November, 2022

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The Bizarre Copyright Battle Over Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Plagiarism Today

For most people, the word Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious has exactly one context, the 1964 film Mary Poppins and the famous hybrid live action/animated scene that it was featured in. The word and the song that it titles has remained a part of our lexicon for nearly sixty years and, despite being a famous tongue-twister (so much so, it was featured in a recent Mental Floss episode on the topic ), has been on the tongues of generations.

Copyright 341
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Britain’s Proposed Approach to Text and Data Mining (TDM) for AI: How Not to do It (A Lesson for Canada and Others).

Hugh Stephens Blog

Last month I wrote about the emerging phenomena of AI-generated art through widely available programs such as DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion and others, and of the threat they pose to artists, designers, photographers and others who depend on the protection of copyright to earn their livelihood. This also includes musicians and writers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) … Continue reading " Britain’s Proposed Approach to Text and Data Mining (TDM) for AI: How Not to do It (A Lesson for Canada and O

Art 246
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Public Domain Day 2023 is Coming: Here’s What to Know

Copyright Lately

A new crop of copyrighted works (including rights in a certain famous British detective) will enter the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2023. Here’s what it all means. Last month, Hulu announced that the upcoming third season of its Hardy Boys reboot would be the series’ last. While it’s certainly not unusual for streamers to cancel shows after only a few seasons , it also just so happens that the first three novels introducing the teenage sleuths are about to enter the pu

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‘U.S. Authorities Seize Z-Library Domain Names’

TorrentFreak

Pretty much every book ever written is available online for free and millions are shared through central hubs, commonly known as ‘shadow libraries’. Z-Library is one of the largest shadow libraries on the Internet. Through a variety of domain names, the site offers over 11 million books and 84 million articles. This has attracted a steady userbase and many millions of monthly visitors.

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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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U.S. Copyright Office Backtracks on Registration of Partially AI-Generated Work

IP Watchdog

On October 28, Kristina Kashtanova, an artist and artificial intelligence (AI) consultant and researcher, received notice from the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) that the registration for the first issue of her partially AI-generated graphic novel, Zarya Of The Dawn, may be canceled. A month earlier, on September 15, the USCO issued a registration for Kashtanova’s work, which was subsequently widely publicized as the first known instance of an AI-generated work being successfully registered with t

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Can an NFT infringe one's own trade mark rights? Yes, says Rome Court of First Instance

The IPKat

Bobo Vieri during his Juventus tenure Can the unauthorized production (minting), advertising, and offer for sale of a non-fungible token (NFT) infringe one’s own trade mark rights? The Rome Court of First Instance answered ‘yes’ in the context of a successful application for a preliminary injunction made by Juventus F.C. ( decision on 20 July 2022, case No 32072/2022 ).

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Facebook and Canada’s Online New Act: One More Problem for a Troubled – and Troubling – Company

Hugh Stephens Blog

As Bill C-18, the Online News Act, continues its step-by-step process through the Canadian Parliament, another shoe has dropped. Meta, Facebook’s parent company announced it will be laying off 13 percent of its global workforce (11,000 people) owing to two quarters of losses and a sinking share price.

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Global flows: The ties that bind in an interconnected world

McKinsey Operations

Economic and political turbulence have prompted speculation that the world is already deglobalizing. But the evidence suggests that global integration is here to stay, albeit with nuance.

Marketing 143
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“Anna’s Archive” Opens the Door to Z-Library and Other Pirate Libraries

TorrentFreak

When the file-sharing revolution hit the mainstream well over a decade ago, many site operators and users positioned ‘sharing’ as an ideology. This altruistic belief has started to fade in recent years. For most pirate sites and services, money is the main driver, with piracy as the means to that end. There are some notable exceptions of course, especially in the publishing industry where free access to knowledge is advocated by Sci-Hub, LibGen, and others.

Privacy 145
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Supreme Court Grants Two IP Cases, Including Amgen v. Sanofi on Enablement

IP Watchdog

The U.S. Supreme Court granted petitions for certiorari in two intellectual property cases Friday, one dealing with the limits of extraterritorial application of the Lanham Act and another asking the High Court to weigh in on whether “enablement” means a specification must enable those skilled in the art “to reach the full scope of claimed embodiments” without undue experimentation.

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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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[Guest post] Can the owner of an artistic work convert it into an NFT for its use in the Metaverse?

The IPKat

A few days ago The IPKat reported on the injunction issued by the Rome Court of First Instance regarding the unauthorized minting of NFTs from a trade mark perspective. Now, a further development on IP and NFTs comes from Spain, as Katfriend Mercedes Morán Ruiz (CEDRO) reports: Can the owner of an artistic work convert it into an NFT for its use in the Metaverse?

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That great, free First Amendment thing (Best of 2017)

Likelihood of Confusion

First published July 24, 2017. I was recently, and very briefly, the toast of whatever for my efforts in making the world safe for nasty trademark registrations under the banner. The post That great, free First Amendment thing (Best of 2017) appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION™.

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Dismissing Digital News Outlets: Liberal MP Claims Online News Services Don’t Report News

Michael Geist

Since its introduction last spring, online news outlets have expressed fears that Bill C-18, the Online News Act, will primarily benefit large incumbent news organizations. Those concerns grew once the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that more than 75% of the revenues would go to broadcasters such as Bell, Rogers, and the CBC. After Postmedia and Torstar collect their share, there may be little left for innovative online startups.

Reporting 138
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How will the space economy change the world?

McKinsey Operations

Space is no longer the sole domain of governments and aerospace and defense companies. Businesses that pursue emerging opportunities now may gain a first-mover advantage.

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U.S. Indicts Two Russians for Running the ‘Z-Library’ Piracy Ring

TorrentFreak

With nearly 12 million books, Z-Library advertised itself as the largest repositories of pirated books on the Internet. The site had millions of regular readers who found a wealth of free knowledge and entertainment at their fingertips. This reign ended abruptly two weeks ago when the U.S. Department of Justice seized its domain names as part of a criminal investigation.

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WIPO Report: China Sees Massive Surge in IP Filings Across the Board

IP Watchdog

Worldwide IP filings increased by 3.6% in 2021, according to a report published November 21 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The increase came during a turbulent time for the world economy, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a global economic downturn. The biggest increase in patent filings was in Asia, where 67.6% of worldwide patent applications were filed.

Reporting 137
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The European Commission publishes the proposals for a revised Regulation and Directive on designs

The IPKat

On November 29, 2022, the European Commission published the long-awaited proposals for a revised Regulation and revised Directive on designs. The two proposals will now be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council for adoption. This post summarises the main innovations of the two proposals. New definitions for “design” and “product” (Art. 2 Draft Directive, Art. 3 Draft Regulation) Draft Directive and Draft Regulation suggest a new definition for “design” and “product”, respectively

Designs 134
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The Shape of Shape Marks in India

SpicyIP

Image from here. We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Akshay Ajayakumar examining the Delhi High Court judgment in the recent Knitpro International case, on shape marks. Akshay is a lawyer based in Munich, Germany. He is a graduate of National Law University, Jodhpur, and is currently pursuing his LL.M in IP and Competition Law from Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC) – A cooperation project of the Max Planck Society, the University of Augsburg, the Technical University of M

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It’s Not Going to Be (Y)easy: What Happens when Business Collaborations Dissolve?

IPilogue

Katie Graham is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. On October 25, 2022, following a string of antisemitic remarks and hate speech from Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) on social media, Adidas announced their decision to terminate their co-branding partnership with Ye and end production of all Yeezy branded products.

Business 131
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Author Talks: What poker pro Annie Duke can teach you about quitting on time

McKinsey Operations

Ever been told to quit while you’re ahead, or that winners never quit? Poker player-turned decision strategist Annie Duke explains why this advice is costing you time and money.

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Z-Library’s Tor Network Site Has Also Gone Offline

TorrentFreak

With nearly 12 million books, Z-Library advertised itself as the largest repositories of pirated books on the Internet. The site had millions of regular readers who found a wealth of free knowledge and entertainment at their fingertips. This reign ended abruptly two weeks ago when the U.S. Department of Justice seized its domain names. Following an FBI investigation, the authorities identified Russian nationals Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova as prime suspects.

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Independence Lost: Why Bill C-18 Undermines An Independent Press Even as It Purports to Protect It

Michael Geist

Last week, I appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage as part of the last panel of witnesses on Bill C-18, the Online News Act. For the first time since the start of the pandemic I attended in person, which provided the opportunity to witness a scene that partly occurred off-camera. NDP MP Peter Julian started his questioning by citing with approval a Postmedia editorial , itself based on a Brian Lilley column.

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A 5 Month Check-In on the Copyright Claims Board (CCB)

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

I prepared these statistics on November 18, 2022, roughly 5 months after launch. Total number of cases: 247. This continues to imply a run rate of about 600 cases per year, or less than 2 cases per day. According to this site , plaintiffs are represented in 69 cases (28%). Unsurprisingly, lawyer-represented plaintiffs are clearing the CCB’s initial screening at about 2x the rate of pro se plaintiffs.

Copyright 130
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SpicyIP Events: Course on Access to Medicines TRIPS and Patents [Kochi, 10-14 Dec.]

SpicyIP

We are pleased to inform you that the Inter-University Centre for IPR Studies (IUCIPRS), Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), and Third World Network are organising a five-day course/workshop on Access to Medicines, TRIPS and Patents in the Developing World from December 10- 14 in Kochi, Kerala. The deadline for applications is November 10, 2022.

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Sign the Prenup: What Brands Can Learn From the Kanye West/Adidas IP Breakup

IP Watchdog

Trust and estate attorneys regularly advise their clients to enter into prenuptial agreements to protect the valuable assets each spouse brings to the marriage as well as how to distribute community property in the event of a divorce. Brand collaborations with celebrities, influencers or other brands are much like marriages, but brand collaborations are even more unlikely to last.

Branding 128
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Taking a skills-based approach to building the future workforce

McKinsey Operations

Our work with the Rework America Alliance highlights how a skills-based approach can help US employers expand talent pools and retain great workers—even through economic uncertainty.

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Court Upholds Piracy Blocking Order Against Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 DNS Resolver

TorrentFreak

Website blocking has become an increasingly common anti-piracy tool around the globe. In dozens of countries, ISPs have been ordered by courts to block pirate sites, usually on copyright grounds. More recently, neutral DNS providers have been targeted as well. Earlier this year, an Italian court ordered Cloudflare to block three torrent sites on its public 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver.

Music 141
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Board of Appeal case law against the description amendment requirement starts to mount up (T 2194/19)

The IPKat

It is almost a year since publication of T 1989/18 made waves in the European patent community with its finding that the requirement to amend the description in line with the claims lacked legal basis. Since T 1989/18 we have had a number of Board of Appeal decisions on both sides, finding either legal basis or a lack of legal basis for the description amendment requirement.

Law 128
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“Liking” a Facebook Post Isn’t Defamatory–Gallagher v. MaternityWise

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

[WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY THANKSGIVING]. In 2018, Young posted a Facebook review accusing plaintiff Gallagher of being a sexual predator. Defendant Croudace allegedly “liked” Young’s post. The court says the “threshold issue is whether, as a matter of law, Croudace’s act of ‘liking’ the Young Review is ‘reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning.'” The court says that “clicking ‘Like’ on a Facebook post that

Blogging 128
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Book Review: ‘The Truth Pill: The Myth of Drug Regulation in India’

SpicyIP

We are thrilled to review Prashant Reddy’s new book on the Indian drug regulatory system! Co-authored with Dinesh Thakur their book – The Truth Pill – The Myth of Drug Regulation in India was released this October. Given that drug regulation has a direct nexus to public health, maybe even more than patents, several years ago, Shamnad, Prashant and Sai started a new initiative on SpicyIP to throw more light on India’s drug regulatory framework.

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US Inventor Arguments for Opposing the Pride in Patent Ownership Act Fall Short on the Merits

IP Watchdog

Last September, a bipartisan pair of Senators introduced the Pride in Patent Ownership Act, which, if passed, would add greatly-needed transparency to our patent system. The legislation would require patent owners to disclose their identity to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) when a patent issues and whenever it changes hands so that members of the public have easy access to information about who the true owners of patents are.

Ownership 127
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Digital twins: Flying high, flexing fast

McKinsey Operations

Digital design and product development can provide new ways to solve complex problems. Getting implementation right means thoughtfully translating big ideas into boots on the ground.

Designs 138
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Z-Library Aftermath Reveals that the Feds Seized Dozens of Domain Names

TorrentFreak

With millions of regular visitors, Z-Library is one of the largest repositories of pirated books on the Internet. The site has nearly 12 million copies of books in its digital archive, which is shared with the world for free. While many people appreciate the service, authors and publishers are not happy. The Authors Guild described the Z-Library as a “trade barrier” recently, while the Association of American Publishers branded the shadow library a “notorious” pirate site

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Copyrighting the Ogopogo Monster: The © story behind the news story

The IPKat

Kat friend Hugh Stephens describes the murky story of IP and the Ogopogo monster ("murky" as the waters in which the Ogopogo is said to dwell). The headline --“City of Vernon transfers copyright to legendary Ogopogo to B.C. Indigenous nations”--was featured in newspapers and broadcasts across Canada, based on a Canadian Press article. For the uninitiated, the Ogopogo is Canada’s version of the Loch Ness Monster, supposedly residing in the depths of Lake Okanagan in the interior of British Columb

Copyright 127
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How Copyright Law Fosters Anti-Competitive Behavior, Part Infinity–Bayam v. ID Tech

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

Bayam and ID Tech run rival online jewelry businesses. Both use Shopify as a service provider. ID Tech believed that Bayam copies too much of its copyrighted website content and pursued a whirlwind of enforcement activity, including filing two lawsuits against Bayam and sending numerous DMCA takedown demands to Shopify. Bayam’s counternotices were ineffectual, leaving 123 Bayam products offline, and Shopify warned Bayam that it may terminate services to a repeat infringer.