#Mexican Patent and Trademark Office

[nationallawreview]

Legal Standing in Trademark Non-Use Cancellation Actions

Legal Standing in Trademark Non-Use Cancellation Actions

In recent years the Mexican Patent and Trademark Office (IMPI) allowed the possibility that complainants credit their legal standing on trademark non-use cancellation proceedings through the existence of a trademark application without the need of initially demonstrating that such application was blocked to registration in view of the prior existence of third parties’ confusingly similar…

[mostlysignssomeportents]

#10yrsago What real piracy looks like: biopirate loses patent over century-old latinamerican staple crop

You hear a lot of talk about piracy in the developing world, about Nigerian markets filled with bootleg DVDs or Chinese iPod knockoffs.

But if you want to see what real piracy looks like, look at the bio-pirates, people and corporations who receive patents on common life-forms from the developing world (abetted by the sleepy and lackadaisical US Patent and Trademark Office) and then use their might and muscle to tax people for growing, consuming and exporting the plants they've lived with for centuries, on the grounds that these plants are now some rich person's property.

One such injustice is finally drawing to a close. US Patent Number 5,894,079, belonging Colorado's Larry Proctor, has been struck down. Proctor brought home some yellow beans from a Mexican market and filed for a patent on them in the 1990s, neglecting to tell the USPTO that the beans had been a dietary staple in latinamerica for over a century.

Proctor called them "Enola beans" and began to receive a toll on every Enola bean imported into the US from latinamerica. He used this money to fund a series of defenses to challenges on his patent. Because the patent system continues to enforce challenged patents while the gears of litigation turn, for every year that went by, Proctor found himself richer and better-able to fund his defense, while the people who had grown and eaten the beans for a century got poorer.

Proctor still has the right to appeal his patent up to the Supreme Court, of course.

https://boingboing.net/2009/07/27/what-real-piracy-loo.html

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Winter storm threatens to scramble Thanksgiving travel plans (AP) A day after bringing havoc to the Rocky Mountains, a powerful winter storm rolled across the Midwest on Wednesday, threatening to scramble Thanksgiving plans for millions of people during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. The storm, which was blamed for one death and hundreds of canceled flights, pushed east into South Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. But the West was not free of heavy weather. A “bomb cyclone” phenomenon was expected to topple trees and knock out power in California and Oregon.

Falling U.S. life expectancy (Washington Post/JAMA) Death rates from suicide, drug overdoses, liver disease and dozens of other causes have been rising over the past decade for young and middle-aged adults, driving down overall life expectancy in the United States for three consecutive years, according to a strikingly bleak study published Tuesday that looked at the past six decades of mortality data. The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was immediately hailed by outside researchers for its comprehensive treatment of a still-enigmatic trend: the reversal of historical patterns in longevity. Despite spending more on health care than any other country, the United States has seen increasing mortality and falling life expectancy for people age 25 to 64, who should be in the prime of their lives. In contrast, other wealthy nations have generally experienced continued progress in extending longevity.​

Global death toll of landmines rises due to mines laid by militants (Reuters) The global casualty toll of landmines doubled in 2018 from a 2013 low due to conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria and Mali and mostly due to the increased use of improvised landmines set by militant groups such as Islamic State.

‘No intervention:’ Mexico president reacts to Trump’s cartel terrorism plan (Reuters) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday rejected “interventionism” after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was working to designate the Latin American country’s drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said such a designation could, under U.S. law, enable the United States to act directly against the threat if it so chose.

The political fallout of a murder in Malta (Foreign Policy) An investigation into the 2017 murder of the crusading Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has, after two years, started to impact high-level government officials. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff and two ministers abruptly stepped down on Tuesday in the wake of several arrests in the hunt for those behind the killing of Caruana Galizia. Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, and Economy Minister Chris Cardona all resigned but have denied wrongdoing. Four years ago, Caruana Galizia used the leaked Panama Papers to show that Schembri and Mizzi had benefited from Panamanian shell companies shortly after assuming office. Muscat has so far refused to step down himself, though he has declared “I would definitely resign if there is any sort of association between myself and the murder.”

Hopes Fade for Any More Survivors in Albania Quake; 40 Dead (AP) Hopes were fading Thursday of finding anyone else alive beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings in Albania two days after a deadly quake struck the country’s Adriatic coast, with the death toll increasing to 40 after more bodies were pulled from the ruins.

Overnight clashes in Lebanon injure dozens as tensions rise (AP) Overnight confrontations between supporters and opponents of Lebanon’s president--mostly fistfights and stone throwing--erupted in cities and towns across the country, injuring dozens of people, and 16 people were detained for their involvement, the Lebanese Red Cross and the army said Wednesday. The nationwide uprising against the country’s ruling elite has remained overwhelmingly peaceful since it began Oct. 17, but as the political deadlock for forming a new government drags on, tempers have risen.

China at the U.N. (Foreign Policy) China is angling for the top job at the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization, responsible for setting international standards for patents, trademarks, and copyrights. “Given China’s long track record of corporate espionage, rampant IP theft, and support for U.S. enemies, many trade experts are wary, to say the least,” FP’s Colum Lynch writes.

Pope’s message of openness to refugees prompts social media backlash in Japan (Washington Post) A visit to Japan by Pope Francis and his dream of a nuclear-free world drew largely positive headlines this week in Japan. But when he tried to gently encourage the Japanese to extend a hand of friendship to refugees, the backlash on social media was significant. Japan, among the world’s richest nations, has some of the toughest policies toward refugees and asylum seekers and a reputation for being relatively closed to outsiders. The pope’s effort to preach a more accepting message was not universally welcomed.

Iraqi Forces Kill 14 Protesters After Iranian Consulate Torched (Reuters) Iraqi security forces shot dead 14 protesters in the southern city of Nassiriya on Thursday, medical sources said, and authorities imposed a curfew in Najaf after demonstrators burned an Iranian consulate.

Flooded Djibouti Says 2 Years of Rain Fell on a Single Day (AP) Flash flooding has hit the small but strategic East African nation of Djibouti, where the government and United Nations say the equivalent of two years’ rain fell in a single day.

Spain Warns of Possible Sahara Camp Terror Attack (AP) Spanish authorities have issued a warning of the serious possibility of a terror attack against Spanish citizens visiting or working in the Saharawi refugee camps in the Western Sahara.

French helicopter crash in Mali (Foreign Policy) France suffered its largest military loss of life since 1983 yesterday, when two helicopters collided during a mission supporting French ground troops in Mali’s Liptako region, killing 13 soldiers. The collision brings the French military death toll in Mali to 41 since the country’s 2013 intervention. France’s Defense Minister Florence Parly said an inquiry will be opened into the cause of the incident.

UN Says Armed Attacks in Eastern Congo Kill Ebola Responders (AP) Rebels have attacked and killed Ebola response workers in eastern Congo, the World Health Organization chief said Thursday, an alarming development that could cause the waning outbreak to again pick up momentum in what has been called a war zone.

[trademarkclick]

Acclaimed American-Chinese Fast Food Chain Panda Express Sues Phoenix-based Restaurant ‘Panda Libre’

Over the last few decades, there has been a global boom in the number of restaurant chains offering various cuisines and delicacies. Such expansion in franchisees has enhanced tense competition between various restaurant owners, eventually, giving rise to uninvited legal disputes. In such a situation, trademarks prove to be one of the most important shelters to such franchisees, guaranteeing them protection from being misused and giving them rights to defend their brands. One similar dispute is in the spotlight these days, wherein, the renowned American-Chinese restaurant chain Panda Express sued a Phoenix-based restaurant Panda Libre, over the adoption of a similar trade name.

Panda Express is known for serving American-Chinese fast food across various nations. Founded in the year 1983 at Glendale, California by Mr Andrew Cherng and Ms Peggy Cherng, presently this fast-food restaurant operates in over 2,200 locations, successfully generating average annual revenue over $3 billion. This 37-year old fast-food chain has its headquarters in Rosemead, California and is recognized as the largest Asian-segment restaurant chain in the United States.

On February 19, 2020, this Chinese take-out chain sued Phoenix-based Asian-Mexican fusion restaurant ‘Panda Libre’, accusing them of four violations, namely; trademark infringement, false designation of origin, trademark dilution and unfair competition. The suit was instituted after failing multiple times to reach an amicable solution. The cause of action first began when the founders of ‘Panda Libre’, Paul Fan and his wife Nicole, got their trademarks registered by United Nations Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on May 7, 2019, for their fusion restaurant and were slapped by a cease-and-desist notice from the Panda Restaurant Group in August itself.

As a matter of fact, the suing company, Panda Restaurant Group owns a number of trademark registrations in various jurisdictions for their restaurants and services including, Panda Express, Panda Inn, Panda Café, Panda Kitchen as well as Panda Tea Bar. 

Panda Express is expecting the sales generated by the Asian-Mexican fusion restaurant amounting to $2 billion along with profits since it opened, in addition to punitive damages and legal fees as compensation. Responding to this, Nicole Fan commented, “It would be like starting a new company. That alone there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in this restaurant.” She added, “Going through this whole ordeal, the lawsuit, will bankrupt us.”

Recently, the owners Paul Fan and Nicole contended that after a great deal of brain-racking they finally settled for the name ‘Panda Libre’ in order to represent a fusion, displaying China’s iconic bear along with the Spanish word for ‘free’, for customer clarification with respect to the food they were offering. They said that they were all prepared to fight the lawsuit and hang on to their originally created and trademarked name ‘Panda Libre’. 

To read more IPR related articles, log on to - https://www.trademarkclick.com/education-blog/

[bananaipindia]

Rubik’s Cube Owners Puzzled after Losing EU Trademark, Snapdeal Joins INTA, Scottish Whisky Wins GI Battle

New Post has been published on https://www.bananaip.com/ip-news-center/rubiks-cube-owners-puzzled-after-losing-eu-trademark-snapdeal-joins-inta-scottish-whisky-wins-gi-battle/

Rubik’s Cube Owners Puzzled after Losing EU Trademark, Snapdeal Joins INTA, Scottish Whisky Wins GI Battle

Rubik’s Cube Owners Puzzled After Losing EU Trademark, Snapdeal Joins INTA, Scottish Whisky Wins GI Battle, Trademark Refused to Vegan Deli, Then Granted to Nestlé, and more brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsel.

INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES

Snapdeal Joins International Trademark Association

Indian e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal has announced that it has become a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA). The INTA is a global not-for-profit advocacy association, comprising of 7,200 members across 187 countries, primarily, brand owners and professionals, which is dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation. The group works towards protecting and promoting the rights of trademark owners and supports efforts for the development of trademark law and appropriate legislation furthering this aim. “Snapdeal is committed to collaborating with the right stakeholders to address the issue of trademark counterfeiting. Snapdeal’s association with INTA will allow us to share industry insights and technical know-how in the global fight against those infringing intellectual property rights,” a Snapdeal spokesperson said. This follows Snapdeal’s efforts to counter trademark infringement on its site via its ‘Brand Shield’ and ‘Brand Registry’ programmes, which offer a single point of contact to report potentially infringing products, and allow sellers to register their brands on the Snapdeal, respectively.

INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES

Rubik’s Cube Owners Puzzled After Losing EU Trademark

Rubik’s Brand Ltd, the owner of the brand of the ubiquitous 3D puzzle, has lost its latest bid to regain its EU trademark over the shape of the Rubik’s Cube. While this trademark over the shape had been granted in 1999, the EU’s Intellectual Property Office cancelled the same in 2017. This decision had been based on the ruling of the European Court of Justice in a case brought by German toy maker Simba Toys GmbH, where it was held that EU trademark law did not allow the company to be granted a monopoly on technical solutions or functional characteristics of its product. Rubik’s Brand appealed that decision, moving the case to the EU General Court in Luxembourg, which, however, upheld the decision to pull the trademark. This ruling is appealable one more time. However, for now, this means that the 45-year-old puzzle’s shape alone is not sufficient to protect it from being copied.

Trademark Refused to Vegan Deli, Then Granted to Nestlé

Herbivorous Butcher, a vegan deli and specialty food shop in Minneapolis, is taking on Swiss food processing conglomerate Nestlé and the US Patent and Trademark Office over the trademark “The Vegan Butcher”. The deli, opened in 2016, sells vegan substitute meats and cheese, and has been using the phrase “Vegan Butcher” to market the same. In 2017, the owners, sister-and brother team Aubry and Kale Walch, applied for a trademark for the phrase, but their application was denied, with the USPTO holding that the phrase could not be registered as a trademark because it was “merely descriptive”. However, when Nestlé later applied for the same trademark, seeking to use it to market Sweet Earth Foods, a San Francisco maker of plant-based snacks and meals that it bought in 2017, the USPTO granted the same. Herbivorous Butcher is now challenging the registration of the trademark granted to Nestlé. The owners claim that they are seeking a decision that either allows them to continue using the phrase, or one that keeps the phrase in the public domain for free use in the growing plant-based foods marketplace, which is now worth almost $4.5 billion. The dispute, which began in June, could go on for another year, if a settlement between the parties isn’t reached.

BRAND LICENSING UPDATES

Sony Announces Global Licensing Program for Jumanji Franchise

The Consumer Products division of American entertainment company Sony Pictures has announced a global licensing and merchandising program for the upcoming fantasy adventure film Jumanji: The Next Level. Video game publisher Outright Games, toy companies Funko and Lanard Toys, and licensing companies Bioworld, Fifth Sun, and The Noble Collection, are among those granted licenses to the “Jumanji” brand. Products including replicas of the “Jumanji” board game, character Pop! dolls, an immersive video game and other collectibles, t-shirts, sportswear, and sleepwear are slated to be released to market and celebrate the Jumanji franchise, and will be available worldwide ahead of the premiere of the film.

New Rick and Morty Pet Products to be Launched by CN and SilverPaw

Cartoon Network Enterprises, the global licensing and merchandising arm of the popular American television channel, has partnered with the pet company SilverPaw to create a range of pet products based on the animated science fiction sitcom Rick and Morty. The new collection will boast of exclusive products including dog beds, chew toys, collars, pet apparel, leashes, and treats influenced by the show’s characters. These ‘Rick and Morty’ pet products, ranging from $9.99 to $49.99, will be available across retailers in North America including Hot Topic, FYE, BoxLunch, and SilverPaw, and online. SilverPaw has previously collaborated with pop culture brands like Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and Hello Kitty.

FRANCHISING UPDATES

US Pizza Chain Pieology to Set Foot in China

California-based pizza chain Pieology has announced a franchising deal with a Shanghai-based firm led by a group of Stanford University alumni, TZG Partners, to expand its footprint to China. In what it terms as “a major strategic alliance”, Pieology will seek to leverage TZG’s business experience with building and investing in high-growth China-related businesses, in a bid to rapidly expand and establish itself in the Chinese market. The pizza chain has been growing domestically and internationally, with more than 130 restaurants in 22 US states and internationally. Pieology founder and chairman Carl Chang envisions Pieology becoming “a global destination for great fast casual pizza”.

DOMAIN NAME DISPUTE UPDATES

Walmart’s Vudu Claims Cybersquatting over Domain Name Registered Before Vudu Even Existed

Vudu, a streaming video subsidiary of American retail giant Walmart, filed a cybersquatting complaint against the owner of the domain name “vudo.com”. The problem, however, is that the owner had registered the domain name in 1995—nine years before Vudu was enough founded. Vudu’s complaint is ludicrous, and was held as such by the a World Intellectual Property Organization panel, because it is impossible to prove that the domain name owner had registered the domain name with the intent to target a brand that was, at the time, non-existent. The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), a process established for resolution of domain name disputes, clearly requires that the trademark rights of a complainant must predate the registration of the domain name in dispute. The Panel held accordingly, saying that “at the time of registration the Respondent could not have been attacking a trademark that did not exist and was not in contemplation for years to come”.

The Brexit Party Locks Horns with Anti-Brexit Campaign Group over thebrexitparty.com

Led By Donkeys, an ant-Brexit campaign group, has sent offered to sell the domain name thebrexitparty.com, which it bought earlier this year, to Nigel Farage, the British politician who leads the Brexit Party. The group has claimed £1m for the domain name, with the selling price rising by £50,000 each day, which the group claims will be donated to an immigrant support charity. The Brexit Party has sent a legal letter to the group asking it to take down the Brexit Party logo from the site, which, according to the letter, and to transfer the domain name to the Party. While the logos have been removed, the group has refused to transfer the domain name, which it had initially bought to challenge Mr Farage’s party during the European Parliament elections in May.

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES

Scottish Whisky Wins Battle Against Australian Drinks Maker

The Scotch Whisky Association, the trade organisation that represents the Scotch whisky industry, has won its case against D’Aquino Bros Pty Ltd, an Australian drinks maker that was selling a product labelled “Scotch”, but was actually made in Australia. The Association filed the suit after an investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Company, which found that Australian stores were selling fake imported spirits under the label of “Scotch”. Called ‘Black Scot’ and carrying a “Product of Scotland” claim, the spirit was analysed in an international laboratory and found to lack the “unique chemical compounds” that identify a true Scotch. The Association enforced its international geographical indication over the term “Scotch”, and the Federal Court in Melbourne ruled in its favour. D’Aquino Bros Pty Ltd, which had also been found to be selling Australian-brewed products labelled as ‘tequila’, a Mexican spirit also protected by geographical indication laws, has no ceased distribution and has gone into liquidation.

  Authored and compiled by Param Gupta

About BIP’s Trademark Attorneys

The Trademark News Bulletin is brought to you by the Trademark/Copyright, IP Transactional Strategy Divisions of BananaIP Counsels, a Top IP Firm in India. Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, BIP’s trademark attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to contact@bananaip.com with the subject: Trademark News.

The weekly trademark news initiative is a part of their pro bono work and is aimed at spreading trademark awareness. You are free to share the news with appropriate attribution and backlink to the source.

Disclaimer: Kindly note that the news bulletin has been put together from different sources, primary and secondary, and BananaIP’s reporters may not have verified all the news published in the bulletin. You may write to contact@bananaip.com for corrections and take down.

[hopefulpiratecoffee-blog1]

Enthusiastic about USA Immigration? 10 The reason why It's time to Stop! LexLords Canada Immigration Lawyers - An Overview

It's not clear, although, what number of immigrants the 4 provinces wish to carry below the PNP. Four provinces in Canada’s east coast, generally recognized because the Atlantic Provinces, have launched main initiatives to spice up immigration. It's much more important for the Atlantic provinces for 4 key causes: keep inhabitants rising, keep tempo with the developments in relaxation of Canada by way of immigration, Canada entice folks with data and appeal to recent money. One examine completed by the St Mary’s University in Halifax, in Nova Scotia, discovered that whereas fifty four % of the immigrants who had moved to the Atlantic area through the 5 years ending in 2001 had been nonetheless within the area, this had gone as much as sixty five p.c by 2006. Nova Scotia, in its new immigration technique, immigration lawyers plans to extend the retention charge to seventy %. The newest scandal, nevertheless, might be a really darkish one. Applications are processed inside 12 months on common, as are federal expert worker functions below latest ministerial directions. In a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade, Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, mentioned the fast progress in provincial nominee applications in recent times. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - July 19, 2011) - Provinces and territories are on monitor this yr to welcome a report variety of immigrants chosen below their very own nominee packages. Canada immigration lawyers

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Only 30 per cent of Canadian immigrants are financial migrants, folks chosen on the idea of their crucial abilities or organized employment provide, Kenney notes. 35 million folks of Mexican origin within the United States. They level out that New Brunswick, for instance, has a inhabitants of 750,000 and is allotted a PNP cap of 625 yearly whereas Manitoba, within the west, is allowed 5,000 below the PNP for a inhabitants of 1.2 million. The federal authorities, by way of the division of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), along with a province or territory imposes a cap for yearly for PNP immigration. As a part of the technique, the Premiers (who're the elected leaders of the provinces in Canada) of recent Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador and Prince Edward Island (PEI) need to speak to Canada’s federal authorities about enjoyable the cap on the so-known as Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The provincial nominee program can be a very good approach to get staff in shortly. Provincial nominee applications are being mentioned as a part of this month's cross-Canada consultations on immigration ranges and combine. Broken now means "no matter does not work for us." Or, if we don't love one thing, we accuse if of being damaged.

Ontario Law Firms

“These easy and sensible adjustments are a optimistic profit for employers, the international employees they search to make use of, and the agency’s adjudicators, serving to the H-1B visa program work higher,” mentioned USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. As of Monday, the technical modifications wanted to difficulty it have been in place. It's nice enjoyable to set the infrastructure in place and see the social media group take over sharing information, content material and enthusiasm for the weekend. Innovative strikes and inventive kinds is his delight thus you will be assured of an exotic occasion relatively than one delivered from only a set of routines. An skilled immigration lawyer can deal with your explicit wants with immigration, immigration and put you in the most effective place for a constructive consequence. By understanding the complicated and inflexible guidelines of Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Industrial Designs, Canada we can assist you discover options to your Intellectual Property issues. It doesn't matter what their political agenda, in the event you get broke down on the aspect of the street, immigration likelihood is you will discover assist from any sector of individuals. The ten-12 months visa will probably be an possibility accessible to extra low-threat travellers who're residents of visa-required international locations. As Canada is turning into a most well-liked vacation spot for guests and enterprise travellers alike, CIC continues to stability the necessity to facilitate this journey whereas responsibly managing our borders. Cyprus might be a typical trip vacation spot.

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[coin-news-blog]

Bitso Says 5% of U.S.-Mexico Remittances Made in Crypto + More News

New Post has been published on https://coinmakers.tech/tech/bitso-says-5-of-u-s-mexico-remittances-made-in-crypto-more-news

Bitso Says 5% of U.S.-Mexico Remittances Made in Crypto + More News

Crypto Briefs is your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

Adoption news

The CEO of Mexican cryptocurrency exchange Bitso claims that some 5% of remittances sent from the United States to Mexico have been processed in cryptocurrencies so far this year. Per Entrepreneur, Daniel Vogel, co-founder of Bitso, told media outlets that cross-border Bitcoin and altcoin remittances are on the rise, with a weekly growth rate of 15%, hitting USD 28,000 per week.

Blockchain-based energy trading software company Power Ledger (PWR) said that it has secured its first commercial deployment for its peer-to-peer platform in Canberra. In partnership with an Australian commercial renewable energy company EPC Solar Group, Power Ledger’s software will be installed at a commercial site tenanted by window supplier, Dowell Windows, whereby three parties will trade excess solar energy between one another at a single site through a shared photovoltaic system and battery. This will help customers save on their energy costs and decrease consumption from fossil fuel sources, the company said.

The European Central Bank (ECB) and other central banks are looking into the potential benefits and costs of digital currencies over the existing financial system, said Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Joint Conference of the ECB and the National Bank of Belgium earlier this week. He added that a digital currency could take a variety of forms.

Regional authorities in Argentina’s Rio Negro province are set to pilot a blockchain-powered lottery program next year. Per media outlet Criptomonedas e ICO, Rio Negro wants to “boost transparency” in its lottery operations. The province has not specified exactly when it will begin its pilot or what type of blockchain platform it intends to use, but said it hopes to boost public confidence in the lottery, and the province’s ability to handle sensitive data.

The CEO of South Korean travel platform Yanolja has spoken out about his company’s blockchain business plans. Per Decenter, the CEO states Yonolja and its tech partners are looking at blockchain solutions that could be implemented to speed up hotel check-in services, creating blockchain-powered, unmanned check-in kiosks that allow guests to do away with paper- and card-based ID verification systems.

South Korean blockchain developer Coinplug has revealed details of its government-backed blockchain-powered ID authentication platform plans. Per EToday, the company is hoping to use the ID verification platform to develop solutions that will help prevent electronic financial accidents, and is looking at possible smart city development integration.

Finablr, the holding company for money transfer company UAE Exchange that is a partner with Ripple (XRP), said it has now partnered with Chinese payments giant Alipay. According to Finablr, this partnership for cross-border remittance "will bring more convenient and inclusive services to consumers around the world."

Blockchain will enable USD 31 billion in food fraud savings globally by 2024 by immutably tracking food across the supply chain, a new study from Juniper Research found. Substantial savings in food fraud will be realized from 2021 and compliance costs will be reduced by 30% by 2024. The report said that blockchain, as well as internet of things trackers and sensors, will help to decrease costs for retailers through the streamlining of supply chains, efficient food recall processes, and simpler regulatory compliance.

Major international bank HSBC plans to move USD 20 billion worth of assets to a new blockchain-based custody platform, Digital Vault, by March. The platform will give investors real-time access to records of securities bought on private markets, and the bank "seeks to capitalize on booming interest in such investments by yield-hungry investors," Reuters reports, citing HSBC.

Online payments and money transfer service Skrill enabled their customers to use bitcoin to buy other cryptocurrencies through their Skrill Cryptocurrency Service. The company said that their customers no longer have to convert their interests in one cryptocurrency back into fiat currencies before purchasing an interest in a new cryptocurrency, resulting in fewer transactions and lower fees.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plan to launch joint digital currency, The National reported, adding that that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in the UAE, where they will be discussing the digital currency plan.

Regulation news

Swiss Parliament is set to discuss the set of proposals on further improvements of framework conditions for DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology)/blockchain, as presented by the government. Proposed updates to the banking, corporate and financial infrastructure laws to accommodate DLT have been welcomed by Switzerland’s growing blockchain industry, Swissinfo writes.

Indian government is working on the draft of an approach paper on the National Level Blockchain Framework. Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, said in a letter on use of blockchain technology that the paper discusses the potential for distributed ledger technology and the need for a shared infrastructure for different use cases.

Exchanges news

The USD 51.7 million-worth of Ethereum (ETH), stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Upbit is being transferred by the thief in ETH 10 to ETH 100,000 lots. The wallet shows that these transactions are for the same small amount of 0.00001337 ETH, whereby the hacker is using “1337” that in an informal language/code known as “leetspeek” means “elite” – often used by those defining themselves as “elite hackers.”

Japan’s financial regulator the Financial Services Agency (FSA) has granted tech firm LastRoots a crypto exchange operating license for its c0ban platform, reports media outlet Crypto Watch. The platform will become the 21st FSA-licensed exchange under the terms of a law that came into force in 2017. The FSA is still working its way through a large backlog of applications, and the self-regulating Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association has also developed a second-tier membership level, comprising of platforms currently seeking FSA approval. LastRoots received a funding boost of an undisclosed amount from the crypto-keen SBI Holdings financial group in August this year.

Per the patent issued by the U.S Patent and Trademark Office, Coinbase patented a self-learning compliance determination and enforcement platform. It is an automated system with a scoring mechanism that gives compliance scores based on a number of factors, based upon which user accounts suspected of illegal activity would be closed.

Poloniex acquired TRXMarket, now named Poloni DEX, which was the "largest decentralized exchange" in the Tron (TRX) ecosystem, said Poloniex. Poloni DEX will operate under the umbrella of Poloniex, and during the upgrade process, platform functions and user experience will remain unaffected. Justin Sun, CEO of Tron, recently admitted that he is indeed an investor in Poloniex.

Source: cryptonews.com

[maxwellyjordan]

Tuesday round-up

This morning the Supreme Court begins the second week of the November session with two oral arguments. First up is Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, a high-profile challenge to the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the DACA program, which allowed immigrants brought to this country illegally as children to apply for protection from deportation. Amy Howe previewed the case for this blog; her preview first appeared at Howe on the Court. Gabrielle Kanter and Jingyi Alice Yao preview the case at Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. Subscript Law has a graphic explainer for the case.

At Reuters, Lawrence Hurley reports that “[t]he justices will hear the Trump administration’s appeals of three lower court rulings – in California, New York and the District of Columbia – that found that the president violated a U.S. law called the Administrative Procedure Act in seeking to kill DACA.” At Fox News, Shannon Bream and Bill Mears report that “with a ruling expected in the midst of a presidential election year, the case puts the high court at the center of one of the most politically charged issues since the start of President Trump’s term.” At CNN, Joan Biskupic reports that “[l]awyers trying to save [the DACA] program … are strategically directing their arguments to one man: Chief Justice John Roberts.” At Education Week, Mark Walsh focuses on the effect the DACA ruling may have on students, teachers and schools.

For The New York Times, Michael Shear, Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Adam Liptak report that the refusal of acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke “to cite [the administration’s] policy objections to [DACA] is now at the heart of what legal experts say is a major weakness in the government’s case defending the termination of the program.” Additional coverage of the DACA case comes from Jess Bravin, Brent Kendall and Michelle Hackman for The Wall Street Journal (subscription required); Tucker Higgins at CNBC; Pete Williams at NBC News; Robert Barnes for The Washington Post, (subscription required); Jonathan Blitzer at The New Yorker; Steven Mazie for The Economist, here and here, and on The Intelligence podcast here; Richard Wolf for USA Today, here and here; and Nina Totenberg at NPR, here, here, and here, where she reports that “[s]ometimes lost in all the legal discussion are the people whose lives will be affected by the Supreme Court’s decision in the DACA case.” For CNN, Catherine Shoichet talks to a group of Dreamers who have marched from New York City to Washington “to make sure Supreme Court justices and members of the public know how much this matters.”

At Balkinization, Andrew Pincus observes that “[i]n a time of intense polarization and suspicion of government institutions, the courts’ role in reviewing administrative agency decisions is more important than ever.” Garrett Epps at the Atlantic calls the decision-making behind the case an example of how “bad lawyering and contempt for the rule of law have resulted in Trump initiatives being derailed in the lower courts.” At Microsoft’s blog, Brad Smith writes that “this fight is not just about our employees[:] It’s also about the potential impact of DACA rescission on the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers, on businesses across the country, and on the innovation economy that is central to the nation’s prosperity.” Additional commentary comes from Greg Sargent in an op-ed for The Washington Post, the Post’s editorial board, Sen. Bob Menendez in an op-ed at NBC News, and David Leopold at Medium. The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal argues that “Daca recipients who in good faith identified themselves to the government should be protected, but this is for Congress and the President to negotiate—not for unelected judges to pre-empt.”

This morning’s second argument is in Hernandez v. Mesa, a case arising from a Mexican family’s efforts to hold a U.S. Border Patrol agent liable for the shooting death of their son, who was on the Mexican side of the border. This blog’s preview came from Amy Howe, in a post that first appeared at Howe on the Court. Kayla Anderson and Angela Shin Wei Ting preview the case for Cornell. In an op-ed for USA Today, Anya Bidwell and Nick Sibilla maintain that “for most of this country’s history, individuals — Americans and foreigners alike — successfully sued federal officers who violated their rights,” and that disallowing the family’s claim “would let federal agents go rogue without any culpability for their misconduct.”

On Friday, the court added one case to its merits docket: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com, which asks whether the addition of “.com” to a generic term creates a protectable trademark. Amy Howe covers the grant for this blog, in a post that first appeared at Howe on the Court. The justices also released the January argument calendar: Amy Howe’s coverage for this blog, which first appeared at Howe on the Court, is here.

Briefly:

At Bloomberg, Greg Stohr reports that Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who “has done his best to keep a low profile in the 13 months since one of the most polarizing Senate confirmation fights in U.S. history,” “will be back in the spotlight when he gives the featured dinner speech on Thursday at the annual Washington convention of the Federalist Society, the powerful conservative legal group that helped put him on the court.”

In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Michael McGough weighs in on last week’s oral argument in Kansas v. Glover, the court will decide whether, for the purposes of an investigative stop under the Fourth Amendment, it is reasonable for a police office to suspect that the registered owner of a car is the driver, arguing that “[i]f the court rules for Kansas, police will be able to stop a car based on the status of the owner’s driver’s license — even though it may be the owner’s son or daughter (or neighbor) behind the wheel.” [Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, is among the counsel to the respondent in this case.]

At the Pacific Legal Foundation blog, Ethan Blevins urges the justices to grant a cert petition that asks the court “to grapple with the constitutionality of Seattle’s new-fangled campaign finance scheme, known as the ‘Democracy Voucher,’” which, he argues, “[forces property owners to underwrite other people’s campaign contributions.”

At Jost on Justice, Kenneth Jost writes that although the “Supreme Court has yet to issue any decisions this term, … the justices’ partisan tilt can be seen in several of the term’s early case-selecting decisions.”

At City Journal, Myron Magnet hails the court’s recent efforts to “get[] back to the Framers’ Constitution—as perfected by the Bill of Rights, the Reconstruction Amendments, and the Nineteenth Amendment—and see[] the luminous modernity of its guarantee of liberty and its expectation of self-reliance.”

At National Review, Carrie Severino argues that a call for Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh to recuse themselves from three pending employment-discrimination cases reflects “a glaring double standard.”

We rely on our readers to send us links for our round-up. If you have or know of a recent (published in the last two or three days) article, post, podcast or op-ed relating to the Supreme Court that you’d like us to consider for inclusion in the round-up, please send it to roundup [at] scotusblog.com. Thank you!

The post Tuesday round-up appeared first on SCOTUSblog.

from Law https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/11/tuesday-round-up-504/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[elviarountree37-blog]

Uber’s Human Resources Chief Walks out Adhering To Racial Discrimination Probing.

Global Market Research Document on Cross Country Ski Poles Market 2016 is actually a comprehensive and also expert full research study on the current condition of the Cross Country Ski Poles worldwide. These TLDs were actually several of the first readily available, and also was composed ofcom for commercial uses, internet for system usages, org for organizations, edu for educational institutions, gov for United States authorities agencies, andmil for the UNITED STATE armed force. By putting Mexico in the same category as wartorn countries, the file suggested that Mexico was additionally a country up in arms, an assertion that the Mexican authorities disputed. This is an incredibly hostile track in defense of the American patriot. For the functions of the Arrangement, http://topexcercises-online2016.info/en-partie Intellectual Property Legal rights" suggests all patent legal rights, copyright liberties, mask job civil liberties, moral civil liberties, liberties of publicity, trademark, field dress as well as registered trademark liberties, a good reputation, secret method civil rights as well as other copyright rights and ethical rights as might now exist or even hereafter originated, and all uses as a result and revivals, expansions as well as registrations thereof, under the rules of any kind of condition, nation, region or even various other territory. Also in our personal nation there are still philosophers who deny the guidelines claimed in the Announcement, as self-evident truths-who reject the organic equal rights and basic civil rights of man-who refuse that individuals are the only genuine source of power-who refuse that all merely powers of authorities are actually originated from the authorization of the regulated. Congo's government on Tuesday announced a brand-new episode of Ebola in the country's rural northwest, after pair of cases of the deadly infection were validated in Bikoro. As the lyrics in Montgomery Aristocracy's track state, 'against all probabilities, versus the surface, passion locates a way, some folks transform'. , that accesses the Solution in a way that sends more demand messages to the Provider servers than an individual can fairly create in the very same amount of time by utilizing a traditional on the internet web browser, and you acknowledge certainly not to aggregate or even look at any of the material on call by means of the Service for use in other places. National differences and discords in between folks are daily much more disappearing, owing to the growth of the bourgeoisie, to independence of trade, to the world-market, to sameness in the setting of manufacturing and in the conditions of life matching thereto.

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C and w was actually thus significant in Europe that it was a wonderful lure, however lastly, the youthful vocalist from Newfoundland refused the offer of a Nashville audio bargain and an international excursion. Making a reservation for such scenic tour ahead of time when the peak opportunity for tourism gets on this nation may also provide wonderful benefits for you.

Along with his flurry of tweets as well as declarations supporting sex-related harasser and indicted pedophile, beat Us senate applicant Roy Moore, Trump, given his arrogant aggression toward girls, certainly carries out certainly not would like to come back to a United States when such largely advertised misdeed will have always kept men from also competing office.

[theconservativebrief]

Tesla co-founder and CEO (but no longer Tesla chair) Elon Musk has many bold ideas. He has ideas about electric cars. He has ideas about rocket ships. He has ideas about radical mass transit systems that so far don’t exist but someday might.

He also has ideas about tequila — specifically an as-yet-hypothetical spirit he’s dubbed “Teslaquila.” Unfortunately, Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), which governs what can legally be considered tequila in the US and Mexico, has gotten wind of these ideas — and it is not pleased.

Like all the best ideas, Musk’s tequila vision was first introduced with an April Fool’s Day tweet.

Elon was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by “Teslaquilla” bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks.

This is not a forward-looking statement, because, obviously, what’s the point?

Happy New Month! pic.twitter.com/YcouvFz6Y1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2018

Then, because he is not you or me but Elon Musk, Telsa filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office in October to trademark “Teslaquila.” According to CNBC, the trademark is for “distilled agave liquor” and “distilled blue agave liquor.”

He then tweeted a “visual approximation” of what “Teslaquila” might look like, when and if such a product were to exist.

At The Verge, Elizabeth Lopatto makes the case that, while it is easy to make fun of, this is actually not a terrible idea. “Merch is normal for high-end automakers,” she writes, noting that Porsche sells earbuds, and Maserati sells a keychain that is a leather oval and costs $163. Tesla would be part of a grand tradition. And starting a tequila brand is a popular celebrity hobby, the way regular people knit. Justin Timberlake has one, Diddy has one, and George Clooney had one, until he sold it for approximately $1 billion.

The tequila business is notoriously difficult — the space is very crowded, waste is a problem, and agave is in dangerously short supply — but that makes it an attractive fit for Musk, Lopatto speculates. He is a man who likes hard things. For example, in addition to launching Teslaquila, he is trying to colonize Mars.

But now there is a new difficulty: The CRT is arguing that the “name ‘Teslaquila’ evokes the word Tequila … [and] Tequila is a protected word,’” reports Reuters, explaining that the council has strict rules about what constitutes tequila, including that the spirit must be produced in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, or Tamaulipas. Timberlake, for example, worked with the Tequilera Newton distillery in Jalisco; Clooney, after an arduous two-year search, worked with an unnamed “master distiller” in the same state.

“If [Tesla] wants to make Teslaquila viable as a tequila it would have to associate itself with an authorized tequila producer, comply with certain standards and request authorization from Mexico’s Industrial Property Institute,” said the CRT in a statement. “Otherwise it would be making unauthorized use of the denomination of origin for tequila.”

The CRT’s concern is that the proposed name, “Teslaquila,” could trick people into thinking it was true tequila, which, by definition, it wouldn’t be without approval from the CRT, as the organization has the right to control the designation of tequila in both Mexico and the US. Were Teslaquila, which has not yet been approved by the patent office and also may or may not be a joke, to go forward without approval, Fortune warns, the company could “find itself being sued by the Mexican government.”

Presumably, Teslaquila is not Musk’s top priority, compared to other things, like making Tesla profitable and ending traffic jams in Los Angeles. But of all the reasons this particular vision might not become reality, Musk says regulation isn’t one of them. In response to a story about the issue, published by the electric vehicle site InsideEVs, he tweeted that he was prepared to “fight Big Tequila!”

Such is the struggle to create the future.

Original Source -> Elon Musk’s “Teslaquila” hits a speed bump

via The Conservative Brief

[newstfionline]

Headlines

First human-monkey chimera raises concern among scientists (Guardian) Efforts to create human-animal chimeras have rebooted an ethical debate after reports emerged that scientists have produced monkey embryos containing human cells. A chimera is an organism whose cells come from two or more “individuals”, with recent work looking at combinations from different species. The word comes from a beast from Greek mythology which was said to be part lion, part goat and part snake. The research was conducted in China “to avoid legal issues”, according to the report.

Forget sharks--mosquitoes are the deadliest maneaters on earth (NY Post) If we were rational creatures, we would fear our back yards more than our beaches. Though oceans contain real-life monsters like the great white, our lawns and parks are home to humankind’s deadliest foe: the ubiquitous mosquito. Last year mosquitoes killed 850,000 people--but the annual average hovers around 2 million. Sharks, by contrast, killed 10.

Everyone benefits when employees roam free (LI) Work-from-anywhere policies for employees who work independently has the power to raise productivity and revenue and decrease hiring costs, according to research from Harvard Business School. The study, which examined the effects of such policies at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, also found that letting employees work from anywhere allowed people to move to less expensive areas, increasing their earning power and strengthening local economies in the process. One caveat: It’s unclear if such benefits would apply to those with jobs that require significant collaboration.

Collapsing California cliff claims 3 lives along beach (AP) A popular surfing beach was closed Saturday after a cliff collapsed, sending tons of sandstone onto beachgoers and killing three people. A 30-foot-long slab of the cliff plunged onto the sand near Grandview Beach north of San Diego. A KNSD-TV helicopter captured footage of beach chairs, towels, surf boards and beach toys strewn about the sand. Other beachgoers and lifeguards at a nearby tower scrambled to the towering pile of debris, which was estimated to weigh tens of thousands of pounds, to help dig out victims.

Mass shooting leaves 20 dead, 26 injured in El Paso (ABC News) Twenty people were killed and dozens more injured on Saturday morning in a massacre at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart that was packed with back-to-school shoppers, making it one of the ten deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, officials said. The wounded ranged in age from a 2-year-old child to an 82-year-old victim. Three Mexicans were among the 20 people who died in the shooting, and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed condolences to both Mexican and American victims in the attack just north of Mexico.

Honduran President Denies Links to Drug Trafficking (Reuters) Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Saturday denied reports from a U.S. court filing linking him to drug trafficking, accusing criminals of seeking revenge against him.

U.S. Defense Secretary says he favors placing missiles in Asia (Reuters) U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that he was in favor of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia relatively soon, a day after the United States withdrew from a landmark arms control treaty.

Hundreds Arrested in Moscow as Protests Pile Pressure on Putin (WSJ) Police detained 600 people at an unauthorized protest in the Russian capital demanding fair elections, as a recent wave of public discontent in Russia showed few signs of abating. The rallies, protesting the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections, came a week after more than 1,300 people were detained and dozens injured in similar demonstrations. The mass protests, which began in Moscow in mid-July, are some of the most significant displays of public dissatisfaction in Russia since President Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012.

Kashmir Tensions Intensify Amid India-Pakistan Skirmishes (AP) Tensions have soared along the volatile, highly militarized frontier between India and Pakistan in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, as India deployed more troops and ordered thousands of visitors out of the region.

Thousands Protest in Hong Kong, China Media Warns Beijing Will Not Let Situation Continue (Reuters) Thousands of protesters took to Hong Kong’s streets on Sunday, a day after violent clashes between anti-government protesters and police, and as China’s official news agency warned Beijing will not let the situation in the Asian financial hub continue.

Indonesia Capital, Neighboring Provinces in Java Hit by Major Power Blackout (Reuters) Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and some neighboring provinces on Java island have been hit by a major electricity outage after problems at a number of power stations on Java, the country’s state electricity company PLN said in a statement on Sunday.

25 Dead, 55 Rescued After Boats Capsize in Philippines (AP) Rescuers plucked more bodies in rough seas where three ferry boats capsized after being buffeted by fierce winds and waves off two central Philippine provinces, bringing the death toll to 25 with six missing, police said Sunday.

UN: Monthly Afghan casualties highest since 2017 (AP) July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan in a single month since 2017, the U.N. mission said Saturday. Its preliminary findings indicate more than 1,500 civilians were killed or wounded, mainly due to a spike in casualties from insurgent attacks. It did not provide a breakdown of deaths and injuries, but said the overall number was the highest for a single month since May 2017.

Sudanese activists, army finalize power-sharing deal (AP) The African Union envoy to Sudan said Saturday the pro-democracy movement and the ruling military council have finalized a power-sharing agreement. Mohammed el-Hassan Lebatt told reporters that the two sides “fully agreed” on a constitutional declaration outlining the division of power for a three-year transition to elections. The military overthrew President Omar al-Bashir in April following months of mass protests against his three-decade-long authoritarian rule. The protesters remained in the streets, demanding a rapid transition to a civilian government. They have been locked in tense negotiations with the military for weeks while holding mass protests.

[neptunecreek]

FBI Wish List: An App That Can Recognize the Meaning of Your Tattoos

We’ve long known that the FBI is heavily invested in developing face recognition technology as a key component in its criminal investigations. But new records, obtained by EFF through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, show that’s not the only biometric marker the agency has its eyes on. The FBI’s wish list also includes image recognition technology and mobile devices to attempt to use tattoos to map out people’s relationships and identify their beliefs.

EFF began looking at tattoo recognition technology in 2015, after discovering that the National Institute for Standards & Technology (NIST), in collaboration with the FBI, was promoting experiments using tattoo images gathered involuntarily from prison inmates and arrestees. The agencies had provided a dataset of thousands of prisoner tattoos to some 19 outside groups, including companies and academic institutions, that are developing image recognition and biometric technology. Government officials instructed the groups to demonstrate how the technology could be used to identify people by their tattoos and match tattoos with similar imagery.

Our investigation found that NIST was targeting people who shared common beliefs, with a heavy emphasis on religious imagery.  NIST researchers, we discovered, had also bypassed basic oversight measures. Despite rigid requirements designed to protect prisoners who might be used as subjects in government research, the researchers failed to seek sign-off from the in-house watchdog before embarking on the project.

Following our report, NIST stopped responding to EFF’s FOIA requests. The agency also rushed to retroactively alter its documents to downplay the nature of the research. In a statement issued to the press, NIST denied our findings, claiming that its goal was simply to evaluate the effectiveness of tattoo recognition algorithms and “not about the many complex law enforcement policies or approaches that may be related to images of tattoos.”

This claim rings especially hollow now that the FBI has released email communications and slide presentations with NIST in response to our FOIA suit. 

Read the FBI records provided in response to our FOIA litigation. 

Among the records were two previously withheld presentations from FBI divisions focused on deciphering tattoos that were delivered at a special event organized by NIST for participants in the research project. 

What the FBI “Wants” and “Needs”

 While the FBI has long used a rudimentary system called TAG-IMAGE to use tattoos to identify people, according to the presentation, "It does NOT [sic] attempt to answer the question 'What does it mean?'" Officials told the roomful of government, academic, and corporate researchers assembled by NIST that the FBI is seeking to establish “affiliation” using tattoo images.  This means identifying “gang membership, terrorist relevance, location, [and] symbols description/meaning.”

One particularly alarming presentation by the chief of the FBI’s Cryptanalysis & Racketeering Records Unit was titled, “Tattoo, Graffiti, and Symbol Recognition: A Codebreakers Perspective.” It began with a graphic of exclusively religious symbols, including Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Taoist iconography.

 A subsequent slide was even more ominous. The headline read: “We want a one stop database to tell us what a symbol means.”

The presentation went onto explain that the FBI currently uses open-source resources to decipher the meanings of symbols and tattoos. These include the Anti-Defamation League’s Hate on Display database,  the University of Michigan’s Science Fiction and Fantasy “Dictionary of Symbolism,” and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website. 

The heavily redacted presentation included blacked-out slides that would have shown the extent of the FBI’s current efforts as well as several individual examples that posed the question, “What does this tattoo mean?”

Further in the presentation, the FBI further elaborated on its goals: “The Technology We Need: web accessible user populated database with instant i2i matching” (i2i stands for “image to image”). The slide included a photograph of a New York Police Department officer tinkering with a smartphone.

This technology is not science fiction: several years ago the Department of Homeland Security promoted a controversial program at Purdue University to crowdsource gang graffiti and tattoo images for a mobile recognition app. A prototype technology was deployed in Indiana and Illinois and introduced to the FBI in 2014. However, very little information is available about this pilot program after 2016.

Tattoos and Meaning

Most biometric technology, such as face, iris, or finger print recognition, is designed to establish the identity of otherwise unknown suspects or victims. Tattoo recognition is different in that not only can tattoos be used for identification, they can also reveal further information about the individual. For example a tattoo could say a lot about a person’s politics, religious beliefs, who their family members are, or even their favorite recording artist.

It’s this utility that raises civil liberties concerns, particularly in an age where law enforcement may be using tattoos to add individuals to gang databases or prioritize immigrants for deportation proceedings. For example, while the FBI says that the database could link members of a particular gang, it is also true that it could be used to compile a list of individuals who subscribe to a particular religion.

It’s also important to note the risk of erroneous interpretations of tattoos, whether by human or technology. A swastika tattoo, for example, could refer to the Neo-Nazi movement, but it’s also a symbol used by Native Americans. A six-pointed star is often associated with Judaism, but it can also signify a particular street gang.

In one high profile case, federal officials attempted to deport a Mexican man after accusing him of having a gang-affiliated tattoo. A judge found that claim to be unfounded [PDF] after prosecutors were unable to counter a well-respected gang expert’s testimony that he had “never seen a gang member with a similar tattoo nor would [he] attribute this tattoo to have any gang-related meaning.”

Even if a person has a gang tattoo, it does not mean they are part of that gang: often people who leave gangs cannot afford to have tattoos removed. In some cases, gang members have forcibly tattooed women against their will. 

NIST’s research itself also illustrates how dangerous this technology can be: none of the third parties were able to produce better than 15% accuracy in matching tattoos based on imagery. 

More Records on the Way

The new documents from the FBI begin to bare the truth about the agency’s tattoo recognition plans, however we are still waiting on the government to fully provide the records we requested. For example, EFF has demanded NIST and the FBI provide a list of the 19 companies and research institutions that received copies of the images collected from inmates.

Tattoo recognition technology is still in its early stages, but as we see an increased interest from federal agencies to use tattoos as an excuse to persecute immigrants, it’s more important than ever to expose this technology before it reaches maturation.

Related Cases: 

NIST Tattoo Recognition Technology Program FOIA

from Deeplinks https://ift.tt/2L4s85G

[newsintodays-blog]

U.S. keeps China, puts Canada on IP priority watch list

New Post has been published on http://newsintoday.info/2018/04/28/u-s-keeps-china-puts-canada-on-ip-priority-watch-list/

U.S. keeps China, puts Canada on IP priority watch list

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Friday labeled 36 countries as inadequately protecting U.S. intellectual property rights, keeping China on a priority watch list and adding Canada over concerns about its border controls and pharmaceutical practices.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds his signed memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech goods from China, at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst – RC1EA8733CA0

The U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on global IP concerns is separate from the “Section 301” report on Chinese technology transfer practices that has led the world’s two largest economies to threaten each other with tariffs.

The so-called “Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights” calls out China for its “coercive technology transfer practices” and “trade secret theft, rampant online piracy, and counterfeit manufacturing.”

It was the 14th straight year that China was placed on the “Priority Watch List.”

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is due to travel to China next week along with other senior Trump administration officials for talks on U.S. demands for changes in Beijing’s trade and intellectual property policies.

President Donald Trump has threatened up to $150 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, and China’s Ministry of Commerce has threatened to retaliate in equal measure.

A USTR official declined to comment on Lighthizer’s specific message to his Chinese counterparts next week, but said U.S. officials “anticipate engaging with them meaningfully on all these issues.”

The biggest surprise in Friday’s report was the decision to move Canada from the lower-level “Watch List” to the same priority list as China. USTR cited Canada’s “poor border enforcement,” especially for counterfeit goods shipped through America’s northern neighbor, and concerns about intellectual property protections for pharmaceuticals.

U.S. pharmaceutical companies have long complained that generic versions of drugs still under U.S. patent protection flood in from Canada at much cheaper prices.

NAFTA TALKS

The increased criticism of Canada was revealed as Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland was locked in intense negotiations with Lighthizer over updating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Washington has demanded that a modernization of the 1994 pact include stronger IP protections.

Lighthizer, Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo are trying to work out a number of stumbling blocks in the NAFTA talks, including auto content rules.

The office of Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who launched an intellectual property strategy on Thursday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ottawa is pledging to create an independent body to oversee patent and trademark issues, “which will ensure that professional and ethical standards are maintained.”

Colombia also was added to the Priority Watch List for failing to revise its copyright laws as required under a free trade agreement with the United States.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were added to the Watch List. Concerns about pharmaceutical intellectual property protections, pirated software and counterfeit goods were factors in those decisions, USTR said.

Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Paul Simao

Source link

[party-hard-or-die]

U.S. keeps China, puts Canada on IP priority watch list

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Friday labeled 36 countries as inadequately protecting U.S. intellectual property rights, keeping China on a priority watch list and adding Canada over concerns about its border controls and pharmaceutical practices.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds his signed memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech goods from China, at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst – RC1EA8733CA0

The U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on global IP concerns is separate from the “Section 301” report on Chinese technology transfer practices that has led the world’s two largest economies to threaten each other with tariffs.

The so-called “Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights” calls out China for its “coercive technology transfer practices” and “trade secret theft, rampant online piracy, and counterfeit manufacturing.”

It was the 14th straight year that China was placed on the “Priority Watch List.”

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is due to travel to China next week along with other senior Trump administration officials for talks on U.S. demands for changes in Beijing’s trade and intellectual property policies.

President Donald Trump has threatened up to $150 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, and China’s Ministry of Commerce has threatened to retaliate in equal measure.

A USTR official declined to comment on Lighthizer’s specific message to his Chinese counterparts next week, but said U.S. officials “anticipate engaging with them meaningfully on all these issues.”

The biggest surprise in Friday’s report was the decision to move Canada from the lower-level “Watch List” to the same priority list as China. USTR cited Canada’s “poor border enforcement,” especially for counterfeit goods shipped through America’s northern neighbor, and concerns about intellectual property protections for pharmaceuticals.

U.S. pharmaceutical companies have long complained that generic versions of drugs still under U.S. patent protection flood in from Canada at much cheaper prices.

NAFTA TALKS

The increased criticism of Canada was revealed as Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland was locked in intense negotiations with Lighthizer over updating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Washington has demanded that a modernization of the 1994 pact include stronger IP protections.

Lighthizer, Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo are trying to work out a number of stumbling blocks in the NAFTA talks, including auto content rules.

The office of Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who launched an intellectual property strategy on Thursday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ottawa is pledging to create an independent body to oversee patent and trademark issues, “which will ensure that professional and ethical standards are maintained.”

Colombia also was added to the Priority Watch List for failing to revise its copyright laws as required under a free trade agreement with the United States.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were added to the Watch List. Concerns about pharmaceutical intellectual property protections, pirated software and counterfeit goods were factors in those decisions, USTR said.

Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Paul Simao

The post U.S. keeps China, puts Canada on IP priority watch list appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2vRxk5A via Breaking News

[newestbalance]

U.S. keeps China, puts Canada on IP priority watch list

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Friday labeled 36 countries as inadequately protecting U.S. intellectual property rights, keeping China on a priority watch list and adding Canada over concerns about its border controls and pharmaceutical practices.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds his signed memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech goods from China, at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst – RC1EA8733CA0

The U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on global IP concerns is separate from the “Section 301” report on Chinese technology transfer practices that has led the world’s two largest economies to threaten each other with tariffs.

The so-called “Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights” calls out China for its “coercive technology transfer practices” and “trade secret theft, rampant online piracy, and counterfeit manufacturing.”

It was the 14th straight year that China was placed on the “Priority Watch List.”

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is due to travel to China next week along with other senior Trump administration officials for talks on U.S. demands for changes in Beijing’s trade and intellectual property policies.

President Donald Trump has threatened up to $150 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, and China’s Ministry of Commerce has threatened to retaliate in equal measure.

A USTR official declined to comment on Lighthizer’s specific message to his Chinese counterparts next week, but said U.S. officials “anticipate engaging with them meaningfully on all these issues.”

The biggest surprise in Friday’s report was the decision to move Canada from the lower-level “Watch List” to the same priority list as China. USTR cited Canada’s “poor border enforcement,” especially for counterfeit goods shipped through America’s northern neighbor, and concerns about intellectual property protections for pharmaceuticals.

U.S. pharmaceutical companies have long complained that generic versions of drugs still under U.S. patent protection flood in from Canada at much cheaper prices.

NAFTA TALKS

The increased criticism of Canada was revealed as Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland was locked in intense negotiations with Lighthizer over updating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Washington has demanded that a modernization of the 1994 pact include stronger IP protections.

Lighthizer, Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo are trying to work out a number of stumbling blocks in the NAFTA talks, including auto content rules.

The office of Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who launched an intellectual property strategy on Thursday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ottawa is pledging to create an independent body to oversee patent and trademark issues, “which will ensure that professional and ethical standards are maintained.”

Colombia also was added to the Priority Watch List for failing to revise its copyright laws as required under a free trade agreement with the United States.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were added to the Watch List. Concerns about pharmaceutical intellectual property protections, pirated software and counterfeit goods were factors in those decisions, USTR said.

Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Paul Simao

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Mexican hotel keeping Hotel California name after Eagles settlement

(Reuters) – A hotel in Mexico named Hotel California plans to continue using the name in that country after settling a lawsuit brought by the Eagles over rights related to the country-rock band’s classic 1976 song.

Hotel California Baja LLC said on Friday it will “continue to use the service mark and trademark ‘Hotel California’ in Mexico,” where it owns about 28 valid trademark registrations for the name and variants.

The settlement with the Eagles was made public on Thursday, after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office accepted Hotel California Baja’s request to abandon a trademark application in the United States.

In a federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, the Eagles had accused the hotel of improperly encouraging guests to believe the band had authorized its use of the song’s name, in part to sell T-shirts and other merchandise.

FILE PHOTO: American rock group The Eagles, shown performing in 1998 in London, Britain. REUTERS/David McNew/File Photo

The hotel is located in the town of Todos Santos on Baja California Sur, about 1,000 miles (1,609 km) south of San Diego and 48 miles (77 km) north of Cabo San Lucas.

“Hotel California” is known for abstract lyrics that lead singer Don Henley has said describe excess in America. The song appears on an album with the same title.

Hotel California Baja said the hotel “claims no association with the Eagles or with their song and record album ‘Hotel California.’”

The hotel’s owners are not affiliated with the Eagles, the hotel’s website says, although “many visitors are mesmerized by the ‘coincidences’ between the lyrics of the hit song and the physicality of the hotel and its surroundings.”

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe

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