Links 01/03/2024: Many More Layoffs, "Funerals" for Software Patents in the US
Contents
- Leftovers
- Education
- Hardware
- Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
- Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Security
- Defence/Aggression
- Environment
- AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
- Censorship/Free Speech
- Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
- Civil Rights/Policing
- Internet Policy/Net Neutrality Monopolies/Monopsonies
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Leftovers
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Education
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Reason ☛ Do U.S. Public Schools Really Need 77,000 More Counselors?
Schools were already staffed at record levels even before COVID-19, when enrollment fell by nearly 1.3 million students.
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Hardware
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CNX Software ☛ WeAct STM32G4 is a tiny board based on STMicro STM32G4 mixed-signal microcontroller
WeAct STM32G4 is a tiny development board based on a 170 MHz STMicro STM32G4 Arm Cortex-M4F mixed-signal microcontroller with DSP instructions and suitable for applications such as motor control, building automation, lighting, digital power meters, and more.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Science Alert ☛ The Smell of Ripe Fruit Could Halt The Growth of Cancer Cells
A potential sniffable medicine.
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teleSUR ☛ South Sudan to Vaccinate 3.1 Mln Children in Polio Campaign
The Ministry of Health, with support from the WHO, UNICEF and other partners, has established an emergency response task force to coordinate the response, while increasing surveillance efforts to help halt the outbreak and prevent its further spread.
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New York Times ☛ Why Doctors in South Korea Are on Strike
More than a week after thousands of doctors walked off the job, their dispute with the government shows no signs of resolution.
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teleSUR ☛ Greece Gripped by Strikes on 1st Anniversary of Train Crash
Civil servants organized demonstrations to call for justice for the 57 victims of the Tempi crash.
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Latvia ☛ Former health minister acquitted in Covid vaccine case
Riga City Court fully acquitted former Health Minister Ilze Viņķele (For!) in the criminal case accusing her of inaction as a state official, LETA Agency found out in court February 29.
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Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Controlled by the Industry
We feel compelled to conclude that the MHRA has indeed become an enabler for the pharmaceutical industry, with patient safety no longer being its primary concern. Medicines regulator failed to flag Covid vaccine side effects, and must be urgently investigated.
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Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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CS Monitor ☛ iPhone Ponzi scheme sheds light on Iran’s tensions with the West
A Ponzi scheme in Iran targeted customers trying to buy banned updated versions of the Fashion Company Apple iPhone. Economic pressures have led Iran’s government to crack down on Western-based luxury goods, but consumer demand remains strong.
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Tedium ☛ Missing The Human Touch
Tech and creativity once had a symbiotic relationship in the push towards innovation. As generative content matures, it feels like they’re starting to diverge. And that’s bad for creative people.
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Bruce Schneier ☛ How the “Frontier” Became the Slogan of Uncontrolled AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been billed as the next frontier of humanity: the newly available expanse whose exploration will drive the next era of growth, wealth, and human flourishing. It’s a scary metaphor. Throughout American history, the drive for expansion and the very concept of terrain up for grabs—land grabs, gold rushes, new frontiers—have provided a permission structure for imperialism and exploitation. This could easily hold true for AI.
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Firstpost ☛ Apple Vision Pro too advanced? 30% users returning headset claim they can’t handle spatial computing – Firstpost
It turns out that about one-third of Apple customers who returned their Vision Pros did so because they were unable to handle Apple's take on Spatial Computing. Also, only 1 per cent of people who bought the Vision Pro returned it
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DOOM creator talks about layoffs: "I've never seen anything like what we're seeing now"
The video game industry is going through an uncertain time: layoffs, multi-million dollar acquisitions of studios that later become independent again, studio closures, cancellations... Sony and Microsoft have been the protagonists in these early stages of 2024 with nearly 3,000 layoffs between them, affecting studios such as Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games and others from Xbox Game Studios. Faced with this, one of the great personalities of the industry has given his opinion on this situation. We are talking about none other than John Romero, the creator of DOOM.
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Sega of America Layoffs May Lead Gaming Giant to Outsource Localization and QA
The gaming industry is the latest to experience a wave of layoffs. Electronic Arts is reported as cutting more than 650 jobs — five percent of its total workforce. Microsoft is slashing 1,900 jobs at Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and ZeniMax. Sony has decreased its global PlayStation division by eight percent, or about 900 staff members.
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505 Games downsizes operations, closes offices in Spain, France and Germany
Video game publisher 505 Games has closed its offices in Germany, Spain, and France in a new round of restructuring within the games industry.
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Bumble plans to cut 350 jobs amid layoffs
This restructure aims to deliver “new and engaging user experiences”. According to Bumble’s yearly report, the motive behind the layoffs was to “drive operational leverage”.
Despite sky-high profits Bumble is suffering from losses. The dating app suffered a $32 million (£25 million) but made made $273.6 million (£216.5 million) in their final quarter. Because of this forecast of low growth and news of layoffs, its stock value has suffered. The stock was valued at $13.12 on the 23rd of February, but has since dropped to $11.45.
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Security
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Privacy/Surveillance
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Zimbabwe ☛ Twitter (X) adds audio and video calls, there’s a great use-case for them if you think about it [Ed: Still losing money and trying to add a kitchen sink, too]
When Elon Musk said he wanted to make Ex-Twitter the “Everything app,” we could not be sure what he meant. Did he mean a super app just like WeChat? We still aren’t sure what he envisions for the platform but we are starting to see it take shape.
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Scoop News Group ☛ Commerce Dept. to look at privacy, cyber risks from Chinese-sourced connected vehicle equipment
The investigation looks to discover national security concerns before connected vehicles flood the U.S. market.
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Defence/Aggression
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RFA ☛ Will Thailand’s aid corridor with war-torn Myanmar make a difference?
Observers doubt that plans by Srettha Thavisin’s government to establish a humanitarian safe zone will do much.
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New York Times ☛ Jack Teixeira Expected to Plead Guilty in Leak of Trove of Secrets
Airman Teixeira is accused of posting national defense information and classified documents to a gaming chat group and has been in custody since being arrested in the spring.
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LRT ☛ Lithuanian man to be tried for execution live-streamed on TikTok
The Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office has completed the pre-trial investigation and handed over to the court a criminal case, in which O. J., 23, a resident of Rokiškis district, is accused of murder he live-streamed on TikTok.
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NYPost ☛ 51-year-old Taylor Swift fan banned from stadium after sneaking into Eras Tour concert
A Taylor Swift fan has revealed on Fentanylware (TikTok) how he managed to sneak into her Eras Tour concert, but has now been fined and banned from Sydney Olympic Park.
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CS Monitor ☛ Enduring message of nonviolence reaches new audiences
In a nation focused on divisions, voices are rising for unity and peace. One of these, civil rights activist and nonviolence advocate Clarence B. Jones, who helped write the famous “I Have a Dream’’ speech, is finding new audiences.
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BIA Net ☛ Syriac fighters killed in drone strikes in northern Syria
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the TSK has conducted 65 airstrikes on the regions controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria since the beginning of 2024.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Meduza ☛ Putin says Russia must strengthen forces in western part of country following Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Putin threatens retaliatory strikes against Western countries — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Putin says Russia’s minimum wage should reach 35,000 rubles (equivalent to $385) per month, nearly twice its current level, by 2030 — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Nuclear destruction, the war’s popularity, and boosting birth rates Vladimir Putin’s 2024 state-of-the-nation address, in brief — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ A political education Putin’s order to appoint political commissars responsible for ‘strengthening patriotism’ in Russian government bodies — Meduza
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Meduza ☛ Surveillance cameras, police patrols, and scaring students Russian authorities leaving nothing to chance as Navalny’s funeral approaches — Meduza
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New York Times ☛ 5 Convicts Familiar With Navalny’s Prison Confirm Hellish Conditions
The brutal cold, revolting food and beatings aren’t the worst part of being imprisoned at IK3, where Aleksei Navalny died. Rather, it’s being inside a system meant to break the human spirit.
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RFERL ☛ Security Beefed Up At Moscow Cemetery Where Navalny To Be Buried
Security has been beefed up at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow, where opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, who died in a remote Arctic prison almost two weeks ago, is expected to be buried on March 1.
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RFERL ☛ Vucic Says Serbia's Noncompliance With EU Position On Navalny's Death Not A 'Tragedy'
Belgrade has not signed on to an EU declaration assigning responsibility for the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny to President Vladimir Putin, a move Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said wasn't a "tragedy."
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New Yorker ☛ With Navalny’s Death, Putin Is Feeling More Confident than Ever
The New Yorker staff writer Masha Gessen reflects on Alexei Navalny’s death and what it says about Putin’s strength.
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Environment
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Energy/Transportation
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DeSmog ☛ Canadian Pension Funds Haven’t Kept Up with Financial Risks of Climate Change, Report Finds
Canada’s major pension funds are dragging their heels on climate change, according to a new report from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health.
Shift Action is a charitable initiative that seeks to protect pensions and the climate by tracking pension fund investments and comparing them with climate policies.
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DeSmog ☛ Electric F-150 Pickups Beat Ethanol-Fueled Models for Environment, Save Drivers Money: Study
As the Ford Motor Company cuts production of its electrically-powered F-150 Lightning pickup trucks, recent research demonstrates that the Lightning outperforms conventional and alternative-fuel-powered F-150 models.
Stanford University researcher Mark Z. Jacobson’s analysis of alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles also found that a proposed plan to capture carbon emissions from three dozen plants producing ethanol-based automotive “flex fuels” would lead to more pollution than an all-electric approach.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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RFERL ☛ EU Envoy Urges Faster Reform Pace In Western Balkans, Touts 6 Billion Euro Development Plan
EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi on February 29 told a summit of Western Balkan leaders in Tirana that the bloc's six billion euro ($6.5 billion) development plan for the region could double their countries' economic output over the next decade if timely reforms are implemented.
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Censorship/Free Speech
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Techdirt ☛ Meta’s Plans To Downplay Political Content Is, Itself, A Political Decision
Politics is messy, and you get the feeling that a lot of internet companies want nothing to do with “politics” of any kind. Back in 2019 Twitter (when it was still Twitter) decided to ban all political ads, a near-impossible task guaranteed to make a mess of things (such as banning “get out the vote” ads). Soon after, both Google and Facebook (when it was still Facebook) also cut back on political ads.
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Stanford University ☛ Undergraduate Senate calls for clarity on protest policies
The Undergraduate Senate developed a resolution on campus free speech and protest policies. They also unanimously extended the current Stanford Student Enterprises CEO's term.
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Public Knowledge ☛ Free Speech and Common Carriage: Unpacking the Supreme Court’s Examination of the Texas and Florida Social Media Laws
Monday’s oral arguments in NetChoice v. Paxton, and Moody v. NetChoice covered a lot of ground. But while the dialogue was confusing at times, the justices did seem to understand the basic distinction between social control media services – where First Amendment concerns are paramount – and other kinds of platforms.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s ‘broad’ homegrown security law may curtail free speech and press freedom, foreign gov’ts and groups say
The “broad and vague” terms in Hong Kong’s proposed domestic security law may further curtail free speech and press freedom in the city, foreign governments and overseas legal groups have warned.
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Press Gazette ☛ The Duopoly may have peaked, but watch out – here comes Amazon
Ad spend now increasingly going to a "third wave" of "retail media".
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai had ‘final say’ over editorial direction at Apple Daily newspaper, court hears
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai had the “final say” over the editorial direction of Apple Daily, a publisher of the pro-democracy tabloid that closed in 2021 has testified during Lai’s national security trial.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Firstpost ☛ No respite for Elon Musk, Tesla to face class action lawsuit by 6,000 workers for racial bias – Firstpost
The lawsuit, initiated by a former assembly line worker, alleges that African-American factory workers at Tesla faced various forms of racist behaviour, including slurs, graffiti, and nooses hung at their workstations
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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European Commission ☛ Commissioner Johansson's speech at the EU Internet Forum
This is the fourth ministerial meeting of the European Internet Forum of this mandate.
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Patents
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Covenant to not sue “at any time” terminated with the license agreement
The recent Federal Circuit decision in AlexSam, Inc. v. MasterCard Intl. Inc. provides a lesson into the importance of carefully drafting—and understanding—the scope of licensing terms, especially covenants not to sue. Of importance to this case is understanding both their scope and their duration. The second half of the post delves into the jurisdictional hook that allowed the Federal Circuit to hear this case, even though it originated as a state law breach of contract claim, as well as analyzing whether MasterCard’s invalidity declaratory judgment counterclaim was truly compulsory, as required for Federal Circuit appellate jurisdiction. The post also notes a curious empaneling of judges. 22-2046.OPINION.2-28-2024_2277625.
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Four Funerals: Recent PTAB 101 Decisions
I wanted to consider some recent PTAB jurisprudence on patent monopoly eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The following post reviews four recent eligibility cases. In all four cases the PTAB found the claims lacked eligibility. Two of the cases affirmed examiner rejections while the other two added eligibility as a new grounds for rejection after finding that the examiner erred in their 102/103 rejections. All four cases here involve communications technology where the patent monopoly applicant was seeking to claim the functional operational steps without describing any new “technology.” I have a second post coming with recent device 101 cases from the PTAB.
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Kluwer Patent Blog ☛ Patent case: Judgment no. 141/2023 dated 5 December 2023, Spain
In a Judgment dated 5 December 2023 in the landmark fingolimod case, Barcelona Commercial Court no. 10 rejected an action brought on grounds of unfair competition by the holder of a patent monopoly application.
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Unified Patents ☛ IPVal entity Rosen Technologies thermostat patent monopoly held invalid
On February 28, 2024, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued a final written decision in Unified Patents, LLC v. Rosen Technologies LLC holding all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 7,156,318 unpatentable. Owned and asserted by Rosen Technologies LLC, an NPE and entity of IP Valuation Partners, the ‘318 patent monopoly is directed to a programmable thermostat having virtual buttons that control space conditioning equipment.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ TTAB Posts March 2024 Hearing Schedule
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Tee-Tee-Ā-Bee) has scheduled three oral hearings for the month of March 2024. The hearings will be held in person, the first two at TTAB headquarters and the third at Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Briefs and other papers for each case may be found at TTABVUE via the links provided.
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Copyrights
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Techdirt ☛ Announcing The Winners Of The 6th Annual Public Domain Game Jam!
At the start of this year, for the sixth time in a row, we launched the latest edition of our public domain game jam, Gaming Like It’s 1928! Once again, we got a whole bunch of fantastic entries making use of newly public domain materials to create games of all types. And now it’s time to announce the winners!
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Digital Music News ☛ UMG CEO Lucian Grainge on TikTok—”Let Me Be Clear, Free Doesn’t Work For Us”
On January 30 Universal Music Group announced it would not renew its global licensing deal with TikTok. The spat over UMG music now has most videos featuring UMG/UMPG music muted on the platform, but the blowback from artists hasn’t phased UMG executives.
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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