News of the Week; November 27, 2019

GAMES

1. Blizzard and NetEase win Overwatch copyright lawsuit in China
2. Patent Infringement Suit Over Apex Legends and Anthem
3. The Pokemon Company is suing unknown parties over Sword and Shield leaks
4. The Pokemon Company sues Pokemon Sword and Shield leakers: Unknown US individuals sought for posting early, unreleased images of new Pokemon on Discord, 4chan
5. What happens if loot box regulation passes into UK law? | Opinion: Reed Smith’s Emily Daniels and Hunter Thomson offer tips on how to stay ahead of any future legal restrictions
6. Man Spends $1.4 Million On Game Character, Which His Friend Then Accidentally Sold For Only $552
7. EA: “Cloud gaming is going to bring in another billion players” – CTO Ken Moss on EA’s huge investment in AI, cloud streaming and tech
8. EA/Origin Rewards Adopters Of Extra Security By Scaring Them
9. Analyst: Men more likely than women to buy games based on reviews
10. Brass Lion Entertainment and the critical business of diversity: Manveer Heir, Bryna Dabby Smith, and Rashad Redic on why their focus on diverse games is both a business decision and a human one
11. Google responds to claims it misled consumers over Stadia launch performance
12. Google addresses complaints of sub-4K image quality on Stadia
13. Google Stadia’s Claims For Streaming In 4K Seem… No, Just No
14. Stadia access codes have now reached Founder’s Edition buyers, days after launch
15. Google Stadia: Critical Consensus: Critics say Google Stadia is the best game streaming option around, but still falls short in almost every way that matters
16. Stadia Issues Continue And It’s The One Thing That Can’t Happen If We’re Going To Give Up Our Consoles
17. Google responds after Stadia owners accuse it of breaking promises over game performance
18. Google responds to criticisms of Stadia’s 4K support: After Red Dead Redemption 2 and Destiny 2 found to be upscaling lower resolutions, company says it expects developers to improve their games’ performance
19. Google offers refunds to Stadia players who bought games added to Pro subscription: Subscribers who purchased Farming Simulator and Tomb Raider are entitled to compensation
20. Google is offering refunds for players who bought new Stadia freebies
21. Google hires senior Assassin’s Creed devs for first Stadia studio
22. IP Insight – Blizzard v Bossland: Cheaters Never Prosper
23. Report: Amazon plans to announce long-rumored game streaming service in 2020
24. Amazon reportedly announcing game streaming service next year: Analyst suggests the retail giant will launch its service in time to compete with PlayStation 5 and Project Scarlett
25. PlayStation controller patent shows larger triggers, no light bar
26. The hidden gems of Apple Arcade
27. Why are developers betting on Apple Arcade?: The mobile subscription service frees developers from monetisation worries, but questions linger about its future
28. AirConsole raises $3 million to expand library and reach
29. AirConsole raises $3m in Series A round: Cloud-based casual gaming platform looks towards partnership development
30. Toadman Interactive acquires publisher Sold Out
31. Toadman Interactive buys Sold Out for £16 million: UK publisher joins Swedish firm’s growing network of games companies
32. Top 1% of mobile publishers take 82% slice of downloads: Sensor Tower data showed 95% of IAP revenue going to just 1% of publishers in Q3 2019
33. Check out Xbox’s latest guidelines for building more accessible games
34. State of Decay 2, from Xbox Games Studios’ Undead Labs, headed to Steam
35. Xbox currently has no plans for xCloud exclusives, though it has been discussed
36. “No plans” for Project xCloud exclusives: Microsoft emphasises that it is “very early in the multi-year journey” for games streaming service
37. Shenmue III: Critical Consensus – The 18 year wait for a new Shenmue is over, and critics are split over a game deliberately out of step with the times
38. How Modern Warfare smooths over the horrors of war
39. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sold 4.75m digital units in its launch month – SuperData’s October report also shows Apex Legends having its best month since its launch quarter
40. UK Charts: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is back at No.1 as Nintendo Switch conquers top ten – Shenmue III debuts at No.17 and Football Manager 2020 comes in at No.16
41. Metacritic reveals the best 15 games of 2019 by review scores: Only One Nintendo Title Makes The Top Ten, According To Site’s Metascores
42. Making a career in games more sustainable: Goodbye Kansas’ Henrik Jonsson on how different corners of the games industry can stop driving away talent and support individuals long-term
43. Straight talk on funding — five top tips: Fundamentally Games’ Ella Romanos on forecasts, fees, the value of debt, and why failure can be useful
44. Ubisoft partners with blockchain distribution platform Ultra: “[Ubisoft] believes that all blockchain use cases that bring value to players are important to support,” says blockchain initiative director
45. Paid subscriptions coming to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp: Nintendo follows Mario Kart subscription with two tiers for Animal Crossing amounting to $10.98 per month
46. Who Leaked ‘Sword And Shield’ Secrets? Pokémon Lawyers Want To Catch ’Em All
47. Pokemon Sword and Shield have topped 6 million sales worldwide
48. Pokémon Sword & Shield are the fastest-selling games in Switch’s history: Switch duo sells six million copies worldwide in first week of release
49. The Witcher 3 continues to sell well as CD Projekt reports rising revenue
50. The Witcher 3, Gwent drive revenue growth at CD Projekt: Polish company looks toward strong Q4 with Gwent iOS and The Witcher 3 for Switch
51. Mobile developer and tool maker N3twork secures $40 million in funding
52. NetEase buys minority stake in Bossa Studios: Deal worth an alleged $30m precedes Bossa’s push into China with the launch of Hogwash
53. Coffee Stain invests in Kavalri: Goat Simulator publisher puts money into Equestrian the Game developer as part of initiative to address industry’s gender imbalance
54. Candy Crush Soda Saga and Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle hit $2b lifetime revenue – But Dragon Ball reached the milestone faster, according to Sensor Tower estimates
55. ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ broke multiple sales records for EA: Turns out Star Wars fans love a classic single-player game.
56. Jedi: Fallen Order sets records for EA Star Wars titles – Publisher says Respawn’s latest has best two-week digital sales in franchise history, best PC launch sales as well
57. Roblox grosses $1 billion in mobile revenue
58. Roblox surpasses $1b in lifetime revenue: Sensor Tower: Kid-friendly game creation platform has already grossed $435m so far in 2019
59. Analyst: Roblox revenue on mobile alone surpasses $1 billion
60. Rebellion has purchased Xenon and Speedball developer The Bitmap Brothers
61. Rebellion acquires The Bitmap Brothers: Sniper Elite developer plans to develop new games based on classic IPs from The Bitmap Brothers
62. Behaviour Interactive scrapping Deathgarden due to lack of players
63. Behaviour Interactive shuts down Deathgarden: Bloodharvest development: This is the second title Behaviour has shuttered this year, after its mobile Westworld game
64. Battleborn pulled from digital stores, going offline in 2021
65. 2K begins slow sunset of Battleborn: Free-to-play hero shooter will shut down virtual currency in February, game will remain live through January 2021
66. Swedish startup Coherence nets $2.5 million to build ‘democratic’ dev platform
67. Valve issues string of Steam bans after publishers caught abusing Steamworks
68. Steam removes hundreds of games after publishers abuse Steamworks: Russian publisher Dagestan Technology among those affected, although Valve has yet to offer further explanation
69. Valve is clearing out the last of its Steam Controller inventory
70. Valve discontinues Steam Controller: Ill-fated controller put out to pasture after four years
71. The Steam Controller is dead, but its legacy lives on
72. Intel granted patent for a new gamepad
73. VR would be “a really dark space right now” without Facebook’s money: At Reboot Develop Red, Chet Faliszek reflected on progress in the VR industry since he departed Valve
74. ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Trailer Revealed, Release Date Set for March 2020
75. Valve’s Gabe Newell: ‘We’re excited to return to Half-Life, VR has energized the studio’
76. First Look: ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Screenshots Are Classic Valve, with a Decade More Detail
77. Valve releasing Source 2 tools alongside Half-Life: Alyx next March
78. ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Will Run on All SteamVR Headsets, Free for Index Owners
79. Valve Index is Sold Out in Some Regions Following ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Announcement
80. Source 2 Tools Will Ship with ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ for VR Content from the Modding Community
81. Valve shares platform and launch details for VR exclusive Half-Life: Alyx
82. Half Life Alyx hits PC VR headsets in March 2020
83. Xbox chief: “Nobody’s asking for VR” for Project Scarlett
84. Phil Spencer: VR is isolating, isn’t a priority for Project Scarlett
85. Hey Surgeon, Is That a HoloLens on Your Head?: Mixed reality displays are entering the operating room, first as surgical planning tools and soon as real-time guides to help doctors zap tumors.
86. Beat Saber dev Beat Games acquired by Facebook
87. Facebook acquires Beat Games: Beat Saber developer joins Oculus headset maker to continue work on music VR games
88. Facebook just bought the developers behind virtual reality mega-hit ‘Beat Saber’ as part of a plan to ‘push VR to new heights’
89. Russian dairy cows wear VR glasses for better milk production: Farmers try virtual reality headwear to see if it will help cows calm down and produce more milk.
90. SuperData: Russia to surpass France as third-largest games market in Europe – Growth of mobile, esports, and free-to-play PC games expected to offset end of generation slowdown
91. DisguisedToast, a top Twitch streamer, is moving to Facebook Gaming
92. Facebook Makes First Play In Gaming Streamer Sign-Up Wars With ‘Disguised Toast’
93. Hearthstone streamer Jeremy ‘DisguisedToast’ Wang signs Facebook exclusivity deal: Wang follows in the footsteps of several other top streamers departing Twitch in recent months
94. Esports Org ‘Rogue’ Launches Latest Accelerator Program For Teen Fortnite Players
95. NBA star Tony Parker to be honoured at Esports BAR Cannes: Former San Antonio Spurs player will be given Ambassador award for his activities in esports
96. Why Session’s skateboarding design is more Skate than Tony Hawk
97. Snapchat’s journey to be a “gaming destination”: Global partnerships lead John Imah offers insight into the early days of Snap Games, and how it fits the company’s broader gaming strategy
98. The origins of Out Making Games, the UK’s first games industry LGBTQ+ network: We speak to the group’s founders about its initial success and plans to spread awareness and support in 2020 and beyond
99. Mike Pondsmith: “If you want to get somebody to see your point of view, don’t preach” – The veteran designer on adapting to new technology and using games to tackle political and social themes
100. Shovel Knight Showdown: Designing a roulette of gameplay
101. Reworking the combat system in Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
102. NetEase has purchased a stake in Surgeon Simulator dev Bossa Studios
103. Don’t Miss: Designing characters as UI in games like State of Decay
104. Don’t Miss: A game dev postmortem of the original BioShock
105. Don’t Miss: The legacy of Street Fighter II, in the words of the experts
106. Video: Adopting continuous delivery to combat crunch on Sea of Thieves
107. Video: How Riot creates new League of Legends champions
108. Blog: Handling Unity scene hierarchy and performance
109. Blog: What lessons can action games learn from Doom?
110. Blog: A trailer analysis of Manifold Garden
111. Blog: Combining film and comics to create the noir aesthetic of Interrogation1
112. Blog: The community-driven development of Vecter
113. Obituary: Stuido Studios co-founder Jose Zambrano

DIGITAL

1. Surprised about Mark Zuckerberg’s secret meeting with Trump? Don’t be
2. Facebook and Twitter data was exposed to developers through app store bug
3. Facebook is building an Instagram-style Close Friends feature: ‘Favorites’ sorts your actual friends from your Facebook acquaintances
4. Instagram Campaign Use Grows — But What Could The Removal Of Likes Mean For Creators?
5. Instagram’s @bitch Isn’t Your Typical Social Video Aggregator. It Actually Credits Content Creators And Licenses Their Work.
6. Singapore Government Tests Out Its Fake News Law Against An Opposition Party Leader
7. TikTok issues public apology for suspending the account of the teen behind the viral Chinese takedown video disguised as a makeup tutorial
8. YouTube Is Still Struggling To Label Videos From State-Controlled Outlets
9. Germany’s CDU, Angela Merkel’s Party Of Fuddy-Duddies, Decides To Join The Cool Kids: Backs Open Standards, Open Source, Open Data, Open APIs — Open Everything
10. Google fires four employees at center of worker organization efforts
11. Google Photos rolls out manual face tagging: Tutorial, benefits, and a big asterisk
12. Google bans microtargeting and “false claims” in political ads: Google’s new policy, like Twitter’s, is a shot across Facebook’s bow.
13. Google Permits Sports Betting Advertisements
14. Google Updates Its Political Advertising Policies
15. Supreme Court to Weigh in on Google-Oracle Copyright Dispute
16. A seismic cert – what to watch out for following the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Google v Oracle
17. Copyright Troll Mathew Higbee Demands ~$1,000 For Image Only His Team Viewed
18. Indiana manipulated report on Amazon worker’s death to lure HQ2, investigation says
19. State ignored worker death to lure Amazon business, report says
20. Amazon: Cops Can Get Recordings From Ring, Keep Them Forever, And Share Them With Whoever They Want
21. Court Says It’s Not Tortious Interference To Report Your Account Or Ask Twitter To Ban You
22. Twitter halts plan to remove inactive accounts until it can memorialize dead users: The company apologized for confusion around its plan to remove accounts
23. Twitter Just Confirmed A Better Way To Secure Your Account
24. Twitter will remove inactive accounts and free up usernames in December: No exact date for when usernames will be available
25. When Does a Tweet Fall Afoul of Regulation FD
26. Photographer Doubles Down On Tweet Copyright Protection
27. The Sketchy, Sketchy Case Of ICANN Execs And Self-Dealing Regarding The .Org Domain
28. Love Baby Yoda, you must
29. People can’t stop sharing Baby Yoda memes (and we don’t want them to)
30. Baby Yoda GIFs Removed Over Disney Copyright Issues: Leave our precious powerful alien infant alone!
31. Adorable ‘Baby Yoda’ GIFs return after Giphy mix-up: Disney wasn’t responsible for removing the cute little scamp.
32. Disney+’s The Mandalorian joins a long list of fake HDR content, analysis finds
33. Viacom’s Pluto TV Launches 24-Hour AwesomenessTV Channel In The U.K.
34. Former Devin Nunes’ Aide Uses Nunes’ Lawyer To File SLAPP Suit Against Politico
35. Alexander Vindman Now Threatens Bogus SLAPP Suit Against Fox News & Laura Ingraham
36. Google Will No Longer Allow Political Ad Targeting Based On Party Affiliation, Voter Records
37. Google Assistant can now navigate websites, book movie tickets
38. Google will pay $1.5 million for the most severe Android exploits
39. Google is killing Google Cloud Print
40. Rehearing Briefs in Enigma Software v. Malwarebytes (Eric Goldman)
41. Review Services Aren’t Liable for Removing Business Profiles (and Associated Reviews)–PCS v. HomeAdvisor (Eric Goldman)
42. More Evidence That Print-on-Demand Vendors May Be Doomed–Greg Young Publishing v. Zazzle (Eric Goldman)
43. Be careful with your AdWords: The German Federal Court of Justice sets a limit on the use of keywords for online advertising
44. Content and Conduct: How English Wikipedia Moderates Harmful Speech
45. Why can’t Internet companies stop awful content? – Opinion: Section 230 already got the balance right.
46. Sacha Baron Cohen Is Wrong About Social Media, Wrong About Section 230… And Even Wrong About His Own Comedy
47. Potential Amendments To CDA Section 230 Relating to Immunity Provided To Internet Intermediaries
48. Despite clear warnings, Europe is out of IP addresses—again
49. CCPA – Adtech Update
50. The Impact of Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes, and Other Online Ordering and Delivery Platforms on your Franchise Agreement
51. Netflix Starts To Harden Its Stance On Password Sharing
52. Netflix Clinches More K-Dramas In Multiyear Deals With Studio Dragon, JTBC
53. Netflix cancels its Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival
54. The Librem 5 has been “shipping” for a month—but not to backers
55. Bill Nye, Casey Neistat, iJustine Among Guests For Marques Brownlee’s YouTube Original ‘Retro Tech’
56. YouTube Test Matching “Edgy” Creators And Advertisers Has Resulted In Hundreds Of Thousands In Ad Dollars
57. YouTube Launches Largest ‘Masthead’ Ad Format On TV Screens Globally
58. YouTube Powerhouse ‘Bon Appétit’ Launches Linear Channel On Samsung TV Plus
59. YouTube Millionaires: Sierra Schultzzie Tries It All On In Her Adventurous, Body-Positive Videos
60. ‘Ryan’s World’ Continues Global Domination With Japanese-Language YouTube Hub
61. Epidemic Sound, A Music Licensor For Creators, Onboards YouTube, Spotify Vet Kate Vale
62. Spotify Faces Lawsuit From Indie Music Company Claiming Mistreatment
63. Just in case you didn’t get the message – Apple issues SEP FRAND statement
64. Apple and Intel Sue SoftBank-Funded Patent Troll, Claiming Antitrust Violations For Patent Trolling
65. Apple cancels theatrical premiere of its Oscar hopeful, The Banker
66. Apple Pulls “The Banker” From Premiere After Sexual Abuse Claims Against Real-Life Subject’s Son
67. To cut down on bugs, Apple is changing how it develops its software
68. ‘Rick And Morty’, Adult Swim Drive Social Video Views Amid Show’s Highly-Anticipated Return
69. Liza Koshy’s Latest Hosting Gig Is A Dance Competition Series For Quibi
70. Hey influencers! The FTC is talking to you – new guidance from the FTC
71. FTC Releases Sponsorship Disclosure Guide for Influencers on Social Media
72. Influencer Disclosure Update 101, Courtesy of the FTC
73. Influencer Marketing Pioneer ‘Best Fiends’ Taps Joey Graceffa, LaBrant Fam For Latest Launch
74. How MagicLinks Is Measuring Influencers’ Sales Data To Help Them Know Their Worth
75. UTA Signs Viral TikTok Star Brittany ‘Kombucha Girl’ Tomlinson (Exclusive)
76. Insights: College Sports Is About To Unleash An Influencer Deluge
77. Shane Dawson Concludes Jeffree Star Series With 142 Million Collective Views
78. Browser Extension ‘Honey’, A Frequent Shane Dawson And MrBeast Sponsor, Acquired For $4 Billion
79. Donut Media Drives In Creators MatPat, Linus Tech Tips, Gus Johnson, ChrisFix For Kia Challenge Series
80. Internet radio streams and the communication to the public right in Warner Music & Sony Music v TuneIn Inc.
81. Spotify’s Plans For Podcast Domination Involve Deals With Ryland Adams, Lele Pons
82. Spotify Awards to Debut in 2020, Geared to Mexico & Latin America
83. Spotify Is Launching Its Own Music Awards, Based on Streaming Data
84. Understanding Regulation of Cookies
85. Facebook posts that revealed client info bring public reprimand for MA lawyer
86. WayBack machine, a valid tool to verify a prior version of a web page
87. Private equity firm buys .org domain months after ICANN lifted price caps
88. The right T-shirt may increase medical implant’s battery life
89. Legal statement on cryptoassets and smart contracts
90. Cryptoassets: UK Jurisdiction Taskforce Publishes Statement
91. Legal statement on cryptoassets and smart contracts – the breakdown
92. Blockchain Basics: What GCs Need to Know About the Disruptive Technology
93. What does the FBI regard as the main cybercrimes? A closer look at the typologies
94. Voltage v. Salna + ~55,000 – Costs Implications of Dismissal of Reverse Class Action Certification Motion (Howard Knopf)
95. Website “Blocking Orders” Now Available In Canada
96. Can Canadian Courts Issue Site-Blocking Orders?
97. Federal Court Issues Site-Blocking Order for ISPs
98. Teksavvy Fights Back Against GoldTV Website Blocking Order – Interveners: Start Your Engines (Howard Knopf)
99. Canadian Copyright Website Blocking Underway As TekSavvy Appeals Federal Court Ruling (Michael Geist)
100. The Curious Case Of The Bogus CC License On A 3D Scan Of A 3000-Year-Old Bust Of Nefertiti
101. Rana Foroohar On How Tech Lost Its Way
102. Kate Klonick On Facebook’s Oversight Board
103. Digital assets and estate planning
104. Is it time to turn away from touchscreens in our cars?
105. Ubuntu 19.10: It’s fast, like “make old hardware feel new” fast

A.I.

1. NYC wants a chief algorithm officer to counter bias, build transparency
2. When Innovation Creates: Additional Developments in Artificial Intelligence at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
3. Can artificial intelligence systems patent their inventions?
4. “The UK Patents Act leaves no doubt that an inventor is a person…”
5. Sony establishes AI R&D division: New organisation will have offices in Japan, the US and Europe
6. FaceIt asking players to help train Minerva AI in fairly tackling toxicity: Upcoming Justice update will allow Counter-Strike community to review cases flagged by the machine learning tool
7. To secure a safer future for AI, we need the benefit of a female perspective
8. How A.I. Invoice Review Actually Works (Legal Tech Lesson)
9. How will AI transform the management of Intellectual Property?
10. Intel Core i9-10980XE—a step forward for AI, a step back for everything else

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Competition Bureau Continues Advocacy on Telecom Competition and Regulation
2. Cable Execs Now Falsely Claiming Cord Cutting Is Slowing Down
3. Huawei Files SLAPP Suits In France Against Critics Who Highlighted The Company’s Ties To The Chinese Government
4. FCC finalizes ban on Huawei and ZTE equipment in Universal Service Fund
5. FCC Adopts Order Restricting USF Funding on Huawei/ZTE; Possible Future Ban on All Equipment
6. FCC Proposes Rules Eliminating Outdated Network Unbundling/Resale Requirements
7. FCC Proposes Rules to Remove Bad Actors from Federally-Funded Programs
8. Third Circuit Denies Petition for Rehearing of Decision Overturning FCC Ownership Rule Changes
9. Empty T-Mobile Promises Convince Texas To Back Off Merger Lawsuit
10. Robocall Legislation Likely to Move Forward for White House Approval
11. NAB Seeks Reconsideration of FCC’s Clarification of Issue Advertising Public Disclosure Requirements – Rules Remain in Effect Though Some Clarification Provided
12. AT&T Exec Insists That No Broadband Company Is Violating Net Neutrality Even Though AT&T Is Absolutely Violating Net Neutrality
13. At launch, AT&T’s real 5G will only be as fast as its fake 5G
14. The Washington Post And AT&T Team Up To Over-hype 5G
15. Verizon’s new 5G coverage maps show just how sparse the network is
16. DOD joins fight against 5G spectrum proposal, citing risks to GPS
17. MediaTek and Intel team up to bring 5G networking to laptops and PCs
18. University of London v Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited [2019] EWCA Civ 2075
19. Telecoms: Court of Appeal ruling on operator’s right to survey  

PRIVACY

1. Suspect can’t be compelled to reveal “64-character” password, court rules
2. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Says Compelled Password Production Violates The Fifth Amendment
3. California Makes $50 Million Annually Selling Your DMV Data
4. EU’s High Court Issues Important Opinion on Website Cookie Consent
5. EU Tells US: Ban Strong Encryption, And Privacy Shield Data Sharing Agreement Could Be At Risk
6. Senate takes another stab at privacy law with proposed COPRA bill
7. Law Enforcement Agencies Bumping Up Demands For Uber Customers’ Data
8. A notorious Iranian hacking crew is targeting industrial control systems
9. 2.2 Million GateHub and RuneScape Passwords Compromised
10. Scammers try a new way to steal online shoppers’ payment-card data
11. Louisiana was hit by Ryuk, triggering another c
12. IIROC introduces mandatory cyber breach reporting
13. FedEx securities class action following the NotPetya cyberattack – implications for D&O insurance
14. Preparing for the California Consumer Privacy Act
15. States Set to Regulate the Internet of Things (IoT)
16. GDPR Privacy FAQs: Which supervisory authorities have released guidance on compliance with European cookie laws?
17. GDPR Privacy FAQs: What are the major differences between the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance on cookies and the CNIL’s guidance on cookies?
18. GDPR Privacy FAQs: Can organizations use “terms and conditions” consent to gain consent to the deployment of cookies?
19. IP and data protection for fintech businesses in United Kingdom
20. Increased Ransomware Attacks Affecting All Industries
21. Hacker’s paradise: Louisiana’s ransomware disaster far from over
22. Senator Cantwell Releases Another Federal Privacy Law That Won’t Go Anywhere And Doesn’t Deal With Actual Issues
23. Governments Are Feeding on Facebook Data: Report Shows Recent Rise in Official Requests for User Information

CREATIVITY

1. Lawyer With Neo-Nazi Ties Loses Defamation Lawsuit Against SPLC For Calling Him A Neo-Nazi
2. This Week In Free Speech Hypocrites: ‘Free Speech’ Supporter Sheila Gunn Reid Gleefully Sues Someone For Calling Her A Neo-Nazi
3. Three Media Corporations Avoid Defamation Liability in Suit Brought by Joseph Arpaio
4. Supreme Court allows climate scientist’s defamation case to proceed
5. Australian Attorney General Wants To Make The Country’s Defamation Law Even Worse
6. The Federal Circuit’s Determination That Administrative Patent Judges are Unconstitutionally Appointed
7. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 33: “Canadian Patenting is Not Going to Drive Anything” – Aidan Hollis on New Research on Patents and Innovation (Michael Geist)(
8. Banksy – showing “use” of his trademark or attempting to avoid evidential requirements of copyright law?
9. Nirvana Smiling as Motion to Dismiss Its Copyright and Trademark Claims is Denied
10. Beer Trademarks At Record High In UK As The Locking Up Of Language Continues To Boom
11. Nirvana, LLC v. Marc Jacobs International, LLC
12. Betty, Inc. v. PepsiCo, Inc.: District dismisses ad agency’s copyright infringement and breach of contract lawsuit accusing PepsiCo of copying concepts from rejected pitch for 2016 Super Bowl commercial.
13. Court of Appeal summarises law of joint authorship – Kogan v Martin
14. Transfer of “Know-How” includes Copyrights
15. The End Of Ownership, Military Edition: Even The US Military Can’t Fix Its Own Equipment Without Right To Repair Laws

Jon