February, 2024

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Why is There So Much Plagiarism Right Now?

Plagiarism Today

Plagiarism has been in the headlines more than ever before, but why does it feel like people are finding plagiarism everywhere they look? The post Why is There So Much Plagiarism Right Now? appeared first on Plagiarism Today.

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Australia’s Proposed Streaming Cash Grab is Risky for Australian Consumers and Production Jobs: It’s Time to Dial it Back

Hugh Stephens Blog

Screen Australia Drama Report At a time when streaming services (also referred to as subscription video on demand, or SVOD) are growing internationally at a frenzied pace, various countries are pondering how to deal with this phenomenon, particularly when it comes to local production.

Reporting 257
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Why the Criminal Code and Human Rights Act Provisions Should Be Removed from the Online Harms Act

Michael Geist

Having a spent virtually the entire day yesterday talking with media and colleagues about Bill C-63, one thing has become increasingly clear: the Criminal Code and Human Rights Act provisions found in the Online Harms Act should be removed. In my initial post on the bill , I identified the provisions as one of three red flags, warning that they “ feature penalties that go as high as life in prison and open the door to a tidal wave of hate speech related complaints.

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Netflix: Piracy is Difficult to Compete Against and Growing Rapidly

TorrentFreak

From the launch of its online streaming service fifteen years ago, Netflix positioned itself as a piracy competitor. The idea was to take market share away from piracy sites, by offering a legal and more convenient streaming platform. Initially, this seemed to work. Netflix amassed hundreds of millions of subscribers, some of whom left their piracy habits behind.

Business 145
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Software Composition Analysis: The New Armor for Your Cybersecurity

Speaker: Blackberry, OSS Consultants, & Revenera

Software is complex, which makes threats to the software supply chain more real every day. 64% of organizations have been impacted by a software supply chain attack and 60% of data breaches are due to unpatched software vulnerabilities. In the U.S. alone, cyber losses totaled $10.3 billion in 2022. All of these stats beg the question, “Do you know what’s in your software?

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A New Supreme Court Case Could Take a Toll on Copyright Trolls

JD Supra Law

We have seen a noticeable uptick in lawsuits commenced by “copyright trolls” in recent years, including against businesses in the manufacturing space. The Supreme Court is currently considering a case that could have a significant impact on the viability of typical copyright troll claims and, more broadly, the continued prevalence of copyright trolling.

Copyright 133
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Federal Circuit Weighs in on Temporal Rigidity of the Baye-Dole Act’s Licensing Provisions

Intellectual Property Law Blog

In University of South Florida Board of Trustees v. United States , [1] the Federal Circuit rejected a strict temporal limitation on when the Government’s license rights in patents stemming from federally funded research is triggered under the Bayh-Dole Act. Specifically, where a recipient of federal funds subcontracts out work to be performed using those federal funds and the subcontractor reduces an invention to practice, the Government’s license rights can be triggered by that reduction to pr

Licensing 130

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25 Ways to Avoid Trademark Scams

Erik K Pelton

Celebrating our 25th year with the 25 series. For more information on how to identify and avoid scams, visit www.isthisatrademarkscam.com. The post 25 Ways to Avoid Trademark Scams appeared first on Erik M Pelton & Associates, PLLC. Celebrating our 25th year with the 25 series. For more information on how to identify and avoid scams, visit www.isthisatrademarkscam.com.

Trademark 130
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The House of Cards Crumbles: Why the Bell Media Layoffs and Government’s Failed Media Policy are Connected

Michael Geist

Bell’s announcement this week that it is laying off thousands of workers – including nearly 500 Bell Media employees – has sparked political outrage with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau characterizing it as a “garbage decision.” The job losses are obviously brutal for those directly affected and it would be silly to claim that a single policy response was responsible.

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“Perfect” Piracy Shield & Propaganda: Blocking Blunders Branded “Fake News”

TorrentFreak

Italy’s Piracy Shield blocking platform is the mechanism through which sports rightsholders exercise their right to use state-approved tools in their fight against IPTV piracy. In common with other systems in use around Europe, Piracy Shield acts on information provided by rightsholders. After identifying the target to be blocked, domain names and IP addresses are fed into the Piracy Shield system.

Branding 142
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Britain Walks Away from Trade Agreement with Canada: Will Artists be Collateral Damage?

Hugh Stephens Blog

Image: Shutterstock Canadian visual artists, who have been hoping for the establishment of an Artists Resale Right (ARR) as part of a successful conclusion to the Canada-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations, may become collateral damage if the talks breakdown completely. As I wrote in a blog post a year or so ago (“Will the “Artists’ … Continue reading "Britain Walks Away from Trade Agreement with Canada: Will Artists be Collateral Damage?

Blogging 130
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IPO Diversity in Innovation Toolkit

Women and diverse employees have the technical skill and knowledge, yet their contributions are not patented at the same rate as those of their male counterparts.This toolkit can help organizations move the needle on achieving gender parity in innovation.

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Federal Circuit Rules on when the Patent Trial and Appeal Board is Engaging in Erroneous Claim Construction

Intellectual Property Law Blog

EcoFactor, Inc. is the holder of U.S. Patent No. 8,498,753, titled “System, Method and Apparatus for Just-In-Time Conditioning Using a Thermostat,” which focuses on optimizing climate control systems, particularly HVAC systems, in residential and commercial buildings. The patented technology utilizes a thermostat that considers external weather conditions and the thermal characteristics of individual structures to dynamically adjust temperature settings, aiming to improve energy efficiency and c

Patent 130
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How to Use Wikimedia Commons for Free & Legal Images

Plagiarism Today

When you're looking for images on a specific topic, Wikimedia Commons can be a godsend. Here's how to use it correct and safely. The post How to Use Wikimedia Commons for Free & Legal Images appeared first on Plagiarism Today.

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Trademark Lessons from The Bear

Erik K Pelton

The following is an edited transcript of my video Trademark Lessons from The Bear. The Bear is a great television show about a restaurant—specifically building out a restaurant—and my family is in the restaurant business, so it hits close to home for me. Here’s a few trademark lessons that we can learn from The Bear. In the restaurant industry, there’s always some emergency, something going wrong.

Trademark 130
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Bid to End Crown Copyright is Back: MP Brian Masse’s Bill C-374 Would Remove Copyright from Government Works

Michael Geist

Crown copyright, which grants the government exclusive copyright in any any work that is, or has been, prepared or published by or under the direction or control, has long been the focus on copyright and open government advocates who have called for its elimination. Under the current system of crown copyright that dates back for decades, government departments can use copyright to limit the publication or distribution of public works.

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Reddit Doesn’t Have to Share IP-Addresses of Piracy Commenters, Court Rules

TorrentFreak

Every day, millions of people from all over the world submit posts, comments, and other content to Reddit. In many cases, discussion comments are read and soon forgotten but several old threads were brought back to life recently as part of piracy liability lawsuits. The comments in question were picked up by Kerry Culpepper, a copyright attorney who leads several piracy lawsuits against Internet providers on behalf of independent film companies.

IP 143
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Federal Circuit Set to Consider Whether A Blockchain Application is Patent Eligible

JD Supra Law

Does recording an object’s physical properties to a blockchain render the resulting network (or method of using the same) patent-eligible? In Rady v. Boston Consulting Group, the Federal Circuit will hear oral arguments on how to apply hotly debated patent eligibility standards[1] (i.e., the two-step Alice test) to a blockchain-related invention.

Patent 128
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Federal Circuit Concluded that Operating Manuals Subject to Confidentiality Restrictions are Prior Art Printed Publication

Intellectual Property Law Blog

In Weber, Inc. v. Provisur Techs., Inc., Nos. 2022-1751, 2022-1813 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 8, 2024) , the Federal Circuit reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s legal conclusion that Weber’s operating manuals were not prior art printed publications based on the public accessibility of the operating manuals. Background In response to an infringement case filed by Provisur, Weber filed two inter partes review (“IPR”) petitions to invalidate two patents owned by Provisur, based on Weber’s operating m

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Columbia University DEI Head Accused of Plagiarism

Plagiarism Today

Another DEI head is facing allegations of plagiarism. This one targets Alade McKen, the head of DEI for Columbia University. The post Columbia University DEI Head Accused of Plagiarism appeared first on Plagiarism Today.

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Update on USPTO Trademark Delays

Erik K Pelton

Erik provides updates on one of our most frequently asked questions about the trademark process in this video. The post Update on USPTO Trademark Delays appeared first on Erik M Pelton & Associates, PLLC. Erik provides updates on one of our most frequently asked questions about the trademark process in this video.

Trademark 130
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The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 193: The Online Harms Act is Nearly Here – A Backgrounder and Preview

Michael Geist

The government plans to introduce the Online Harms Act later today, bringing forward long-delayed legislation that will include new responsibilities and liabilities for Internet platforms alongside an extensive complaints and enforcement governance structure. What is likely to be Bill C-63 will focus on protecting children online and will be the most contentious of the government’s Internet regulation bills given the challenge of balancing safeguards with freedom of expression.

Law 129
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AirVPN Stops Serving Italians due to “Piracy Shield” Blocking Requirements

TorrentFreak

Last December, Italy’s much-debated ‘Piracy Shield’ anti-piracy system went live in a limited capacity. With a legal challenge thwarted , the blocking efforts are now gearing up, with Internet services as rightsholders’ weapon of choice. Italy’s telecoms regulator AGCOM is the arbiter and previously declared the technological and procedural rules.

IP 139
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Hallucinations as Trademark Tarnishment: How Wrong Answers Led to a Lawsuit

JD Supra Law

ChatGPT took the world by the storm after OpenAI launched it in November 2022 as a general-purpose AI chatbot that could answer questions ranging from the innocuous to the complex. Since then, similar generative AI applications and the large language models underlying them have proliferated, as have controversies over how they use the works of others.

Trademark 126
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AI-Assisted Inventions: Is There a Duty to Disclose the Use of AI?

Intellectual Property Law Blog

Inventors and patent practitioners filing patent applications before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may have an obligation to disclose if artificial intelligence (AI) is used in the innovation process. Everyone involved in the filing and prosecution of a U.S. patent application has a duty to disclose to the USPTO all information which is materially relevant in assessing the patentability of the invention.

Invention 130
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3 New Copyright Claims Board Decisions

Plagiarism Today

The Copyright Claims Board has handed three more determinations, including one fair use issue and two questions on damages. The post 3 New Copyright Claims Board Decisions appeared first on Plagiarism Today.

Copyright 290
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All About the New USPTO Trademark Search System

Erik K Pelton

The following is an edited transcript of my video All About the New USPTO Trademark Search System. At the end of November, 2023, the USPTO launched a brand new search platform for their trademark database. This meant the retirement after more than 20 years of the prior search system, TESS, which had many limitations. The new system is called Trademark Search.

Trademark 130
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Making a Proper Determination of Obviousness

Patently-O

by Dennis Crouch Earlier this week, the USPTO published updated examination guidelines regarding obviousness determinations under 35 U.S.C. §103. While these new guidelines are not legally binding, they offer important insight into how the Office plans to apply an even more flexible approach to obviousness — something Director Vidal sees as mandated by the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in KSR Int’l Co. v.

Art 122
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‘IFPS Gateway Operator is not Liable for Pirated Software Keys’

TorrentFreak

The InterPlanetary File System, more broadly known as IPFS , has been around for nearly a decade. While the name may sound alien to the general public, the peer-to-peer file storage network has a growing user base among the tech-savvy. In short, IPFS is a decentralized network where users make files available to each other. The system makes websites and files censorship-resistant and not vulnerable to regular hosting outages; as long as at least one user in the network continues to share.

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Ban on European Patents for Plants Engineered by "New Genomic Techniques" Nearing Reality

JD Supra Law

The European Parliament has adopted an amended European Commission proposal to regulate plants engineered using techniques such as CRISPR/Cas and ban any patenting of plants, plant parts, material, genetic information, or methods resulting from these techniques.

Patent 124
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AI-Assisted Inventions: Are They Patentable? Who is the Inventor?

Intellectual Property Law Blog

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) may change how we invent: many envision a collaborative approach between human inventors and AI systems that develop novel solutions to problems together. Such AI-assisted inventions present a new set of legal issues under patent law. On February 13, 2024, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a long-anticipated Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions.

Inventor 130
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The First Major Impact of the Warhol Ruling

Plagiarism Today

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has just handed down a ruling that highlights how much of a shift the SCOTUS Warhol ruling is causing. The post The First Major Impact of the Warhol Ruling appeared first on Plagiarism Today.

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4 Tips for a TTAB Hearing

Erik K Pelton

The following is an edited transcript of my video 4 Tips for a TTAB Hearing. Know the rules in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). The rules for evidence, the rules for the case, and the rules for the hearing. They’re very similar to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, but they have their own nuances and and it’s important to know what they are.

Editing 130
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Traditional Knowledge on the agenda for 2024

The IPKat

From a long-awaited WIPO Diplomatic Conference , to the debates about the Traditional Knowledge Bill in India, and the release of new guidelines on the use of traditional knowledge in Australia, this year may prove the busiest yet for the relationship between intellectual property and traditional knowledge. This Big Kat is thinking about the big issues for IP in the coming year.

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Lawsuit Accuses Anna’s Archive of Hacking WorldCat, Stealing 2.2 TB Data

TorrentFreak

Anna’s Archive is a meta-search engine for book piracy sources and shadow libraries. Launched in the fall of 2022 , just days after Z-Library was targeted in a U.S. criminal crackdown, its self-stated goal is to ensure and facilitate the availability of books and articles to the broader public. A few months ago, the search engine expanded its offering by making available data from OCLC’s proprietary WorldCat database.

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Is Your Super Bowl Marketing Campaign Playing by the Rules? 5 Tips to Help You Avoid Getting a Penalty

JD Supra Law

With the Super Bowl coming up, it is important for brands looking to capitalize on football-themed promotions to remember that the terms “Super Bowl” and “Super Sunday” are registered trademarks guarded by the National Football League (NFL) more closely than a shutdown corner on a wide receiver.

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Federal Circuit Rules on Inventor-as-Lexicographer Definitions and the Proper Scope of Reply and Sur-Reply Briefing Following Patent Owner Responses to IPR Institution Decisions

Intellectual Property Law Blog

ParkerVision, Inc., v. Katherin K. Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for IP and USPTO Director No. 2022-1548, (Fed. Cir. December 15, 2023) primarily involved three topics: (1) the type of language in a patent specification that “clearly expresses” that the inventor was acting as a lexicographer, i.e., redefining a term against the term’s plain and ordinary meaning, (2) the appropriate scope of a reply brief when a patent owner introduces a claim construction for the first time in the patent ow

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