Sat.Sep 25, 2021 - Fri.Oct 01, 2021

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Canada’s Pointless Pandemic Election and its Implications for Copyright, Content Industries and Digital Platforms?

Hugh Stephens Blog

For those of my readers outside Canada who may not have noticed, Canada has just held a general election. If many outside Canada were not following this election, many Canadians were also not focused on it. Voter turnout on election day, September 20, was just over 58 percent, close to an all-time low. The fact … Continue reading "Canada’s Pointless Pandemic Election and its Implications for Copyright, Content Industries and Digital Platforms?

Copyright 246
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When Joke Theft Becomes Serious

Plagiarism Today

In September last year, UK comedian Kae Kurd took to the stage on Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club to perform a short routine in front of a national audience. As part of that routine , Kurd told a joke about a smart refrigerator that was texting and annoying him while he was out with his friends. That particular joke caught the attention of another UK comedian, Darius Davies, who felt that the joke was very similar to his work.

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The Growing Threat of Trademark Scams – article published by ABA

Erik K Pelton

I recently co-wrote and article with Olivia Muller about the never ending threat of trademark scams. In the article we detail the scams and how they operate and what they look like, we discuss what is being done about them, and we propose some additional measures that could help defeat them. “Such scams can potentially cause businesses to waste thousands of dollars, which can be financially fatal for smaller operations.

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Bond’s “No Time to Die” Leaks on Pirate Sites Before U.S. Premiere

TorrentFreak

This week the “No Time to Die” premiered in movie theaters around the world. A few countries have to wait a bit longer for the latest Bond movie. These include the US, Russia, and France which have a week delay. In Australia, Bond fans will have to be even more patient for the planned mid-November premiere. This staggered release schedule isn’t uncommon.

Copying 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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The ‘Restoring America Invents Act’ Would Open the Floodgates for Patent Owner Harassment

IP Watchdog

The much discussed, but previously unreleased, Restoring America Invents Act has finally been made public. The bill was submitted by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in what he described late last week as an attempt to reverse the reforms of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) made by former USPTO Director Andrei Iancu. Leahy promised to take aim at discretionary denials of inter partes review (IPR) and post grant review (PGR) challenges, which he did, among many other things.

Invention 145
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The Battle Over Poker NFTs

Plagiarism Today

From PokerPaint Websote. On September 23, the art site PokerPaint announced on their Twitter (Tweet now deleted) that they were releasing a series of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on OpenSea. The site, at that time, was fairly well known in the poker community. Famous for its expressionist renderings of various poker players, the site and its artist, Brett Butz, sold not only completed works but offered commissioned pieces that were popular among poker players.

Fair Use 235

More Trending

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ROM & Emulation Site Pleasuredome Shuts Down After 15 Years of Gaming

TorrentFreak

Sometime in 2004, a new site appeared hoping to provide a better service to fans of the growing video emulation scene. Acting as both a source and index for ROM and losslessly compressed CHD files (for the MAME emulator), Pleasuredome made emulation resources more accessible, supported by a growing community. Right off the bat, Pleasuredome was billed as the home of the MameFTPGroup, a reference to the most popular emulator of the time and FTP, the-then favored format for file transfers.

Copyright 145
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In the Courts: Australian Court finds AI systems can be “inventors”

WIPO Magazine

In a world first, a judge of the Federal Court of Australia has found that artificial intelligence is capable of being an “inventor” for the purposes of the Australian patent regime. Find out more about Justice Beach’s decision.

Inventor 140
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Plagiarism and Love Letters

Plagiarism Today

Nick Viall is a celebrity best known for his multitude of appearances on reality TV shows including Dancing with the Stars , two seasons of The Bachelorette and one as the star of The Bachelor. More recently, he’s been working on his podcast, the Viall Files and enjoying time with his girlfriend, Natalie Joy. Earlier this week, Viall celebrated his birthday and Joy posted a photo of the couple on her Instagram to help commemorate the day.

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The SHOP SAFE Act Is a Terrible Bill That Will Eliminate Online Marketplaces

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

[Note: this blog post covers Rep. Nadler’s manager’s amendment for the SHOP SAFE Act , which I think will be the basis of a committee markup hearing tomorrow. If Congress were well-functioning, draft bills going into markup would be circulated a reasonable time before the hearing, so that we can properly analyze them on a non-rush basis, and clearly marked as the discussion version so that we’re not confused by which version is actually the current text.].

Trademark 136
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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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U.S. Copyright Holders Want Russia to Criminally Prosecute Pirate sites

TorrentFreak

Over the past several years, Russia has introduced various anti-piracy laws and regulations. Pirate sites can be blocked through court orders, app stores have to take strict action against ‘pirate’ apps , search engines must swiftly block pirate sites, and even VPN services and proxies can be banned. The measures go far beyond what we see in most other countries but, according to US copyright holders, these still don’t go far enough.

Copyright 141
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The Federal Circuit’s Obsession with Judge Albright is Becoming Increasingly Bizarre

IP Watchdog

While there are any number of reasons to question the continued viability, value and necessity of the Federal Circuit, the court’s continued use of mandamus is extremely troubling. Much of the time, it seems the Federal Circuit is using this extraordinary remedy to control the docket of Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas, ordering him to transfer cases.

Patent 131
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3 Count: Evidence Issues

Plagiarism Today

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday. 1: Cox Wants to See Evidence in Majors V Charter Copyright Case in Ongoing Bid to Overturn Billion Dollar Judgement. First off today, Chris Cooke at Complete Music Update reports that Cox is appealing the $1 billion judgment against it to the Fourth Circuit and, as part of its strategy there, is attempting to cast doubt on the evidence against it.

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Book review: The Intelletual Property of Nations

The IPKat

This is a review of The Intellectual Property of Nations: Sociological and Historical Perspectives on a Modern Legal Institution by Laura R. Ford - Assistant Professor of Sociology at Bard College, New York. In this book, Laura Ford draws on macro-historical sociological theories, to trace the development of intellectual property from antiquity to the modern nation-state system, showing how this infrastructure of power emerged.

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Cox Plans to Challenge $1 Billion Piracy Verdict Over ‘Concealed Evidence’

TorrentFreak

Internet provider Cox Communications has been on the sharp end of several piracy lawsuits in recent years. The biggest hit came three years ago when the Internet provider lost its legal battle against a group of major record labels. $1 Billion Verdict. A Virginia jury held Cox liable for pirating subscribers because it failed to terminate accounts after repeated accusations, ordering the company to pay $1 billion in damages.

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Stakeholders Speak: Leahy Bill to ‘Restore the AIA’ is Too Unbalanced to Pass

IP Watchdog

Last night, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) released the text of the “Restoring America Invents Act”, which is meant to “support American innovation and reduce litigation,” according to the headline of the senators’ joint statement on the legislation. Many in the patent community, however, are not as optimistic. As reported previously, the bill would essentially end discretionary denial practice under precedential Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) cases such as Apple Inc.

Invention 124
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3 Count: Avengers Disassemble

Plagiarism Today

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday. 1: Marvel Sues to Prevent Losing Copyrights to ‘Avengers’ Characters. First off today, Tin Baysinger at The Wrap reports that Marvel has filed a series of five lawsuits that challenge the copyright termination notices filed by heirs of famed creator Stan Lee in hopes of retaining the rights to some of its most popular characters.

Copyright 190
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UK Government responds to DCMS Music Streaming Inquiry recommendations

The IPKat

Readers will no doubt be aware of the recent UK Economics of Music Streaming Inquiry by the Digital Culture Media and Sport Committee [ Katposts here ], which investigated the impact of music streaming on artists remuneration, as well as other issues around the fairness and sustainability of the wider music industry. Subsequently, the Committee published a report which set out a number of recommendations to Government [ Katpost here ] that included equitable remuneration for streaming, contract

Music 130
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EU Parliament Committee Adopts Digital Services Act

TorrentFreak

In recent years the European Commission has proposed and adopted various legislative changes to help combat online piracy. This includes the Copyright Directive which passed in 2019 as well as the Digital Services Act , which was officially unveiled last December. When it comes to the DSA, neither ‘side’ is completely satisfied with the proposed legislation.

Copyright 129
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Webinar on Digital Sequence Information (DSI): Implications on Access & Benefit Sharing [October 4-7]

SpicyIP

We’re pleased to inform you that the DPIIT IPR Chair of Inter University Centre for Intellectual Property Rights Studies at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is organizing a four day webinar on “ Digital Sequence Information(DSI)- Implications on Access and Benefit Sharing ” from October 4-7 2021. For further details, please read the announcement below.

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3 Count: Roblox Unblocked

Plagiarism Today

Have any suggestions for the 3 Count? Let me know via Twitter @plagiarismtoday. 1: Roblox, Music Publishers Settle Copyright Licensing Dispute. First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that Roblox has settled its lawsuit with the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) over Roblox’s alleged use of music in its service without proper licenses.

Music 187
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Deep Learning: Tracking the Growth of an Emerging Technology

IP Watchdog

In 2015, I spotted what I thought might be an emerging technology: deep learning. Because of my engineering education, I was able to go up the “deep learning” curve. The term “deep learning” is the current name for a “deep neural network,” which was previously called a “multi-layer neural network.” While our organic brains are filled with approximately 86 billion neurons, the “deep learning” quest was built on mathematics and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).

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Accused Pirate Asks Court to Dismiss Lawsuit from Suspended ‘Copyright Troll’

TorrentFreak

In recent years, adult entertainment outfit Malibu Media has often been described as a copyright-trolling operation. The company, known for its popular “X-Art” brand, has gone after thousands of alleged file-sharers in U.S. courts, collecting millions of dollars in settlements. Not too long ago Malibu was one of the most active anti-piracy litigants in the U.S., but in recent years this activity ground to a halt.

Copyright 128
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Intellectual Property Rights in the Crosshairs as Lawsuits Involving Disney and Facebook Surface

JD Supra Law

- What will the “Endgame” be for the lawsuit between Walt Disney Company and former Marvel comic book creators? In the spring of this year, a host of famed artists and illustrators of Marvel characters such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon and Thor, has filed notices of copyright termination citing a provision of copyright law that grants full rights back to the authors of the work after a set period of time.

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Can AI Technology Create a Patent in Canada? A Look at Global Precedence

IPilogue

Photo by Possessed Photography ( Unsplash ). Shawn Dhue is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. . In light of the recent court decision of Thaler v Hirshfeld et al. [ Apotex ], I have decided to look at precedence from around the world where courts have contemplated recognizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology as an “inventor.

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Epic Sports Petitions Fifth Circuit for Rehearing En Banc in Texas A&M ‘12th Man’ Copyright/ Takings Clause Case

IP Watchdog

On September 22, publishing company Canada Hockey L.L.C., doing business as Epic Sports, and Michael Bynum, a sportswriter and editor, filed a petition for rehearing en banc in their appeal of a copyright case against both Texas A&M University and a pair of school officials. In their petition, the plaintiffs argue that the original panel decision erred in failing to find constitutional violations of both the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause and due process under the Fourteenth Amendment for

Copyright 116
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CEO of Major Anti-Piracy Company Arrested in Russia For High Treason

TorrentFreak

For the past several years, major cybersecurity company Group-IB has been at the forefront of anti-piracy enforcement in Russia. In early 2019, the company was the first to report in detail on so-called ‘pirate CDNs’, specialist content delivery systems that service huge numbers of pirate streaming sites with tens of thousands of movies and TV shows plus supporting artwork and descriptions.

Artwork 126
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Songwriters and Publishers Ask the MLC: Where’s my money?–MusicTechPolicy

The Trichordist

For seven months, The MLC has sat on $424 Million of songwriters' money. Songwriters ask, "Where's My Money?".

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New Zealand gold kiwifruit “returns” to China: when plant breeders’ rights meet geopolitical realities meet territorial considerations

The IPKat

Kat friend Doug Calhoun reports on the complicated follow-up to the New Zealand case of infringement of gold kiwifruit. In a previous post , this blogger described how a plant variety right for a gold kiwifruit variety in New Zealand had been infringed by a rogue grower. In that decision, the grower was licensed to grow the variety in New Zealand, but it had exported budwood of the gold kiwifruit variety into China and thereby helped to establish substantial orchards there.

Licensing 109
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CAFC Grants Mandamus Relief to Juniper Networks in Latest Directive to Albright on Transfer

IP Watchdog

On Friday, September 24, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) granted Juniper Networks, Inc.’s petition for a writ of mandamus directing Judge Alan Albright of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (WD of TX) to transfer six actions to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, holding that denying the motion to transfer constituted a legal error.

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Cloudflare Books Partial Victory in ‘Thothub’ Piracy Lawsuit

TorrentFreak

Earlier this year Texas-based model Deniece Waidhofer sued Thothub for copyright infringement after the site’s users posted many of her ‘exclusive’ photos. While Cloudflare isn’t new to copyright infringement allegations, this case has proven to be more than a nuisance. The company previously countered the claims with a motion to dismiss but Waidhofer and her legal team didn’t back off.

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Counsel predict Leahy’s PTAB bill will pass, but with changes

Managing IP

In-house and private practice lawyers say Leahy’s attempt to strengthen the PTAB will probably succeed, but it is unclear whether all of his reforms will pass

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Public Domain of The Living Dead

IPilogue

Source: Screenshot of Night of the Living Dead (1968) opening credit / Public Domain. Natalie Bravo is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. . . Halloween season is just around the corner and who doesn’t love a good zombie movie? While many might rather shy away from frightening films, dedicated modern-day zombie enthusiasts live among us.

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Roblox is Latest Online Platform to Settle NMPA Copyright Claims with Collaborative Music Licensing Agreement

IP Watchdog

On September 27, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and online game platform provider Roblox announced that the two parties had settled ongoing copyright litigation in the Central District of California over Roblox’s unauthorized use of copyrighted music on its online gaming platform. The settlement also creates an opt-in mechanism for eligible NMPA publishers and opens a negotiation period for individual publishers to engage Roblox in go-forward licensing deals.

Music 105
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‘Illegal Streaming Sites Might Take Nude Pictures of You’

TorrentFreak

Over the years we have seen dozens of anti-piracy campaigns. Initially, many of these tried to appeal to people’s morals. You wouldn’t steal a car , right? This type of messaging doesn’t work for everyone, so more direct tactics are explored as well. These often focus on the risks that are involved. These risks obviously include legal trouble and settlement letters.

Reporting 117