, Apache Subversion, colloquially abbreviated as SVN, is a free and open-source versioning control system that keeps track of historical versions of files and directories.

        Simply put, SVN is simply a version tracker that allows users to send changes made to files to a repository that tracks who made the changes in each file. The repository is similar to a file server. The difference is that it tracks changes and allows you to recover older versions of code or probe the history of the file changes.

      • How to Sync Files in Two-Way Using Osync Script in Linux

        You might ask yourself, why do I need a two-way/bidirectional file synchronization solution?

        [...]

        This stateful synchronizer acts as a rsync wrapper. Osync is attributed as stateful because it is not obligated to monitor the targeted files for changes. This attribute also makes it agentless.

        Between two runs, osync will compare replica file lists. These runs can be local-to-local or local-to-remote. The local-to-local replication run takes approximately 2 seconds whereas the local-to-remote replication run takes approximately 7 seconds.

      • How to change the default Editor from Nano in Ubuntu/Debian

        In this guide we are going to explore how to change the default editor in Ubuntu/Debian from nano to any other editor of your choice

        Linux configuration are mostly text based. Most Linux utilities use a text editor to allow you to edit configuration options and files. An example of this is utilities like crontab and visudo which will use the default editor defined to allow you to change the configurations.

      • How to delete Git tags – TecAdmin

        Tags work as an additional identifier for a particular incident. And in the case of Git, Tags are used as the reference points in your development workflow and it denotes special events like a new version release or new commit. You can create a new tag to give a reference for your newly launched version.

        We use tags for future reference of our previous releases and commits. And we can create and delete as per our convenience.

      • How to install Java 17 On Rocky Linux 8/Centos 8 – Citizix

        In this guide we are going to explore how to install Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and the Java Developer Kit (JDK) in Rocky Linux 8. This guide also works for Centos 8/Rhel 8/Alma Linux 8

        Java and the JVM (Java’s virtual machine) are required for many kinds of software, including Tomcat, Jetty, Glassfish, Cassandra and Jenkins.

        Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. Java was developed by Sun Microsystems (which is now the subsidiary of Oracle) in the year 1995. James Gosling is known as the father of Java.

      • don’t do clever things in configure scripts – Ariadne's Space

        Recently, a new version of ncurses was released and pushed to Alpine. The maintainer of ncurses in Alpine successfully built it on his machine, so he pushed it to the builders, expecting it to build fine on them. Of course, it promptly failed to build from source on the builders, because make install did not install the pkg-config .pc files to the right location.

        You might think, what a weird regression, and you’d be right. After all, pkg-config files are usually just installed to $libdir/pkgconfig in any sort of autotools-based build system. Indeed, in the past, this is what ncurses did as well.

      • Build Kubernetes pods with Podman play kube | Enable Sysadmin

        Enhancements include building images and tearing down pods with play kube and support for Kubernetes-style init containers.

      • iproute2 vs net-tools

        iproute2 package contains utilities for controlling and monitoring networking, IP address, and routing. It is a modern replacement for net-tools.

        Iproute2 is an open-source project mainly focussed on network components of the Linux kernel. The commonly used utilities inside iproute2 are ip, ss, and bridge.

        The below table shows the iproute2 and deprecated net-tools Linux commands.

      • How to Install & Configure Git on Linux Mint 20 - LinuxCapable

        Git is a mature, actively maintained open source project initially developed in 2005 by Linus Torvalds, the famous Linux operating system kernel creator. Git is designed for developers that need a pretty straightforward version control system. Most software is collaborative efforts and sometimes can have hundreds of people with commits working on software development projects. It is essential to track these commits customarily done in branches in most projects before being merged into the master for release. It is easy to review and track down any incorrect commits and revert, leading to a much easier development if anything goes wrong.

      • My experience installing Libero SoC in Ubuntu and Windows 10 - CNX Software

        A few weeks ago, I received Microchip PolarFire SoC FPGA Icicle Kit with FPGA fabric and hard RISC-V cores capable of handling Linux. I wrote “Getting Started with Yocto Linux BSP” tutorial for the board, and I had initially titled the current post “Getting Started with FPGA development using Libero SoC and Polarfire FPGA SoC”.

        I assumed I would write one or two paragraphs about the installation process, and then show how to work with Libero SoC Design Suite to create an FPGA bitstream. But instead, I spent countless hours trying to install the development tools. So I’ll report my experience to let readers avoid some of the pitfalls, and hopefully save time.

      • How To Install LAMP (Apache, MySQL, PHP) on Debian 11

        LAMP is one of the most widely used software stacks on servers because it allows us to get a working web server up and running quickly. So, in this post, you will learn how to use LAMP on Debian as well as a description of its main components.

    • Wine or Emulation

      • Wine 6.20 rolls out continuing the PE module conversion

        Just before the weekend landed the Wine team released Wine 6.20 as the latest development version with all the latest code. This is the compatibility layer that allows you to run games and applications developed for Windows - on Linux. Part of what makes up Steam Play Proton. Once a year or so, a new stable release is made.

    • Games

      • Iron Gate tease the upcoming Mistlands update for Valheim, plus updates for Mountains | GamingOnLinux

        With the Hearth & Home update now behind them, Iron Gate are focusing on the next major biome update for Valheim with the Mistlands and some smaller updates too.

        Hearth & Home took quite some time to be released since they're still quite a small team, although it was received positively once it was out as it added plenty to build and the combat was nicely overhauled to be a lot more dynamic.

      • 5.8% sales and over 38% of bug reports from Linux said one dev but it's been helpful

        According to Kodera Software, developer of the space sim ΔV: Rings of Saturn, quite a lot of bug reports come from Linux users considering the smaller share but that's not actually a bad thing. If you're interested be sure to check out our previous interview with the developer.

        Speaking in a Reddit post, creator Mariusz Chwalba mentions how a "disproportionally" large amount of bug reports for their game were being made by Linux users. After actually investigating it, the outcome was a bit of a surprise and not what might be expected. Instead of it being a case of low sales and high support needs, it's somewhat the opposite.

        For a game that's now sold over 12,000 units only 700 were from Linux so that's about 5.8% of sales. Out of 1,040 bug reports it seems that about 400 of those were made by Linux users. So on face value, that it's pretty high as Chwalba says "That’s one report per 11.5 users on average, and one report per 1.75 Linux players. That’s right, an average Linux player will get you 650% more bug reports".

      • This Game Developer Loves the Linux Community for an Unusual Reason

        The Linux community, in general, is one of the most active and helpful communities out there.

        And, a significant chunk of that can also be toxic or aggressive to newbies or someone who tries to break traditions.

        However, a game developer seems to be appreciating the Linux community for complaining too much…

    • Desktop Environments/WMs

      • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

        • Spellchecking with QML

          QML is a nice technology but it sometimes feels that some parts of KDE Frameworks aren’t neatly integrated with it. For example, until recently KNotification didn’t have QML bindings, which was the same for KSyntaxHighlighting. Thankfully Volker Krause took care of both.

          Another part of the often-used KDE Frameworks but had missing QML bindings was Sonnet. Sonnet is a very nice KDE framework powering KDE text areas with spell checking.

          The good news, Sonnet will, in the next KF5 release, supports QML apps too!

    • Distributions

      • File Searching on deepin OS

        This tutorial explains how user can search for files and folders on a deepin OS computer. deepin OS, formerly Hiweed, is a Chinese computer operating system first launched in 2004 and comes with its own user interface that is beautifully unique called DDE. This involves File Manager, the file manager of deepin OS, and in this article we use the OS version 20 and the program version 5.2. Let's start.

        On deepin OS, your file manager's name is File Manager.

      • Getting to know Fuchsia, Google's open-source operating system

        Fuchsia is not a Linux-based OS.

        This means Fuchsia doesn’t use Linux as its . Instead, it uses a new kernel (specifically, a ) called

        . Generally, microkernels tend to follow the principle of minimality, but although Zircon applies many of the concepts popularized by microkernels, it does not strive to be minimal. Fuchsia’s microkernel architecture helps to reduce the amount of trusted code running in the system.

        Here’s a simple comparison between general OS kernel services and Zircon kernel services: [...]

      • Reviews

        • Review: Ubuntu 21.10

          Ubuntu 21.10 (code name Impish Indri) and its many variant flavors were released on October 14. This release is a non-Long Term Support release, meaning it will be supported for nine months. Like all new releases of Ubuntu, Ubuntu 21.10 comes with numerous updates and enhancements. The most notable of these changes are the customized GNOME 40 desktop and Firefox being a Snap instead of a Deb package. Both of these changes are explored in depth in this review.

          Installing Ubuntu 21.10

          I began by downloading the 2.9GB ISO and copying it to a flash drive. Booting the computer from the flash drive resulted in an extremely familiar experience. Unfortunately, the new installer currently being worked on did not make it into this release, so Ubuntu 21.10 still provides the same installation experience as all the recent releases of Ubuntu.

        • elementary OS 6 – A Beautiful OS for Open Source Lovers

          elementary OS is an open-source Ubuntu-based distro and one of the most awesome GNU/Linux distros ever that has gained a lot of traction over the years

          elementary OS is usually mentioned only in light of macOS and sometimes Windows, given that it features a beautiful and consistent UI which makes it an ideal replacement; it deserves to stand out more because its active community of developers has not only successfully delivered a unique distro, all of its apps are custom built and they are lovely!

          It’s excellent for both Linux beginners and pros which is evident in how artistically comprehensive their online documentation is. The team succeeded in keeping to the 3 core rules of their design philosophy which are: “concision”, “avoid configuration” and “minimal documentation”.

          I recently gave elementary OS 6 “Odin” a test drive and here are my thoughts.

        • Distrowatch Top 5 Distributions review: MX Linux

          I didn’t like the layout of the main panel being on the side, and I’m not a big fan of Xfce typically...but once I organized things a little more to my liking, I found MX Linux was a pleasure to use, responsive, fast, and had more tools than you can shake a stick at...So new users will likely not need to use the terminal for anything really, it’s all right there in nice custom-made GUI tools, however, power users may also find the simplicity of some of these tools quite handy too.

          Being based on Debian will also help to ensure that MX Linux stays rock solid stable, and there should rarely be crashes or broken packages. I would recommend MX Linux to anyone who cares more about stability than bleeding edge package updates, as well as people looking for a strong distribution that does not use Systemd.

      • SUSE/OpenSUSE

        • Innovating Freely with Kubernetes

          The opportunity and impetus to innovate have never been greater. Around the world, enterprises understand their future success will hinge on their ability to differentiate through digital innovation. As a result, technology leaders are now in a race to put differentiated applications into production, and deploy them in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

          In this recent article, I discussed the factors organisations need to consider in building a robust hybrid and multi-cloud strategy. In another article, we looked at how Kubernetes fosters innovation across hybrid, multi-cloud and edge environments and the capabilities a Kubernetes platform needs to have to address the requirements of both development and operations teams.

          Now let’s talk about how organisations can innovate freely with Kubernetes. Kubernetes has quickly become a foundational technology because it is able to abstract the complexity surrounding hybrid and multi-cloud environments and enables digital innovation.

      • IBM/Red Hat/Fedora

        • Looking ahead to Fedora Linux 35

          As Fedora gears up for the new release of Fedora Linux 35, let’s take a moment to learn about how Fedora assembles each new distribution and what to expect in the upcoming Fedora Linux 35 release. Thanks to Ben for responding to this interview. We previously interviewed Ben as part of “How do you Fedora?” in 2020.

          Fedora Linux releases every six months — at the end of April and October. Development begins when the previous release branches from Rawhide, which is our rolling development branch. Fedora Linux 35 branched on 10 August, so at that point anything that lands in Rawhide will be for Fedora Linux 36.

        • Celebrating our brand, people and culture during We Are Red Hat Week [Ed: Between the lines one can read that yet another executive quit Red Hat; I've lost count of them and no doubt IBM is quickly destroying Red Hat, driving away if not laying off key workers; those who can, already leave or job-hunt because IBM is a dying company. DeLisa Alexander left the firm this year, not long after the IBM takeover and 20 years after joining. I think it’s a big deal when your “Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer” leaves way before retirement age and months before Jim AllowHurst leaves too. What do they know?]

          When I joined as chief people officer in April of this year, I had a feeling that Red Hat was going to be the right place for me because of the culture and our values. The last seven months have proven that intuition correct. Red Hatters not only welcomed me, but they embraced me and my ideas, despite coming from outside the company, and I’ve had incredible opportunities to see our open culture in action.

          We talk about culture a lot. It’s become a bit of a buzz word around the industry, but too often it refers to casual dress codes, free candy and ping pong tables. But culture is so much more than that. At Red Hat, it’s about how we work, how we treat each other, how we develop ideas, and having a shared passion and purpose. That’s what makes Red Hat unique. (We do have plenty of fun too!)

    • Devices/Embedded

    • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

      • Web Browsers

        • Mozilla

          • Firefox 93.0 SFS created

            I have created Firefox version 93.0 SFS for EasyOS 3.x.

            If you are running EasyOS 3.x, click on "sfsget" icon on the desktop, and you can download and install the Firefox SFS.

      • SaaS/Back End/Databases

  • Leftovers

    • Science

      • Twitter suspends GOP Rep. Banks for misgendering trans health official

        Banks stood by his decision to issue the tweet. In a statement issued through Twitter on Saturday from his personal account, he said, “My tweet was a statement of fact. Big Tech doesn’t have to agree with me, but they shouldn’t be able to cancel me. If they silence me, they will silence you.”

    • Education

      • Opinion | Don't Mistake School Board Protests for a Grassroots Campaign

        School board meetings have been in the news lately, with parents and community members taking aim at board members and the policies they’re trying to implement.

      • “The Liberty Way”: How Liberty University Discourages and Dismisses Students’ Reports of Sexual Assaults

        When Elizabeth Axley first told Liberty University officials she had been raped, she was confident they’d do the right thing. After all, the evangelical Christian school invoked scripture to encourage students to report abuse.

        “Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves, for the rights of all who need an advocate. —Proverbs 31:8.” It was quoted in large type across an information sheet from the school’s office tasked with handling discrimination and abuse.

      • Using ICT to improve learning outcomes in India’s schools

        A computer-aided instruction programme in Gujarat replaced some time spent on the normal lessons taught at school. A 2008 study showed that this lead to lower scores, showing that simply using computers can be harmful to learning. In contrast, progammes allowing students to read grade-level content at their own pace have a moderate positive impact. Similarly, in Peru, the “One Laptop per Child” programme increased the ratio of computers to students in schools, but was shown to have no impact of test scores in maths and language subjects. On the other hand, applications that deliver personalised content depending on the student’s learning level might provide much higher outcomes. Technology, if used effectively, has the potential to greatly improve the quality of education for millions of students in the country.

      • Scholars criticise one-sided favourable portrayal of Islam in Austrian schoolbooks

        Specifically, the experts criticise the portrayal of historical events. For example, the Crusades are portrayed very negatively in the books, and the reconquest of Mecca by the Prophet Mohammed as a purely peaceful act. “In addition, the teachings of Islam are sometimes misrepresented,” the expert emphasises. She is also critical of the portrayal of the headscarf. For example, one textbook says that many Muslim girls and women wear a headscarf for religious reasons, which is why they are “mobbed by some people”. This is not wrong in principle, but it is one-sided: “The reality is that girls without headscarves are also bullied in Austrian schools.

    • Hardware

      • Is A Diode A Switch? | Hackaday

        Many hardware people around these parts will be familiar with devices used as switches, using at least three-terminals to effect this, an input, an output and a gate. Typical devices that spring to mind are bipolar transistors, triacs and and ye olde triode valve. Can you use a diode to switch a signal even if it has only two terminals? Of course you can, and it’s a tried and trusted technique very common in test equipment and circuits that handle RF signals. (Video, embedded below.)

    • Health/Nutrition

      • Is internet addiction a growing problem?

        Mr Adair, a 32-year-old Canadian, has gone on to become the founder of Game Quitters, an online support group for people struggling with gaming addiction. It now has more than 75,000 members around the globe.

      • 'It's Not Coming Out': Bernie Sanders Stands Firm on Medicare Expansion

        "It is inconceivable and unconscionable to me that there is any risk for a paid leave being on the chopping block... The fact that something this administration has run on and Congress has championed would not be a priority to me is unbelievable."

      • FDA Approves Another Interchangeable Biosimilar Drug

        On October 15th, the Food and Drug Administration approved its second interchangeable biosimilar drug. That drug is Cyltezo (adalimumab-adbm), produced by Boehringer Ingelheim, which obtained biosimilar approval on August 25, 2017. In this recent approval, the FDA determined that Cyltezo is interchangeable with AbbVie's Humira (adalimumab), its reference product. Cyltezo is the first monoclonal antibody biosimilar to be deemed an interchangeable biosimilar drug product.

    • Integrity/Availability

      • Proprietary

        • Security

          • Josh Bressers: Episode 294 – Chris Wysopal on the state of security education

            Josh and Kurt talk to Chris Wysopal, AKA Weld Pond, about security education. We talk about the current state of how we are learning about security as students and developers. What the best way to get developers interested in learning more about security? We end the show with fantastic advice from Chris for anyone new to the field of technology or security.

          • Privacy/Surveillance

            • Facebook whistleblower: shareholders would oust Zuckerberg if they could

              Haugen’s comments come as Facebook continues to find itself roiled in a myriad of issues after an initial series launched by the Wall Street Journal, which included leaked documents from the former Facebook product manager, indicated that the social media platform knew Instagram was harmful to some of its younger uses, did not take steps to address COVID-19 misinformation and was not doing enough to address cartels and traffickers using the platform.

    • Defence/Aggression

      • On U.S. Intelligence’s Wiki, Anxiety About Legal Challenges To Drone Strikes

        Pervading the document is an alarm at “growing international opposition” to the lethal operations, “in particular by civil rights activists, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and several international law professors.” Considering the power disparity between such entities and the CIA, NSA and Director of National Intelligence, it is a curious focus. The anonymous analyst or analysts who compiled the entry predict: “Those opposing targeted killing are increasing their organization and activities. If timing is more than coincidental, activists may coordinate their opposition efforts.”

        The Office of The Director of National Intelligence did not respond to two requests for comment.

        FOREVER WARS is publishing the document in full, minus some excisions for caution that do not affect the document’s narrative.

      • The baleful consequences of failing to deal with Islamist extremism

        Although the police are treating this as an Islamist terror attack, virtually all the anguished public debate since the murder has been instead about the culture of incivility on social media and the resulting threats to MPs from violent people of every stripe. Islamic extremism has been all but ignored.

        This surreal reaction reflects a perverse development in British political culture. This is an exaggeration of the risk from far-right terrorism while the much greater threat from Islamist terrorism, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the 43,000 suspects on MI5’s watch list and the overwhelming majority of recent terror convictions, has been underplayed.

      • 75 years of Noakhali Hindu genocide; thousands killed and raped, lakhs forcibly converted

        The ultimate goal of the Noakhali genocide was to transform Bengal into Dar-ul-Islam, an ‘Abode of Islam’. The police did nothing to end the blood bath, instead the Muslim Police Superintendent allegedly joined forces with the rioters. Leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru remained indifferent to this mass slaughter; Gandhi’s sermons of non-violence remained ineffective against Islamic barbarism. Contrary to the popular narrative, his intervention did not bring an end to the violence. By April 1947, he was helplessly asking the remaining Hindus to leave or die.

      • Why Hindus must remember Noakhali genocide after 75 years and learn lessons from it

        In Bangladesh (former East Pakistan), in which Noakhali exists like a charred dot, Hindu population has dwindled from 28 percent in the 1940s to about 8 percent now. Hindus have faced waves of Islamist genocidal purge — another massive one during 1971 Liberation, for instance — and even today are subjected to murders, rape, conversion, temple destruction and wanton land grab in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

        When the Taliban was taking over Afghanistan earlier this year, there were just 50 Hindus and 650 Sikhs left. Almost all of them have left since, foregoing a land once entirely inhabited by Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.

        In Kashmir, Hindus and Sikhs are again facing ethnic cleansing by Islamist terrorists, with a spate of community-targeted killings lately.

      • The Cries Of Hindus Of Bangladesh

        “This isn’t the first time that minorities in Bangladesh have come under attack,” Amnesty International’s South Asia campaigner, Saad Hammadi. “Targeting religious sensitivities to stoke communal tension is one of the worst forms of human rights violation.”

        Hindus of Bengal had witnessed the infamous 1946 Noakhali Riot and Kolkata Killings as a prelude to the bloody partition. In 1964 a sectarian violence erupted in Bangladesh on the alleged theft of hair of Muslim’s most revered prophet Muhammad in Kashmir, India.

        Of course, the genocidal campaign in 1971 by Pakistan military forces, the second such genocide after the Second World War after that of the Nazis in Germany, also had targeted the Hindus to exterminate them from East Bengal.

    • Environment

      • Corporations Claiming to Be Pro-Climate Have Donated to Sinema and Manchin
      • Opinion | How Manchin Just Positioned China to Dominate Green Energy in the 21st Century

        Coal baron Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has succeeded in blocking the part of President Biden’s Build Back Better bill that would have moved the U.S. electricity grid quickly to green energy.

      • Life and Death on the Fire Planet

        Humans have a long and intimate relationship with fire; so intimate, it’s there in our genetic code, or rather cookery is. Because of this deep relationship spanning hundreds of thousands of years, one professor of biology and society, who has devoted years to the study of human fire, Stephen Pyne, believes we should rename the entire Holocene the Anthropocene, and its most recent, industrial phase, the Pyrocene.

      • To Build a Beautiful World, You First Have to Imagine It
      • Energy

        • Opinion | Water Protectors Show That 'Another World Is Possible'—Through Resistance and Care

          A medic walked around the circle of 50 people occupying the lobby of the Department of the Interior, squirting water into our eager mouths before the police hauled us away. At the time, I had no idea that I wouldn’t be released until midnight, 12.5 hours after the action began. I just knew it was smart to stay hydrated, so I accepted every squirt of water offered, grateful for the care our Indigenous-led group was showing each other in circumstances designed to dehumanize us.

      • Overpopulation

        • The horror story of urban water wars

          South Asia, on the whole, is perceived as water rich with great civilisations thriving besides its river basins. Yet, the case of present-day Chennai stands as a glaring example of how a high-growth urban centre’s economy can be stranded in the face of resource crisis. The case of Chennai should not be taken as an aberration. Things are generally getting bad for the developing world that is encountering high rates of urbanisation.

    • Finance

      • New York Taxi Workers Stage Hunger Strike to Demand Medallion Debt Relief

        "To see drivers get past the suicides and the bankruptcies and all the heart attacks and the strokes and the utter level of despair and depression, to now being on the streets, refusing to leave until justice is won... It's workers taking back control over their lives."

      • Opinion | Public Transit, Built Back Better

        If you follow the news about President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, you might have heard a lot about its 10-year price tag. But you probably haven’t heard much about what it would actually do.

      • Opinion | Welcome to the Emergency Room. A Wall Street Honcho Will Decide Your Treatment.

        The emergency room. You go there for help when you’re really in trouble or have no place else to turn. But who decides what happens to you there? If you think the answer is “doctors,” think again. Large corporations are increasingly taking over these centers of life and death, and they are focused far less on your health than squeezing as much profit from your situation as possible.

      • Buffalo Health Care Workers Are on Strike for Better Wages and Patient Safety
      • China’s Winding Road Toward Capitalism

        What can be agreed upon is that China has experienced decades of extraordinary economic growth. But the nature of that growth, and the base upon which it has been created, are also subject to intense debate, arguments that necessarily rest on how a debater classifies the Chinese economy. An additional debate is whether China’s growth is replicable or is the product of particular conditions that can’t be duplicated elsewhere. And what should be at the forefront of any debate is how China’s working people, in the cities and in the countryside, fare under a tightly controlled system that promises to bring about a “moderately prosperous society.”

        To read this article, log in here or Subscribe here. In order to read CP+ articles, your web browser must be set to accept cookies.

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • Censorship/Free Speech

      • [Old] What Is Really Happening to Turkish Media?

        The crackdown on Turkey’s media freedom has become notorious across the globe. Yet the exact mechanisms behind this problem, and the political purposes they serve, are not always apparent. This essay offers a snapshot of what is happening to the Turkish media and what it means for the future of Turkish democracy.

        Here are the basics: Over the past 10 years, dozens of Turkish journalists have been jailed for months or sometimes years. Meanwhile, hundreds of others have been pushed out of their jobs for reasons other than the normal dynamics of journalism. And despite their diverse ideological backgrounds, all of these unlucky journalists had one simple common trait: They were critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan and his political movement led by the incumbent Justice and Development Party, or AKP. The mechanisms behind this crackdown operate on both the legal level and the political-economic level.

    • Freedom of Information/Freedom of the Press

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • On the Fascist Stench That Hangs Over this Still-Trumped Land
      • Looking to Get Cops Off Your Campus? Start Here.
      • The Right to Vote Should Be Available to Everyone -- Including Prisoners Like Me
      • Tibetan language learning eroded under China's 'bilingual education': rights group

        In practice, this policy means Chinese is the main medium of instruction, with only one class dedicated to Tibetan, the rights group said, adding that the next generations’ fluency in Tibetan was at risk.

      • China Steps Up Assimilation of Ethnic Minorities by Banning Languages in Schools

        The Diplomat reported in April 2020 that Beijing was using the social monitoring developed to contain the pandemic to increase surveillance in Tibet. Just over a year later, the Wall Street Journal reported in July that Beijing was increasing surveillance and restrictions for the 6.3 million Tibetans in China. The traditional artworks in school were all replaced by portraits of Xi Jinping.

        German anthropologist Adrian Zenz is the author of "Tibetanness" Under Threat?, a study of the modern Tibetan education system. According to his research, as of 2015, all Tibetan schools had stopped recruiting teachers who teach in the Tibetan language. After collecting job advertisements by the local government for more than 10 years, Zenz concluded that Mandarin Chinese, not Tibetan, is the primary instructional language in Tibet. Official Chinese media has disputed his work and called Zenz "a swindler in academic disguise."

      • Muezzin call in Cologne, Germany – theatre director demands permission also for anti-Islamic confessional call

        On October 15, 2021, the well-known Cologne artist, moderator and blogger Gerd Burrmann then posed the following question to the municipality of Cologne regarding religious freedom:

        “Herewith I ask for clarification of the question, during which time of the week I may let the following call resound loudly via electronic amplification across the streets and over the roofs of Cologne: [...]

      • EU Parliament tries to force commission to act on Poland

        The European Parliament said Wednesday it’s preparing legal action against the EU’s executive arm for failing to use its big guns following a Polish court decision that challenged the 27-nation bloc’s legal order.

        A Parliament statement said its president, David Sassoli, has asked legal services to prepare a lawsuit against the European Commission for its failure to apply a mechanism designed to protect the rule of law through cutting funds to member states.

        The statement did not mention a specific country that could be targeted by the mechanism, known as the conditionality regulation. But it was published a day after EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clashed with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki over the rule of law in a debate with MEPs. Poland joined the EU in 2004.

    • Digital Restrictions (DRM)

      • A Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry on the Right to Repair

        Executive Summary: The Productivity Commission is to be congratulated for producing a comprehensive discussion paper on the complex and tangled topic of the right to repair. Taking an interdisciplinary, holistic approach to the issue, the Productivity Commission shows a strong understanding that the topic of the right to repair is a multifaceted policy issue. Its draft report covers the fields of consumer law, competition policy, intellectual property, product stewardship, and environmental law. The Productivity Commission displays a great comparative awareness of developments in other jurisdictions in respect of the right to repair. The policy body is also sensitive to the international dimensions of the right to repair – particularly in light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Productivity Commission puts forward a compelling package of recommendations, which will be useful in achieving law reform in respect of the right to repair in Australia.

    • Monopolies

      • Philips Loses First Round in Battle Over Anti-Piracy Tech [Ed: 'Mike' Bloomberg has hired enough litigation maximalists to mislead the public; Decker, a big patent booster, needs to look up in a dictionary the definition of "piracy"; it might even shock her what utter nonsense she typed to protect the oligarchs who pay her salary]

        Philips lost a key ruling in its push for licenses to its anti-piracy technology after a U.S. trade judge said the company hadn’t met its burden to prove a violation of trade law by companies including Lenovo, Dell and Hisense.

      • Beijing IP Court issues fines over fake evidence

        On 10 September, the Beijing IP Court released six typical cases where it punished the relevant litigant participants and cancelled six trade marks for fake evidence in lawsuits against non-use cancellation appeal decisions. Haiyu Li and Tingxi Huo of the MARQUES China Team summarise and review the cases.

        Case 1: Fabricating test reports and advertisement registration certificates, etc (Jingzhixingchu 2015-1165)

        In the non-use cancellation case relating to the trade mark JIAJIA and its Chinese characters and Device, No 1486278, the third parties with surnames Li and Bai submitted test reports and business licences, but the trade marks in the copy and the original were inconsistent.

        The third parties also submitted advertisement registration certificates in notarized form to prove that the copy was consistent with the original. However, the dates on the certificate were inconsistent and 29 February 2013 was not a date at all. The goods descriptions on the copy and original invoices were inconsistent, too.

      • Peru on Collective Marks: aiming to create a link among communities

        Searching on the Peruvian Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Propiedad Intellectual (Indecopi) webpage, I noticed that one of the most popular events and campaigns have been on ‘collective marks’. I was curious indeed, and perhaps to learn more on the trend I clicked on the news – to my surprise I became overwhelm by the great job that the IP office is doing. As a starting point, they have friendly videos covering what a collective mark is, and how they can be an instrument of economic value but crucial to my later discussion, associations.

        Then, it is good to see that since December 2020, Indecopi eliminated the fees for the registration of collective marks. A report published by Indecopi shows how the registration of this type of marks has blossomed. For instance in the 90s and until 2017 there were 236 marks, while during 2017 and 2019 there were 4,442 registrations. The report also notes how women are leading on this type of projects especially in the artisanal sector. [here and here] A remark that I could not miss was to see collective marks for traditional handicrafts and thus, promoting cultural identity and the diversity of national flora and fauna.

      • Collective Marks - a follow up

        In Argentina, since 2008, the Collective Trademark Act (Law 26.355) provides that the registration of collective trademarks is free of charge before the Argentinian Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Intellectual INPI (art. 14). In addition, it provides that oppositions against these trademarks pay double the tariff provided for common commercial trademarks (art. 10).

        Aside, the Act contains an advanced provision for its time: it provides for the possibility of filling a collective mark through the multi-class system. This is because it was not until the 29th March 2019, that the Argentinian Government issued Decree No. 242/19 regulating provisions of the amended Trademark Law opened the possibly to file “multi-class” trademark applications in Argentina.

        In accordance to the Act, collective marks are defined as those signs that distinguish products and/or services made or provided by associative forms aimed at the development of the social economy. (art. 1) In addition, the Law’s Regulatory Decree (Decree 1384/2008), provides that collective marks are applied to indications of cultural, ethnic, historical, anthropological origin and any other that serves for the better differentiation of products and services. (art. 1)

      • Patents

        • Recent Papers on FRAND Issues and Dispute Resolution

          Kung-Chung Liu has published a short paper titled Arbitration by SSOs as a Preferred Solution for Solving the FRAND Licensing of SEPs?, 52 IIC 673-76 (2021). The author argues that the competition agencies of the U.S., E.U., Taiwan, South Korea, and the People's Republic of China should "form a consortium to oversee the self-regulation of SSOs, including [an] arbitration service, in a way that best addresses the three drawbacks" the author perceives to be "associated with traditional arbitration." For Lord Justice Richard Arnold's proposal for mandatory arbitration of SSO disputes, see here.

        • Sony Patent Lets Viewers Vote And Pay To Boot Players From Games [Ed: Very utterly dumb headline; the patent doesn't allow anything; au contraire -- it restricts people doing so]
        • Apple files patent request for drone (networking) tech

          The diversity and depth of Apple products at times suggests there’s no limit to what kind of tech the company can produce, or what new activities it might decide to get involved with. Now, a new patent filing raises the question of whether Apple is contemplating a launch into the drone sector – albeit a defined and contained part of it.

        • Fintel Announces Issuance of Second U.S. Patent, Strengthening the Company’s Intellectual Property Position in USA PATRIOT Act Section 314(b) Information Sharing Technologies

          Fintel Technologies, Inc., announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had issued it a second patent related to its innovative technology enabling financial institutions to engage in cross-institutional communication and collaboration regarding terrorist financing, money laundering, cyber-crime, and financial fraud.

          The USPTO has issued U.S. Patent No. 11,025,630 entitled, “System, method and computer-readable medium for utilizing a shared computer system.” The patent is directed to systems and methods for financial institutions to securely engage in information sharing under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act Section 314(b).

        • The IPKat team: arrivals, farewells, and news [Ed: Another exodus announced today]]

          The IPKat says goodbye to GuestKats Alex Woolgar, Thomas Key, Léon Dijkman and Peter Ling, as well as InternKat Magdaleen Jooste, who continued to contribute to the blog for the past several months.

        • Amicus Brief of Public Interest Patent Law Institute in Silbersher v. Allergan

          When companies make false statements to obtain patents that unduly inflate drug prices, it is critical that members of the public be able to recover the excessive charges the government and taxpayers bear. Shielding unlawfully gained monopoly profits from the False Claims Act will exacerbate a pernicious incentive structure, tempting patent applicants to disregard their duty of candor and good faith. Even if patents obtained through false statements are later invalidated, their owners earn billions of dollars by foreclosing competition while multi-year invalidity battles take place. Meanwhile, the public bears the costs of monopoly prices, restricted access to medicine, and diminished patent quality.

        • Patent Law's Externality Asymmetry

          Technologies such as social media, autonomous vehicles, and “big data” analytics generate enormous benefits for society, but they also create substantial harms. Social media networks spread misinformation, autonomous vehicles threaten driving jobs, and predictive policing based on big data can lead to unreasonable searches and seizures. One of the most significant ways that technology impacts society is by producing externalities—external benefits and costs that a decisionmaker (such as an inventor) imposes on third parties without charge or compensation. Externalities can cause inefficient resource allocation, and the classic remedy is to “internalize” such externalities by holding decisionmakers more accountable for the benefits and costs of their actions. Patents, which confer exclusive rights on new inventions, enable inventors to internalize a share of positive externalities from technology, thus maintaining incentives to invent. However, inventions also produce harms, and how patents treat negative externalities from new technologies has been largely overlooked. This Article is the first to extensively examine this issue. It argues that while patents internalize positive externalities associated with innovation, they do surprisingly little to internalize negative externalities. This Article refers to this underappreciated dynamic as patent law’s externality asymmetry.

          Patent law’s externality asymmetry is particularly striking when comparing patents to physical property rights. Foundational economic theory holds that property rights (including patents) emerge to internalize externalities. However, physical property rights internalize negative externalities in several ways that are inapplicable to patents. Patents do not internalize negative externalities associated with the tragedy of the commons, and they encourage rapid exploitation of technologies rather than their judicious use. Due to high transaction costs, patents do not facilitate efficiency-maximizing negotiations between patentees and people harmed by their inventions. Finally, patents create no duties for inventors to mitigate harms from their patented technologies. Turning to normative considerations, this Article argues that patent law’s externality asymmetry is highly problematic because it undermines efficiency, distributive equity, and fairness. It proposes modest reforms to patent law and a more expansive approach to innovation law and policy to help correct these deficiencies.

        • European Patent Office: Cosmetics and detergents ‘innovating most intensely’ in bioplastics [Ed: While EPO managers engage in unprecedented corruption, including multi-billion (euros) plunder, the media is being paid to relay this whitewashing and greenwashing distraction]

          The cosmetic and detergent categories are innovating most intensely in bioplastic technologies worldwide, with Europe and the US leading the charge, finds a study from the European Patent Office (EPO).

        • Court of Appeal rejects AI inventor argument [Ed: Trolling the courts is harder outside 'niche' countries; patents for bots are a laughable idea, but patent profiteers see it differently (profit opportunity)]

          On 21 September 2021, the Court of Appeal handed down its much anticipated judgment in Thaler v Comptroller General of Patents Trade Marks and Designs [2021] EWCA Civ 1374 on whether an AI machine can qualify as an "inventor" for the purposes of the Patents Act 1977 (the Patents Act).

          Dr Thaler has pursued his case across a number of jurisdictions; that his AI machine, "DABUS", can create patentable technology. He has been seeking to patent two inventions generated by the machine: a plastic food container based on fractal geometry and a flashing light (or “neural flame”) device to attract attention. The Court of Appeal found that only a person can qualify as an inventor. Consequently, as Dr Thaler accepts that the DABUS machine made the inventions in question, the Court of Appeal found that he is not entitled to apply for patents.

        • Delhi IP division rules yet to allay IPAB abolition concerns | Managing Intellectual Property [Ed: The patent maximalists keep moaning about assessment of claims and due process; they're like the people who want to fire nukes before knowing the facts. And guess what; they're the ones manufacturing the nukes!]

          Sources say the draft IP division rules introduce some major positives but the backlog of cases before the high court may impede dispute resolution

        • Due Process Argument Against PTAB Funding Structure Fails [Ed: Those 'poor' rich patent litigation lawyers, moaning about patents which should never have been granted in the first place perishing in PTAB; and they attack the tribunal, i.e. the messenger]

          Federal Circuit Gives Short Shrift to Bias Arguments

          A number of due process theories have been floated over the past few months as the “next big thing” in potential constitutional challenges to the PTAB. Some have been arguing that PTAB judges are financially incentivized to institute Others have pointed out that judges that institute AIA trials are biased in favor of cancelling claims given it is the very same judges on the back-end.

          Yesterday, the Federal Circuit shot down both theories.

          In Mobility WorkX, LLC v. Unified Patents, LLC (here), the Court reviewed whether PTAB judges have an interest in instituting AIA proceedings to generate fees to fund the agency and ensure future job stability, or to earn better individual performance reviews and bonuses. The Court also revisited the use of the same judges at institution and final decision — a question it previously adjudicated.

        • Eyes on the spies: why IP raids in China are not all they seem [Ed: There's no such thing as "IP raids", but junior writers are trained to repeat utter lies like "IP" (they're paid by firms that use such terms to mislead and lie to clients)]

          Counsel explain how investigators report fake seizure numbers and doctor reports, and why brand owners must see enforcement actions to conclusion

        • FCBA Remote Program on Global Developments Related to AI and UPC [Ed: Telling a bunch of self-serving lies about UPC and clouding real debates and real issues with buzzwords like "Hey Hi"]

          The panel will address breaking global developments related to Artificial Intelligence (Al), recent German patent law reforms, and the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

        • Fujifilm Faces Renewed Suit for Infringing Mammogram Patent [Ed: These patents and lawsuits mean richer lawyers and more women with fatal cancer]

          The intellectual property arm of the University of South Florida may proceed with its suit that a Fujifilm subsidiary infringed its patent on an interface for digital mammography, the Federal Circuit ruled.

        • New trend in restoring lapsed patent rights in Italy [Ed: Well, patents are not rights]

          On 8th April 2021, the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (IPTO) issued a decision on the reinstatement of patent rights...

        • Plastics and patents: EPO stats reveal innovation impact [Ed: Managing IP is trying to remind us that it's just a megaphone of criminals who took over the EPO; no critical coverage, just rewritten greenwashing press releases; does the EPO pay them to do this?]

          Strong performance from EU and US highlights importance of strong patent protections in driving innovation, industry sources argue

        • Black lawyers: say yes to challenges and ‘be the first’ [Ed: Obscuring much-needed debates about the ethics of patent monopolies and morality of litigation etc. by shifting to race issues]

          By Max Walters October 23 2021 As a young boy, Jason Raeburn enjoyed disassembling, coding and reconfiguring scrap computers and servers.

          It’s not the most traditional pastime for children, but Raeburn, a partner at international firm Baker McKenzie and a part-time judge at the England and Wales High Court, believes this is what kick-started his interest intellectual property.

          “That love of technology stuck with me and I eventually discovered that I could combine my various interests by practising in the field of IP,” he tells Managing IP.

        • Broad Files Reply to ToolGen Opposition to Broad's Contingent Preliminary Motion No. 2 [Ed: Meanwhile, on issues of class warfare, Kevin E. Noonan carries on lobbying for patents on life and nature, motivated by his own greed rather than common sense or actual innovation]

          On May 28th, Junior Party the Broad Institute, Harvard University and MIT (collectively, "Broad") filed its Preliminary Motion No. 2 in CRISPR Interference No. 106,126 (where ToolGen is the Senior Party), contingent on the Board's grant of Broad's Substantive Preliminary Motion No. 1 to substitute (in part) a new Count No. 2 in place of Count 1 in the '126 Interference as instituted (see "Broad Files Substantive Preliminary Motion No. 1 in CRISPR Interference"). In its Motion No. 2, Broad asked the Board to add their U.S. Application Nos. 15/160,710 (having allowable claims 1, 40, and 41) and 15/430,260 (allowable claims 74, 94, and 95) to the Interference and designate the allowable claims as corresponding to Proposed Count 2. In the alternative (i.e., should the Board deny Broad's Substantive Preliminary Motion No. 1), Broad in its Motion No. 2 asked the Board to designate claim 1 of the '710 application and claim 95 of the '260 application as corresponding to current Count 1. On August 6th, ToolGen filed its Opposition to Broad's Contingent Preliminary Motion No. 2, and on September 24th Broad filed its Reply.

        • CVC Files Reply to ToolGen's Opposition to CVC's Substantive Preliminary Motion No. 2

          On May 20th, Junior Party the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Vienna; and Emmanuelle Charpentier (collectively, "CVC") filed their Substantive Preliminary Motion No. 2 in Interference No. 106,127 (which names ToolGen as Senior Party), asking the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to deny ToolGen benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 16/717,324, filed October 23, 2012 ("P1"), pursuant to 37 C.F.R. ۤۤ 41.121(a)(1)(ii) and 41.208(a)(3) and Standing Order ۦ 208.4.1. The significance of the Board granting this motion would be that CVC would be Senior Party, with all the presumptions benefiting from Senior Party status. On July 5th, ToolGen filed is Opposition to this Motion. On August 27th, CVC filed its Reply.

          In its Motion No. 2, CVC argued that the Board should deny ToolGen priority benefit to the '324 application because this application does not disclose an operative embodiment falling within the scope of the interference Count, based on party admissions. Specifically, CVC argued that in the prosecution of the '324 patent application leading to allowance (and declaration of this interference), ToolGen had argued to the Patent Examiner (and PTAB) that "a codon-optimized Cas9 nucleic acid is required for CRISPR-Cas9 to function in eukaryotic cells" and that "a skilled artisan would have no idea what the outcome may be if one were to codon optimize a Cas9 nucleic acid." This position was consistent with the prokaryotic source of Cas9, and the Board and Examiner relied upon these arguments to find allowable claims in the '324 application (now claims designated as corresponding to the Count in this interference) according to CVC. All such claims require use of a Cas9-encoding nucleic acid that is codon-optimized for expression in eukaryotic cells, and CVC asserted that ToolGen added this limitation to the claims to overcome anticipation and obviousness rejections based on the prior art.

        • PharmAbcine Announces Patent Grant in Australia for Its Anti-VISTA Antibody
        • Mouse Gene Patent Case Flubs Earn Florida Attorneys Reprimand [Ed: Who 'owns' the genes of mice? The mice? Nature? 'God'? Don't ask lawyers, they think they're gods]

          Attorneys representing the University of South Florida in a patent suit over genetically modified mice were sanctioned after making what a Federal Claims court judge had called “egregious misstatements” in a court filing.

        • Modified Opinion for Hyatt on Purposeful Submarining [Ed: Dennis Crouch, funded by patent litigation firms to perpetuate patent maximalists, cheering for charlatans who troll the Office]

          Hyatt v. Hirshfeld, 9 F.4th 1372, 1374 (Fed. Cir. 2021), opinion modified and superseded on reh’g, 2020-2321, 2021 WL 4737737 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 12, 2021) [New Opinion]

          Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit released a revised opinion in the most recent edition of Hyatt v. Hirshfeld. The opinion originally released in August 2021 denied the USPTO’s petition to recoup expert witness fees under the “all the expenses” provision of 35 U.S.C. 145. The original opinion called out Hyatt for “efforts to submarine his patent applications and receive lengthy patent terms.” Following that decision, Hyatt petitioned for rehearing, asking for removal of that language from the opinion. The PTO did not file a brief in opposition and the court released a modified opinion with the language removed. The redline below shows the change:

        • Globus Sues a Rival for Patent Royalties on Spinal Implant Tech [Ed: The lawyers will win, the general public already loses (higher costs)]

          Globus Medical said closely held Life Spine’s ProLift line of expandable implants for spinal fusion surgeries infringes seven patents for the technology, used to help patients with spinal disorders live “pain free, active lives.”

        • FOSS Patents: Nokia's patent assertions against OPPO in India, Russia, and Indonesia -- and OPPO countersuing in China (in addition to Germany)

          5G standard-essential patent (SEP) litigation has already arrived in emerging markets, on top of the traditional venues for wireless SEP disputes. In fact, Nokia and OPPO are now embroiled in 5G patent litigation in three of the four BRIC countries (all but Brazil, and who knows when that might happen as well).

          I've discovered four OPPO v. Nokia counteractions in three German courts, and I've now learned from a major Chinese website that OPPO is also countersuing Nokia in China. That article notes that Nokia generates about 8% of its worldwide revenues in China, and attributes the outbreak of litigation to a disagreement on reasonable royalties, especially since OPPO executives have publicly stated their willingness to take license on FRAND terms. It also points out that most of the companies targeted by Nokia with patent assertions don't countersue, but OPPO does have a very significant 5G patent portfolio of its own.

        • UK patent attorneys hopeful over proposed qualification overhaul [Ed: Very appalling whitewash of the CIPA PEB scam; if you ask actual people victimised by this scam, it won't be anything like this whitewash]

          Sources say a long-awaited review into how patent attorneys qualify could streamline entry to the profession and align the exam with its European counterpart

        • Qorvo Sues Rival Akoustis Over Radio-Frequency Filters Patents [Ed: And the loser? The general public. The winner? Lawyers.]

          Qorvo said rival startup Akoustis built its portfolio of bulk-acoustic wave filters through infringing patents and “improperly” leveraging proprietary information “obtained by its systematic poaching of Qorvo’s employees.”

        • Patent injunctions remain the norm in Germany, judges from Federal Court of Justice and Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court clarify [Ed: They ought not call it "Intellectual Property Law" as it is a misleading misnomer; in this case, it is only about patents, which are not property]

          Today and tomorrow, the Munich-based Center for Intellectual Property Law, Information and Technology (CIPLITEC) is holding an online conference on the impact of this year's German patent "reform" bill.

          [...]

          Judge Andreas Voss ("Voß" in German), the Presiding Judge of the Patent (and Antitrust) Senate of the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court (which hears all patent infringement appeals from Mannheim), gave a presentation that I already interpreted as dashing hopes for major change. Shortly thereafter, University of Luxembourg law professor Martin Stierle asked him the key question of whether he believed that much was going to change. For example, to him the most logical interpretation of the term "under the special circumstances of a singular case" is that an injunction can be denied only under the most egregious of circumstances (which has been my perspective all along). Judge Voss really does not expect a departure from Germany's near-automatic injunction regime. He is, however, concerned that defendants may seek to delay the resolution of infringement cases by attempting to "force" courts to take proportionality-related evidence.

          Just like I said on other occasions, Judge Voss noted that the statutory language does not suggest a wholesale denial of injunctions but normally the discussion is going to center on use-up/workaround periods. Judge Voss rightly noted that even though the statute says the claim for injunctive relief is "excluded," the very next word ("soweit") means "to the extent that...".

        • Another Step Closer To The Unitary Patent [Ed: This is nonsense because without the UK the UPC is going nowhere]

          The EU "unitary patent" took a step closer to being established on 15 October when a further EU state ratified the preparatory protocol. The EU unitary patent is intended to be a single patent right having effect in the territory of the participating EU members, overseen by a new Unified Patent Court (UPC).

        • Apple Pay Patent Trial Pushed to 2022 After Waco Move Nixed [Ed: Texas has become notorious for its truly trashy patent 'courts' which don't operate like they care about the law, only money]

          Trial in a West Texas patent suit between Apple Inc. and Fintiv Inc. has been pushed to 2022.

          Fintiv alleges the Apple Pay feature in iPhones and other devices infringes a patent related to contactless cards. A jury trial was previously scheduled to start Oct. 12 in the Waco division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

        • How IP prosecutors can win medical device clients [Ed: Rani Mehta does not know what patents are so she calls them "IP" and issues a puff piece for her paymasters]

          In-house counsel at five companies say patent prosecutors can impress them with creativity and good communication, even if they're new to medical devices

        • Software Patents

          • Koss Soars After Apple Rebuffed in Patent Challenges

            Koss Corp. jumped the most since June after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board declined to institute reviews of two of its patents challenged by Apple Inc.

            [...]

            NOTE: PTAB has instituted reviews of other Koss patents

          • Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K15 Gaming Patents Win Upheld on Appeal

            Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s Grand Theft Auto Online, NBA 2K15, and NBA 2K16 video games don’t infringe two patents on gaming networks, the Federal Circuit affirmed.

          • SxanPro secures medical device patent [Ed: Typical case of software patents disguised as "medical"]

            A Grand Rapids company is on the cutting edge of medical device technology that will allow users access to product information immediately.

            SxanPro, a small, woman-owned medtech business headquartered here, on Sept. 15 secured a patent for its mobile scanning technology of Unique Device Identification (UDI) barcodes on more than 3 million medical devices.

          • Dynamic IP Deals entity, mCom IP, patent challenged

            On October 15, 2021, Unified filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) against U.S. Patent 8,862,508, owned and asserted by mCom IP, LLC, a Dynamic IP Deals entity. The '508 patent is directed to using e-banking touchpoints to provide personalized financial services and has been asserted 24 times against various banks and financial services companies, including Wells Fargo, US Bank, PNC, IBM, and NCR Corp.

      • Trademarks

        • Not a Trademark Case: Edible vs Google at the Georgia Supreme Court [Ed: Why was it filed under "patents" when it's clearly a trademark case? Either way, the patent lobby lost a lot of ground in recent years, lost hope]

          The trial and appellate courts both sided with Google, holding that keyword advertising is akin to permissible sponsored product placement in grocery stores. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in the case on November 10, 2021.

          Google argues that any decision in Edible’s favor would be contrary to federal trademark law and be in violation of the free speech provision of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

          Google may have cleaned-up its advertising in the lead-up to the Supreme Court arguments. My search on Oct 18, 2021 revealed no ads showing up for “Edible Arrangements” but one of the top hits is a rhetorical question from Google “Is Edible Arrangements overpriced?”

        • How to understand the power of the personal name [Ed: How you think of names when you're a lawyer that thinks everything is "ownership"]

          I asked Mrs. Kat earlier this week—"So, what is our schedule for this morning?" She replied, "First, Ilan, then Benny followed by Lior and after that, Momi." For Kat readers who may not have understood, it being totally clear to this Kat, I will translate: "First the greengrocer, then the baker, after that the butcher, followed by the home supply store."

          This exchange between Mrs. Kat and me has its roots deep in the way that homo sapiens have developed as a social, communicative animal. These dynamics still obtain, despite the telegraph, railroad, telephone, radio, automobile, airplane, and internet. Trademark law and practice may pay less attention, but it remains a potent means of commercial communication. "It", being the power of the personal name.

          First, some wisdom from Yuval Noah Harari and his internationally acclaimed book, "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind". In Part I [Merpel says: "Read Part I; you will never look at the world in quite the same way."], Harari describes how gossip (exchanges of information) in small groups enabled the forging of interpersonal bonds millennia ago. Gossip was the communications glue that held people together without any formal structures, the key being exchanges based on intimate acquaintance. Small scale meant everything.

        • Rise of the self-filers? EUTM trends show lawyers still relevant [Ed: The lawyers' propaganda mill worries about people applying directly for trademarks, without paying ridiculous fees to unhelpful suits]

          There is a theory that EUTM self-filing is on the rise, but does the data reflect this and what does it mean for lawyers?

        • ‘Mystique remains’: counsel debate China’s IP friendliness [Ed: Yet another example where law firms' propaganda mills call trademarks "IP" to mislead and brainwash; trade marks are not property and there's nothing at all "intellectual" about them]

          ‘Strange’ IP office decisions have left sources reassessing whether China’s commitment to brand owners is growing after all

        • Why European Court ruling on Super Basmati trademark is unlikely to affect India - The Hindu BusinessLine

          Court of Justice upholds non-registered trademark given in 2017 A judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union upholding the European Union (EU) registration of “Abresham Super Basmati Selaa Grade One World’s Best Rice” under the Union’s provisions for non-registered trademark in 2017 has led to claims by Pakistan trade that its geographical indication (GI) rights have been upheld.

          However, the claims are seen as a mere “pipe dream” by an expert in Basmati cultivation and its GI rights, since the trademark was obtained before the Indian Patent Office awarded the GI tag for Basmati rice growing in specific regions of the country.

          [...]

          The Court of Justice’s ruling came on an appeal filed against the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) judgement by UK-based Indo European Food Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India’s Kohinoor Foods Ltd that markets Basmati rice under three brands.

        • Worldwide: Unfair Competition In The Use Of Intellectual Property Objects: Problems And Ways To Protect A Trademark [Ed: Trademarks are neither intellectual (usually mere words) nor property; these misleading and nonsensical pieces contribute to confusion and constitute terrible legal advice]

          Intellectual property (IP) is one of the most valuable assets of any firm. However, in a world of widespread piracy and strong trends in the illegal use of intellectual property, the registration and protection of intellectual property is of strategic importance to reduce unfair competition.

        • H&M Prevails in Almost 25-Year-Long Fight With Adidas Over its Striped Workout Wear

          Following a nearly 25-year-long fight, H&M has landed the final win in the trademark lawsuit that adidas filed against it in the Netherlands back in 1997 in connection with its sale of blue, marigold, and rust-hued athletic wares emblazoned with two parallel vertical stripes on the sleeves of t-shirts and the sides of shorts and pants legs. On the heels of a win in January when the Hague Court of Appeal pointed to the differences between the two parties’ usages of stripes, and held that H&M did not infringe Adidas’ three-stripe logo by way of its two-stripe apparel, the Dutch Supreme Court dismissed adidas’s appeal and ordered it to pay the H&M’s costs in connection with the cassation proceedings.

          In its October 8 opinion, the Dutch Supreme Court shot down adidas’s bid to appeal the findings of the Hague Court of Appeal without elaborating on the reason for its decision, and thereby, finalizing the January 28 outcome. This brings an end to the long-running case between the two parties, which has been making its way through European courts since the late 1990s.

        • The Viewpoint - The Sanganeri GI dispute: Cultural misappropriation and the need for benefit sharing [Ed: Through EUIPO, Europe has become a battleground for India and Pakistan]

          The Indian ethnic wear fashion industry has seen a huge revival in the last 10 years or so, with the Indian youth embracing the stylistic and cultural aspects of indigenous clothing. The advent of digital advertising and social media has played a very important role in making Indian ethnic wear a fashion must-have for a large strata of the urban Indian population.

          Many famous designers, including Sabyasachi Mukherjee, have been at the forefront of this renaissance. However, the famed designer has found himself in the media spotlight of late, not quite for the right reasons, with accusations of cultural appropriation, or rather misappropriation being levelled against his new collection named Wanderlust, launched in collaboration with the Swedish brand H&M. The collection, which includes saris, purportedly infringes on the Geographical Indications (GIs) of certain artisan communities.

      • Copyrights

        • Compulsory Licensing in India and changes brought to it by the TRIPS Agreement

          Compulsory license is an authorization granted by the Government to someone else i.e., a third party to produce a patented product without the consent of the patent owner who has been taking undue advantage of exclusive rights granted by patent. Hence, compulsory licencing tries to eliminate misuse of patent rights by a patent holder in view of public health or anti-competitive practices which would result in restricting trade or hindering technology transfer[1].

        • Around the IP Blogs

          The IP Helpdesk blog informed on compulsory licensing of patents in India. The author reviewed several cases where compulsory licenses were granted by Indian authorities, including those in the field of pharmaceuticals [see also an earlier post on this topic on The IPKat].

        • Chaos over copyright [Ed: Those laws themselves are manifesting the chaos; also, stop using that term "intellectual property"]

          Due to conflicts between two ministries, the plan to establish a unified and independent intellectual property (IP) office to provide copyrights, patents, design, and trademark certificates has been stuck in limbo.

          Currently, the cultural ministry's copyright office provides copyright certificates, while the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) -- under the industries ministry -- provides the other services.

          The copyright office, located at Agargaon, was established in 1967. Since then, it was under different ministries and in 2000, a copyright law was formed. On the other hand, DPDT, which is at Motijheel, was formed in 2003 by unifying the British era's "Patent" and "Trademarks Registry" offices.

        • Nirvana Headed to United Kingdom for ‘Upper Hell’ Copyright Suit

          Courts in the United Kingdom are in a better position to hear a suit against Nirvana LLC for selling merchandise that allegedly infringes the copyright in the illustration “Upper Hell” from the 1949 translation of Dante’s Inferno, a federal court in California said.

        • Bizarre DMCA Takedown Notices Come with Prison Threat

          A series of takedown notices, sent under the guise of the FBI and other mysterious anti-piracy forces, aims to wipe APK sites from Google's search results. Most bizarrely, perhaps, are threats warning of hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and even prison time for the accused site operators. Add in an unverified extortion threat, and things start to look quite grim.



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