News of the Week; October 30, 2019

GAMES

1. Valve disables container key sales and trades in CS:GO due to rampant fraud
2. ‘Nearly All’ Counter-Strike Microtransactions Are Being Used for Money Laundering: N”early all key purchases that end up being traded or sold on the marketplace are believed to be fraud-sourced” Valve says.
3. Money laundering prompts Valve to halt CS:GO in-game key sales: “At this point, nearly all key purchases that end up being traded or sold on the marketplace are believed to be fraud-sourced”
4. According to a French court, the principle of exhaustion applies to video games acquired via a download platform
5. Epic is suing a Fortnite user experience tester over Chapter 2 leaks
6. Epic sues tester who leaked Fortnite Chapter 2 details: Developer says defendant Ronald Sykes waited just three days to breach his NDA
7. Ubisoft is suing Rainbox Six Siege cheat provider MizuSoft
8. Ubisoft sues Rainbow Six Siege cheat provider MizuSoft: One of the defendants had recently appeared in a BBC report about cheats
9. Rainbow Six cheat maker faces Ubisoft lawsuit after BBC appearance
10. Ubisoft severely cuts 2019-20 targets in wake of delays and underperforming games
11. Yves Guillemot: “We have no pay-to-win elements in our games”: Ubisoft CEO addresses investor concerns that players will reject games that are too microtransaction-heavy
12. Net bookings decline, but still beat expectations as Ubisoft closes out Q2
13. Ubisoft delays Watch Dogs Legion, Gods & Monsters, Rainbow Six Quarantine: Shares fall by 16% following delays, profit warning and announced overhaul of development process
14. Bethesda’s ‘Fallout 1st’ Paid Server Launch Has Become a Disaster
15. Fallout 1st Is Creating A Class Divide Among Fallout 76 Players
16. Video Game Class War Has ‘Fallout’ Players Targeting Premium Subscribers: “At least 5-7 people in teddy bear costumes kept punching me,” one member complained.
17. As the Fallout 1st disaster hits mainstream headlines, Fallout 76 players head in-game to protest: Everyone disliked that.
18. Fallout 76: The ‘Fallout First’ Web Domain Has Been Taken Over By a Hilarious, Angry Fan
19. Bethesda Has Brought Idiocy To A New Level & Betrayed Their Remaining Fans
20. Bethesda pledges to fix early “Fallout 1st” bugs and complaints
21. Bethesda looks to bolster its mobile game offerings with Alpha Dog Games acquisition
22. Bethesda acquires Alpha Dog: Fallout outfit picks up Nova Scotia-based mobile studio behind MonstroCity: Rampage and Atari’s Ninja Golf remake
23. New budget ends IDM tax credit for video game studios in Alberta, Canada
24. Alberta eliminates game dev tax credit after just one year: Beamdog’s Trent Oster feels “betrayed” after new government budget cancels Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit
25. New Zealand government commits $10m to growth of local games industry: City of Dunedin will become hub for aspirations to grow games industry to $1 billion sector
26. Call of Duty Modern Warfare decried as ‘American propaganda’ over Highway of Death mission: Activision’s latest shooter has been panned by critics and players, claiming game attempts to rewrite history
27. UK Charts: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launch sales beat Black Ops 4
28. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare saw $600 million in revenue in three days
29. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare grosses $600m in opening weekend – Latest game from Infinity Ward is fastest-selling entry in the franchise this generation
30. EA to ‘double down on live services’ as FIFA and The Sims 4 help outperform goals 
31. EA “doubling down on live services” as digital net revenue share grows in Q2: Apex Legends reaches 70 million players, seven months after launch
32. EA shows its hand for next fiscal year: Beginning March 2020, EA plans focus on Apex, new EA sports title on annual slate, two third-party IP, “exciting remasters”
33. EA Dice’s Star Wars Battlefront I and II have sold 33m copies combined: Battlefront II originally missed 2017 launch sales expectations by around 1m units
34. Tales from the making of Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
35. The Sims franchise surpasses $5b in lifetime sales: EA asserts franchise’s position as part of plans for its increased focus on supporting live services
36. EA will not ship an NBA Live game this fiscal year: NBA Live 20 either cancelled or reworked as franchise prepares for an “innovative new direction”
37. EA Access heading to Steam after U.S. publisher reconnects with Valve
38. EA returns to Steam: SVP Mike Blank talks about the need to reduce fragmentation as EA pledges to bring Jedi Fallen Order, EA Access to Valve’s storefront
39. So long, Origin? EA comes back to Steam with new games
40. Remnant: From the Ashes sells 1 million copies in just over 2 months
41. Watch Afterparty director Adam Hines break down the game’s drink-fueled design
42. Overwatch 2 reportedly to be revealed at BlizzCon: New Hero and PvE mode
43. The Last of Us Part II delayed to May 29: Sony pushes post-apocalyptic sequel back three months to polish the game to Naughty Dog’s standards
44. Sony issuing refunds for faulty WWE 2K20: Latest entry into 2K Games’ annual wrestling franchise mired with bugs and glitches
45. Jaguar designed an electric sportscar just for Gran Turismo
46. Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville was the No.1 game download across EMEAA last week – The Witcher 3 and Ring Fit Adventure perform strongly at physical retail. FIFA 20 is No.1 combined
47. Starbreeze resumes Payday 2 development, new paid DLC on the horizon
48. Starbreeze restarts Payday 2 content production ten months after pulling the plug: Beleaguered game company turns to reliable territory in recovery attempts
49. Google sets up first Stadia game studio in Montreal
50. Google is making a “spectrum of bets” on Stadia content: As Google unveils new Montreal development studio, Stadia Games & Entertainment boss Jade Raymond discusses the platform strategy
51. Google Stadia’s stealth launch does not inspire confidence | Opinion: After its bombastic announcement, Stadia’s low-key and poorly communicated launch will fuel suspicion that it’s another of Google’s passing fads
52. Google: Stadia exclusives to have features “not possible” on home hardware
53. European gamers wary of digital-only games consoles: Just 11% of players claim they would likely buy a games machine that doesn’t include a disc-drive
54. Apple Arcade isn’t the only subscription: GameClub revives old iOS games
55. GameClub’s “greatest hits anthology” of mobile games launches today: VP of business development Eli Hodapp shares his goals for the subscription service and how it differs from Apple Arcade
56. Gameloft partners with TIM Italy for new mobile subscription service: TIM I love games costs €2/week for access to over 700 games sans in-app purchases or ads
57. My.Games sees Q3 revenue driven by free-to-play mobile: Company aims to have 80% of its revenue from from international markets by 2022
58. Wizards of the Coast acquires Tuque Games: Dungeons & Dragons owner picks up Montreal studio that created Livelock and has been working on a D&D game
59. Scopely announces $200m in Series D funding: Financing will be used to accelerate mergers, acquisitions, and investment strategies
60. Welcome Back, Koster: Why an MMORPG vet is back building a new virtual world
61. The French games industry had over 1200 titles in production in 2019: 63% of those games were new IP
62. Video games in China: beyond the great firewall
63. Empires and Puzzles surpasses $500m lifetime revenue: Match-three puzzler is most profitable in Zynga’s portfolio
64. Zynga reports record Q3 revenues and weaker-than-expected profits
65. GreedFall beat expectations, led Q2 revenue for publisher Focus Home Interactive
66. Greedfall success drives H1 growth for Focus Home Interactive: Publisher says it remains on target to build yearly revenue from €44m to €150m over three years
67. Microsoft relaunches Xbox All Access financing program with next-gen upgrade option
68. Microsoft beat expectations with strong Windows revenue, but Xbox had a rough quarter
69. Xbox services flat as gaming revenue dips to $2.5B in Microsoft’s Q1
70. Xbox All-Access expands to UK and Australia with Project Scarlett upgrade option: The smartphone-style contract will include a console and Ultimate Game Pass
71. Xbox has paid out $1.2 billion to independent developers this generation: ID@Xbox boss Chris Charla says program offers great commercial and artist opportunities
72. Suda51 and Swery collaborating on new game, Devolver unaware it’s the publisher: Acclaimed developers say indie publisher offered $1 million for the project, which Devolver said is “news to us”
73. DragonVale dev Backflip Studios is closing down
74. Backflip Studios shutting down: Hasbro pulling plug on DragonVale and Transformers: Earth Wars developer after a decade in business
75. One company’s cast-off can be Deca Games’ treasure: Founder of indie publisher talks about the perks and pressures of acquiring existing games after original owners stop investing in them
76. Blizzard Loses First Sponsor Due To Stance On Hong Kong Speech
77. Sponsor abandoned Blizzard esports league after Blitzchung controversy: Mitsubishi pulled support for Asia Pacific Hearthstone tournament two days after player was punished for supporting Hong Kong protest
78. League of Legends: Understanding the success of an esport that doesn’t turn a profit: LEC head of business development and sponsorship Alban Dechelotte discusses finding the balance with esport partnerships
79. Modern Times Group considering US IPO as esports business grows: Swedish investment firm begins strategic review, which could also lead to joint venture partnership in video games space
80. WeWork parent considering gaming business: Play By We trademark application says it would run competitions, offer space for conferences or offices
81. No Pixel Podiums: Lack of governance in esports excludes them from the Olympic Games
82. Update Required for Youth Esports – Children’s Privacy Takes Center Stage at Upcoming FTC Workshop
83. Another top Twitch streamer has switched over to Mixer
84. Shroud Pulls A Ninja, Exiting Twitch For Exclusive Livestreaming Deal With Mixer
85. Mixer signs exclusive deal with Shroud: Michael Grzesiek leaves Twitch channel with 7 million followers behind for Microsoft’s livestreaming platform
86. Third Streamer, King Gothalion, Departs Twitch In Exclusive Deal With Mixer
87. Gothalion is the latest big Twitch streamer to switch to Mixer
88. Mixer lowers its subscription price to better compete with Twitch
89. Sony files trademarks for PlayStation 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10: Platform holder’s trademark security process teases decades worth of new console
90. The PS4 has become the second best-selling home console of all time
91. Sony financials: PS4 hardware and software sales ‘lower-than-expected’
92. PlayStation revenues down 17% but Sony’s financials hold steady: PS4 now second best-selling home console of all time, despite slowing sales as generation nears its end
93. PlayStation Vue is shutting down in 2020
94. Report: Sony looking to sell PlayStation Vue as service continues to lose money
95. Sony is trying to sell off PlayStation Vue, but it might have a hard time of it
96. Sony considering sale of PlayStation Vue: Live TV streaming service has reportedly failed to turn a profit since launching in 2015
97. Sony to shut down PlayStation Vue in January: Four years after launch, TV subscription to close due to “slow-to-change” industry
98. An end in Vue: Sony will shutter its streaming video service
99. Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding will come to PC months after PS4 launch
100. Death Stranding no longer a PlayStation exclusive as 505 Games prepares PC version: Publisher will bring Hideo Kojima’s upcoming title to desktops in Summer 2020
101. Enterprise revenue expected to jump 69% this year as VR takes hold in business: PlayStation VR continues as market leading headset, breaching 4.7 million units sold
102. VR Web Browser ‘Supermedium’ No Longer in Active Development
103. UKIE partners with Space Ape and Playmob on environmentally conscious game jam: Bi-annual student game jam will see teams competing for £2,000 scholarship
104. Full motion, full emotion: Bandersnatch’s Emmys as a (literal) game changer: Acclaimed FMV game makers dish in the wake of Black Mirror’s Emmys.
105. Mario Kart Tour’s first-month downloads zoom past 123m: Revenue of $37.4m is the second-best first-month revenue for a Nintendo mobile game
106. Shigeru Miyamoto named ‘Person of Cultural Merit’ by the Japanese government
107. Shigeru Miyamoto recognised with Japanese cultural award: Super Mario creator will be awarded for elevating the Japanese games industry around the world
108. Star Trek Fleet Command publisher Scopely nets $200 million for future acquisitions 
109. Luigi’s Mansion 3 review: The most “Nintendo” game from Nintendo in years
110. Luigi’s Mansion 3: Critical Consensus – Reviewers welcome plumber brother’s latest adventure on Switch as a charming frightfest
111. First Switch game ok’d for launch in China, though the console remains in limbo
112. Switch China launch draws nearer as Tencent approved to publish Mario Bros U DX: Chinese publisher also approved to bring Monster Hunter: World back to shelves
113. Profit up at Capcom thanks to strong Monster Hunter World: Iceborne sales
114. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne drives profit for Capcom in latest financials: DLC has shipped 2.8 million units since September, while base game surpasses 14 million lifetime sales
115. Pokémon Go surpasses $3bn lifetime revenue: Niantic’s augmented reality mobile game on track to break 2016 revenue record
116. Revenue up at Rovio, though high user acquisition costs impact operating profit
117. The Climate Trail: A bleak look at what awaits us if we fail to address climate change
118. Star Theory’s shot beyond the Mun with Kerbal Space Program 2: Creative director Nate Simpson on the challenges of grounding the interstellar sequel in reality while adding accessibility
119. Designing interesting and informative conversations in Heaven’s Vault
120. Ninja Theory launches mental health R&D effort: Hellblade studio’s The Insight Project aiming to “help mental health treatment to go mainstream”
121. Shattering Muslim stereotypes with Islamic Relief’s mobile game: Ultimatum Games’ Shahid Ahmad explains why an idle clicker was perfect for the charity
122. Don’t Miss: How Red Faction: Guerrilla uses player freedom to drive open-world design
123. Blog: Examining the design and UX of Miniclip’s 8 Ball Pool
124. Blog: The client-to-cloud revolution — A 3D view of how we got here
125. Blog: Understanding permadeath as a mechanic in survival horror
126. Meet the new best Android TV device: The 2019 Nvidia Shield TV
127. Cloud gaming service Shadow raises $33m: Start-up has now raised $100 million to date
128. Why I hate fun | Opinion: ArenaNet’s John Hopson has spent a career applying “fun scores” to games — here’s why the practice needs to change
129. Don’t Play the Goose Game: Untitled Goose Game is fun. The problem is, all games are also work. (Ian Bogost)

DIGITAL

1. G/O Media Is Fighting Its Staff Over ‘Objectively Bad’ Autoplay Ads: Deadspin, Gizmodo, and Jezebel have been inundated with sound-on ads that the rest of the internet killed a decade ago.
2. What happened when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came face to face with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
3. Zuckerberg faces heat in Congress: “It’s almost like you think this is a joke” – Hearing on Libra cryptocurrency went off the rails, running down the CEO.
4. Facebook’s new political-ad policy already showing cracks, loopholes
5. No, you apparently can’t run for office just to put false ads on Facebook
6. Facebook launches a news section — and will pay publishers
7. Facebook will begin paying some outlets for their content as it introduces its News tab: Breitbart News is among the 200 outlets participating in the program.
8. Facebook Launches ‘News’ Tab, Will Pay (Some) Partner Outlets For Their Content
9. ‘Facebook Spaces’ Has Been Shut Down But Its Lessons Shouldn’t Be Forgotten
10. Viacom Digital Studios International Inks Multi-Territory Content Deal With Facebook Watch
11. Facebook deletes the accounts of NSO Group workers
12. Russia’s Fancy Bear hackers conduct “significant cyberattacks” on anti-doping agencies
13. Indian nuclear power plant’s network was hacked, officials confirm
14. Indian nuke plant’s network reportedly hit by malware tied to N. Korea
15. India Looking To Be The Next China, Sends Out Call For Bids On Massive Facial Recognition Program
16. India: Delhi High Court orders removal of all posts defamatory to Ramdev ‘Globally’
17. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 29: Partisan Posts, Social Media, and Misinformation – Taylor Owen on What Actually Happened Online in the 2019 Election (Michael Geist)
18. Internet Access Provider May Be Vicariously Liable for Subscribers’ BitTorrent Downloads–Warner Bros. v. Charter (Eric Goldman)
19. Instagram expands ban on suicide content to cover cartoons and memes
20. How memes got weaponized: A short history
21. Youth and Cyberbullying
22. Congress concerned teenagers’ favorite app is national security threat
23. TikTok, Under Scrutiny, Distances Itself From China: Three senators have called for an investigation into the social media app, which is owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance.
24. Indian Court Orders Global Takedown Of ‘Defamatory’ Video From YouTube, Twitter, Facebook
25. Trump to Tell Federal Agencies to Cut New York Times, Washington Post Subscriptions
26. Twitter blocking all political ads globally starting in November
27. Twitter says it now removes half of all abusive tweets before users report them
28. Twitter shares plunge almost 20% after revenue hit by weaker advertising, low demand
29. India uses opaque legal process to suppress Kashmiri journalism, commentary on Twitter
30. No, Internet Companies Do Not Get A ‘Free Pass’ Thanks To CDA 230
31. Insights: As Social Media Sites Fiddle Over Cannabis Creator Bans, Public Health Suffers
32. Lego’s Mostly Obnoxious IP Bullying Of The 3D Printing Community Doesn’t Make Any Sense
33. Your Periodic Reminder that Blogging About Litigation Can Generate More Litigation–Wexler v. Dorsey & Whitney (Eric Goldman)
34. FTC Reaches Settlement with Developer of Tracking Apps
35. Social Media Bot Company Devumi LLC Reaches $2.5 Million Settlement with FTC for Sale of Misleading Social Media “Influence Indicators”
36. FTC Sues Over Phony Business Practices Online
37. FTC Enforcement Action Against Deceptive Online Reviews
38. The FTC fosters fake reviews, its own commissioners say
39. Customer Review Fraud Top of FTC’s Priority List
40. NAAG Asks Online Retailers to Prevent Illegal Alcohol Sales
41. Skin Care Company, Sunday Riley, Somehow Gets No Consequences In Fake Reviews FTC Settlement
42. Website and Its Operator Settle FTC Charges They Sold Fake Indicators of Social Media Influence
43. Tax Treatment of Cryptocurrency Mining
44. See on Apple TV+: Less Game of Thrones, more unintentionally funny SyFy
45. Apple earnings Q4 2019: Tim Cook says health will be what Apple is remembered for
46. Creatives, Including Judd Apatow, Balk At Netflix Playback Speed Tests: “Don’t F-ck With Our Timing”
47. Spotify Testing Sponsored Version of ‘Brand New Music for You’ Recommendation Feature
48. Spotify launches a dedicated Kids app with curated playlists and playful art
49. Snapchat now lets you 3D Paint faces and pretty much anything else
50. Amazon Can’t Force Arbitration of Minors’ Privacy Claims Based on Alexa Recordings–BF v. Amazon
51. Court Partially Enforces Amazon’s Non-Compete Against Employee Who Joined Google–Amazon v. Moyer
52. Amazon Will Make Amazon Fresh Free, Moving To Strengthen Its Lead In The Online Grocery Market
53. Amid Missed Alphabet Earnings, Analyst Suggests YouTube Spin-Off Could Boast $300 Billion Market Cap
54. YouTube Music Brings 10,000 Fans Together To Create New Queen Music Videos
55. Jesse Ridgway Spent 13 Years Making Content On YouTube. Here’s Why He’s Leaving — And Building Its Competitor.
56. MrBeast Is Going To Plant 20 Million Trees — With A Little Help From The YouTube Community
57. Creators Discovered YouTube’s Publicly Available Code Displayed Channels’ P-Scores, Video Ratings, And More
58. Target Hones YouTube Presence In Massively-Viewed Collabs With Michelle Phan, Emma Chamberlain
59. Ryan ToysReview Changes Clunky Channel Name, Launches Spanish-Language Hub
60. Group Nine Announces New Executive Leadership Structure Following PopSugar Acquisition
61. NBA’s Top Offseason Video Topics, Plus Lebron, Zion, And More Very Engaging Stars For The 2019-20 Season
62. Microsoft finally built a repairable Surface Laptop
63. Red quits the smartphone business after a single, terrible phone
64. Here’s what the people who claimed Google’s quantum supremacy have to say about it
65. Google And Facebook Didn’t Kill Newspapers: The Internet Did
66. Google’s parent company reportedly wants to buy Fitbit
67. An Army “hacker con” goes big: The return of AvengerCon
68. A Turning Point for Tech – Global survey on digital regulation: Technological developments and tech-based business models have become a focus for global regulation across borders and industries in recent years.
69. Global Media Technology and Communications Quarterly: Autumn 2019 Edition
70. Internet Broadcasting and Section 31D of Copyright Act 1957
71. Models for Platform Governance
72. Elon Musk Contributes $1 Million To MrBeast’s #TeamTrees, Pushing Total To $8.2 Million In 5 Days
73. Our FOIA Lawsuit Gets Results: ICE Admits It Didn’t Really Seize A Million ‘Copyright Infringing’ Domains
74. E-retailer takeovers rise as high street decline increases pressure to grow online sales
75. Does reselling online content infringe copyright in the EU?
76. 50 years ago today, the Internet was born. Sort of
77. The Internet At 50: It Has Enabled Many Wonderful Things, But We Have To Fight To Keep It That Way

A.I.

1. DeepMind AI achieves Grandmaster status at Starcraft 2
2. Level up: DeepMind’s AlphaStar achieves Grandmaster level in StarCraft II
3. FACEIT and Google-designed ‘Admin AI’ bans 20,000 toxic CS:GO players in six weeks
4. A health care algorithm offered less care to black patients
5. Skynet, But For Welfare: Automating Social Services Is Killing People
6. Solving Rubik’s Cube with a Robot Hand
7. Six cars aced new pedestrian detection tests 
8. New community management AI from FaceIt bans 20,000 players in trail run: Esports tournament platform reduces number of toxic messages in Counter-Strike games by 20%
9. Patenting Artificial Intelligence Inventions in Canada 
10. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Patent Infringement Claims 
11. Jones Day Talks:®When AI Invents: Two Applications Test U.S. Patent Law
12. AI technology – the pitfalls of protecting inventions
13. Introducing AI Blindspot: A Call for Tech to Think Holistically and Spot Risks
14. Distracted by Data: What we risk by hyper-focusing on “data” as a problem to solve 
15. Data Voids: Where Missing Data Can Easily Be Exploited
16. When Binary Code Won’t Accommodate Nonbinary People: The next frontier in gender rights is inside databases.

COMMUNICATIONS

1. The Retailers Strike Back with a Motion to Strike in the Allarco Litigation (Howard Knopf) 
2. Motion to Strike in Allarco
3. Wireless Worsens: Report Finds Canadian Wireless Pricing Now Less Competitive Compared to Other Developed Economies (Michael Geist) 
4. Canadian Wireless Carrier Rogers ‘Surprised’ That People Like Unlimited Data Plans
5. AT&T loses another 1.3 million TV customers as DirecTV freefall continues
6. AT&T will slash $3 billion off its capital investments next year
7. AT&T Jacks Up TV Prices Post Merger After Repeatedly Claiming That Wouldn’t Happen
8. Man sues AT&T after fraudulent SIM swap led to $1.8M cryptocurrency theft 
9. AT&T Will Invest $4 Billion In HBO Max Over Next 3 Years, Doesn’t Expect Profit Until 2024 
10. This Idaho Town Lets You Switch Between Cheap Fiber ISPs In A Matter Of Seconds
11. HBO Max will bring up the streaming-video rear in May 2020 for $15/mo
12. FCC plans Huawei/ZTE ban, may require ripping out existing network gear
13. FCC Seeks Comment on Adequacy of US Broadband Deployment
14. FCC Requires 911 Fee Parity Between VoIP Services and Traditional Phone Service
15. TV Network Declares IPTV Tool Copyright Infringing, Even Though It’s Just A Tool
16. Comcast’s ‘Free’ Streaming Box Is Actually $13 After Stupid Fees
17. Comcast fights Google’s encrypted-DNS plan but promises not to spy on users
18. Comcast Insists It’s An Innocent Little Daisy On Consumer Privacy
19. Like The Rest Of Its 5G Footprint, Verizon 5G Sports Venue Availability Is Being Overhyped
20. Eagles fly to Iran, rack up huge roaming charges

PRIVACY

1. Report: Devin Nunes’ Aide Going Around Leaking Ukraine Call Whistleblower’s Name
2. Australia wants to use face recognition for porn age verification
3. New York AG Sues Dunkin’ Over Cybersecurity
4. Georgia Supreme Court Says Cops Need Warrants To Search Vehicle Crash Data Recorders
5. Magistrate Judge Rejects Govt’s Attempt To Use A Stored Records Law To Seek Future Cell Site Location Info
6. Interesting developments in the law of confidential information
7. Steak With A Side Of Surveillance: Outback Restaurants Adding Employee-Tracking Analytics To Its Cameras
8. Whirlpool Left Appliance Data, User Emails Exposed Online
9. Man planted keyloggers in companies’ networks and stole their data
10. WhatsApp suit says Israeli spyware maker exploited its app to target 1,400 users
11. Johannesburg’s network shut down after second attack in 3 months
12. The Stakes for Complying With DoD Cybersecurity Requirements Are Higher Than Ever
13. New Mass Shooting Prevention Bill Will Use ‘Anti-Terrorism’ Methods To Ramp Up Surveillance Of Students
14. IP Insight: Remember the “Right to be Forgotten?”
15. Right to Privacy: Can the Employer conduct Surveillance?
16. The count of managed service providers getting hit with ransomware mounts
17. Five months after returning rental car, man still has remote control
18. The Countdown Begins on California’s “Internet of Things” Law
19. Hacked, cracked or breached: What’s in a name when it comes to privacy?

CREATIVITY

1. General Court confirms cancellation of EU trade mark consisting of the shape of famous Rubik’s Cube (Eleonora Rosati)
2. Aussie Censorship In Action: National Enquirer Editor Threats Get Bookstores To Block Sale Of Ronan Farrow Book
3. Communication Breakdown: Canadian Quirks in Madrid International Trademark Filing System Can Trip Up Foreign Practitioners
4. Strengthening Trade Secret Protection in Canada
5. Federal Court Opens Door to use of Foreign Patent Prosecution Histories in Canadian Litigation
6. UK Supreme Court hands employee-inventor a dramatic £2 million victory
7. Shanks v Unilever: What does this mean for employers’ intellectual property rights?
8. IP Brief – Shanks v Unilever
9. UK Supreme Court awards Professor Shanks £2m compensation for invention of ‘outstanding benefit’ after 13 year court battle
10. Compensation and ownership – Two thorny issues in employee invention cases
11. Supreme Court rules no employer is “too big to pay” employees for inventions of outstanding benefit
12. Reproduction of Works and Kraft-works
13. Louis Vuitton ‘chessboard’ dispute in Poland: the court overturned the Patent Office’s decision
14. Halloween Edition: Copyright for Banana Costume is upheld on A-Peel
15. Olympic Advertising Rules Scaled Back Prior to 2020 Games
16. Is ‘Liverpool’ bigger than Liverpool Football Club?
17. Artistic value and copyright protection for industrial designs
18. Who Owns Truth Hurts?
19. Supreme Court Ruling on When Copyright Infringement Lawsuits May Be Filed Brings Heightened Interest in Preregistration
20. Fair and Balanced Reporting Pays Off: Newspapers Avoid Defamation Suits by Sticking to the Truth
21. Dorsey & Whitney Beats Defamation Claim Over TCPA Blog: Court Finds “Major Spousal Scheme” Headline Was Inactionable Opinion, Not Fact
22. James Woods Avoids Defamation Liability for a Tweet
23. MLB Umpire Joe West Sues Ex-Player Paul Lo Duca for Defamation Over Bribery Claims
24. New NCAA Marketing Rules for Athletes Proposed
25. Federal Labeling Laws vs. State False Advertising Laws: The Ongoing Preemption Battle
26. Cimabue Masterpiece found in French kitchen sells for £20 million

Jon