Bush, Opened Upwards Source, Dykes As Well As Putin

1 State of Israel gear upwardly to assault China?

The fantabulous Patent Baristas weblog reports that President George W. Bush has appointed Chris State of Israel as the novel Coordinator of International Intellectual Property Enforcement, a seat Congress created in conclusion twelvemonth to coordinate law-enforcement efforts aimed at stopping international copyright infringement together with to oversee a federal umbrella way responsible for administering intellectual belongings law. Intellectual belongings police clit enforcement is divided alongside a make of agencies, including the Library of Congress, the Justice together with State departments together with the U.S. Trade Representative.

As the Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement, State of Israel volition caput the international run of the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council (NIPLECC) together with coordinate together with supervise international intellectual belongings protection plans alongside other agencies. This is a component of the implementation of the Bush administration's "Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP)" initiative. The inaugural protects American businesses together with their products from counterfeiters together with pirates. The Patent Baristas annotation that, though NIPLECC has been or together with hence since the early on 1990s, it has never really done anything. The promise is that giving the organisation some coin together with a novel charter volition finally give the component some backbone.

A major finish is to trim back counterfeits inwards China, where the piracy levels approach 90%. The Commerce Department estimates that most 7% of the products inwards the global marketplace are counterfeit, costing U.S. companies upwardly to $200 billion a twelvemonth inwards lost sales.


2 Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 picayune low-cal vacation reading

Legal scholar and IPKat friend Mikko Valimaki has seat the entire text of his PhD thesis online. Entitled The Rise of Open Source Licensing: a Challenge to the Use of Intellectual Property inwards the Software Industry, Mikko's run draws on detailed illustration studies, historical narrative together with the application of economical theory inwards seeking to exhibit how opened upwardly source licensing is used for strategic advantage.

He says: "Interestingly, everything has worked despite - rather than because of - ever-expanding intellectual belongings rights" together with he concludes "This mass goes beyond fearfulness together with incertitude contention that such legal risks are inwards the halt simply necessary but manageable uncertainties, which ever come upwardly with a novel trouble concern model".


3 More on DYKES ON BIKES

Andrea Glorioso has sent the IPKat this follow-up from the EFF on the non-registrability inwards the U.S. of A. of the discussion grade DYKES ON BIKES for offensive content.

"When discussion got out late that a trademark application for the San Francisco-based nonprofit grouping Dykes on Bikes was rejected, EFF did some farther query into the grounds for rejection. ... Despite the to a greater extent than than 400 pages of scholarship submitted inwards back upwardly of the application, the U.S. of A. Patent together with Trademark Office relied on ii lexicon definitions equally proof that the discussion was "offensive." The kickoff Definition originated from an online version of the 1913 Webster's dictionary. Beyond its historic menstruation together with out-of-date nature, the dictionary's Definition also had the tag "PJC" on it. We were intrigued, together with hence nosotros decided to investigate further.

It turns out that "PJC" stood for "Patrick J. Cassidy" of Micra, the fellowship that created the online version. Terms inwards the lexicon bearing his "tag" cry for that they were not, inwards fact, component of the master copy lexicon he had transcribed online but rather something that he himself had arbitrarily added. So inwards essence, the PTO relied on a Definition that was created at random past times someone non at all associated with Webster's dictionary. The minute Definition the PTO relied on came from an online lexicon of Castilian slang that listed "dyke" equally a "vulgar word." Once again
there was no accountability for the Definition -- it was simply i person's site giving what they consider vulgar words inwards Spanish.

The PTO gave no argue or justification for why these ii websites were somehow to a greater extent than influential or credible than the over 400 pages submitted past times DOB. Interestingly, the PTO approved trademarks for "Hustler's Young Sluts," "Psychic Phone Whores," together with "Psychobitch." All iii price -- "slut," "whore" together with "bitch" -- are listed equally vulgar inwards that Castilian slang lexicon the PTO chose to rely on inwards this case".

Well done, EFF, says the IPKat. Dictionaries -- fifty-fifty when accurate -- are oftentimes used equally an excuse for non having whatever really reliable evidence on hand. But, er, tin anyone tell him what a psychic band whore is supposed to be?


4 Putin' on the Agony

Ananova reports that it has locomote highly stylish inwards Russian Federation to bring oneself tattooed with a portrait of the increasingly unopposed President Vladimir Putin (seen, left, inwards conversation with i of his spin doctors). is quite concerned that the hapless man's rights of publicity together with personality are coming nether threat. When this retiring gentleman hands over the keys of component to his successor together with retires to the secluded splendour of his dacha to write his memoirs, mightiness it non live on offensive for him to live on continuously confronted past times images of his younger self adorning strange strips of pale, exposed Russian skin? Also, mightiness his successor non experience safer inwards component if, on assuming the Presidency, he were to social club the removal of all Putin tattoos?