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Category Archives: Intellectual Property

100,000 Artworks Images From Paris Museum Collections Now Freely Available

Hyperallergic: “Paris Musées announced yesterday that it is now offering 100,000 digital reproductions of artworks in the city’s museums as Open Access — free of charge and without restrictions — via its Collections portal. Paris Musées is a public entity that oversees the 14 municipal museums of Paris, including the Musée d’Art Moderne de la… Continue Reading

The end of the beginning – changes in technology shift

Stratechery: “The story tech most loves to tell about itself is the story of disruption: sure, companies may appear dominant today, but it is only a matter of time until they are usurped by the next wave of startups. And indeed, that is exactly what happened half a century ago: IBM’s mainframe monopoly was suddenly… Continue Reading

Introducing the CC Search Browser Extension

Creative Commons: “Creative Commons (CC) is working towards providing easy access to CC-licensed and public domain works. One significant step towards achieving that goal was the release of CC Search in 2019. Through this search and indexing tool, we’re making a plethora of CC-licensed images accessible in one place. As CC Search expands to include… Continue Reading

Major US companies breached, robbed, and spied on by Chinese hackers

WSJ via FoxBusiness: “The hackers seemed to be everywhere. In one of the largest-ever corporate espionage efforts, cyberattackers alleged to be working for China’s intelligence services stole volumes of intellectual property, security clearance details and other records from scores of companies over the past several years. They got access to systems with prospecting secrets for… Continue Reading

Movies, Music, and Books That Enter the Public Domain in 2020

Gizmodo: “[January 1, 2020] isn’t just a day to nurse your hangover from New Year’s Eve—it’s also a day to celebrate the public domain. Movies, books, music, and more from 1924 are all entering the public domain today, meaning that you’re free to download, upload, and share these titles however you see fit. And it’s… Continue Reading

Amazon files patent for tech to identify you using the veins in your hand

USA Today: “What if you could pay for your groceries using your veins?  Amazon filed a patent for technology that could identify you by scanning the wrinkles in the palm of your hand and by using a light to see beneath your skin to your blood vessels. The resulting images could be used to identify you… Continue Reading

How open-source software took over the world

CNBC – “Much of the software that powers the world’s largest companies, protects our personal data, or encrypts national security information is open to the public. Anyone can download the source code behind Facebook’s user interface, Google’s Android operating system, or even Goldman Sachs’s data modeling program, and use it as a building block for… Continue Reading

Why Americans Should Worry About the New EU Copyright Rules

Berkman Klein Center – Julia Reda – “Last spring, 200,000 Europeans took to the streets to protest against a new EU copyright law that risks to restrict online culture and block vast numbers of legal online communications such as memes, reaction gifs, video game reviews or remixes. It is the latest clash between a generation… Continue Reading

RCFP urges Delaware court to reject hyperlink republication argument

“The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a coalition of 23 news organizations are urging a Delaware court to reject a defamation claim that could threaten the use of hyperlinks in news stories. In a friend-of-the-court brief, filed on Dec. 19 by Reporters Committee attorneys and David L. Finger of Finger & Slanina… Continue Reading

WIPO Launches New Publication Series with Leading Judgments on Intellectual Property Rights

“The World Intellectual Property Organization has published the first edition in a new publication series collecting landmark intellectual property (IP) judgments from some of the most dynamic litigation jurisdictions around the world. The “WIPO Collection of Leading Judgments on Intellectual Property” series aims to illustrate IP adjudication approaches and trends, by jurisdiction or theme in… Continue Reading

In memoriam: The brands we lost in the 2010s

Vox – In memoriam: The brands we lost in the 2010s – RIP Blockbuster, Borders, and so many more. “The 2010s were a decade of extreme retail innovation. Instagrammy direct-to-consumer companies like Warby Parker and Everlane sprang up seemingly overnight; hulking businesses like Amazon permeated what felt like every aspect of our shopping lives. There’s… Continue Reading

George Laurer, Who Developed the Bar Code, Is Dead at 94

The New York Times – “George J. Laurer, whose design of the ubiquitous vertically striped bar code sped supermarket checkout lines, parcel deliveries and assembly lines and even transformed human beings, including airline passengers and hospital patients, into traceable inventory items, died on Dec. 5 at his home in Wendell, N.C., near Raleigh. He was… Continue Reading