Since things have been pretty busy here in the US keeping up with all
the content companies suing their best customers, I hadn't necessarily
been keeping up on the details of intellectual property laws
elsewhere. According to this article, the dreaded The European Union
Copyright Directive goes
into effect today, making it illegal to make any sort of copy of a
"DVD, CD or music file" (which one of these does not fit with the
others?). Apparently, even if you make a backup copy only for
personal use, you're facing criminal charges and the possibility of
two years in jail. If the article is correct, taking a CD you own,
ripping an MP3 and putting it on your iPod is now illegal. Actually,
from the sound of this, using your iPod for anything other than songs
you own the copyright on may be illegal. Good job, Europe.
Google May Lose Rights to Use the Gmail Trademark08/13/2004 01:41 AM <b>cybershark</b> has reported in our <i>Back Page
News</i> that Google, after its Gmail debut, does not hold legal
rights to the trademark, yet.
Normally, the registrations for trademarks are handled in a
"first come, first served" basis and in this case, Google is
in fact, the fourth in line. Who gets it first? Cencourse, a Miami
company that provides multimedia services has filed the application on
the same day that <a
href=http://www.neowin.net/comments.php?id=18716&category=main
target=_blank>Google spilled the beans on Gmail</a>.
The first applicant, Cencourse, filed the application on March 31st.
Precision Research jumped in on April the 2nd, following by the
British market research firm, Independent International Investment
Research (IIIR) who filed the application on the next day. Google
didn't make a move until April 7th.
IIIR is the only company out of the three that contacted Google about
the dispute. The company's CEO admitted to operating a service with
similar name since 2002 and filed the application after hearing about
Google's service.
"Having invested in making our target market aware of our
service, we wish to avoid the confusion that would inevitably arise if
a much, much larger firm were to brand its service indistinguishably
from our own," he said.
It is likely that the dispute will be heading to court where Google's
attorney holds confidence in victory. One could only imagine why the
trademark ownership hasn't been taken cared off before the service
gets announced.
Today your teacher announced
that your school is going to have a science fair and students are
responsible for exhibiting their projects. What do you feel?
Enthusiastic? Despondent? Dreadful? Fearful? Excited?" This statement
opens the Super Science Fair Projects site. Actually, whether student
or parent, science fair projects, while great ways to get students
actively involved in learning the scientific method and problem
solving, can be tough assignments. This site may help you with one of
the hardest parts: coming up with an idea. The site does a great job
of walking the visitor through the steps needed to plan and implement
a project, from Choosing a Topic, the Scientific Method, and writing
the Project Report. There are even tips on displaying your project,
rehearsing, winning over judges, and what to expect the day of the
fair. This is definitely a great tool to tap into when planning a
science fair project.[From The NSDL Scout Report for Math,
Engineering, and Technology, Copyright Internet Scout Project
1994-2003. http://scout.wisc.edu/]
Europeans on Europeans.
Europeans on Europeans.07/10/2004 05:04 AM Europea
ns on Europeans. Reader's Digest dispatched researchers to 38
towns in 19 countries across Europe, from the UK to Russia, inviting
nearly 4,000 respondents to comment on any country but their own.
Italians finished as "most liked," Germans as "least
liked," Belgians as the "least sexy," and Paris
triumphed as "favorite European city." The full results can
be seen here. (PDF)
Apple: fair play or failure to play fair?08/07/2004 01:18 AM Is Apple playing fair or not? On the one hand, it's their device,
their music store, and their software.
Microsoft Versus the Europeans
Microsoft Versus the Europeans11/12/2003 01:07 PM Microsoft Corp. spent years trying to persuade the U.S. court system
it was not the 800-pound gorilla that the Justice Department made it
out to be. Now it's giving a command performance to European
regulators. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant begins hearings
today in Brussels to persuade the European Commission that the Windows
operating system and its, shall we say, aggressive business practices
are no threat to competition in the software industry. The company
will argue that the European antitrust complaint "focuses unfairly on
the company and disregards its intellectual property rights and
consumers' demands. In a showpiece hearing, the company will seek to
appeal beyond the staff of Mario Monti, competition commissioner, to
other parts of the European Commission and national regulatory
agencies in the hope they might rein back the Commission," The
Financial Times reported.
U.S. Security Needs Anger Some Europeans (AP)
U.S. Security Needs Anger Some Europeans (AP)01/07/2004 03:23 PM AP - Fears of a new airborne terrorist attack have brought heightened
tensions, grounded flights — and created turbulence for
U.S.-European relations.
Europeans get new medical card
Europeans get new medical card05/31/2004 08:33 PM Millions of people across the European Union can apply for a new
medical card from Tuesday.
Hmm.. it appears that for $25/month we Broadband
Achievers can transfer an existing phone number to www.lingo.com, an Internet Protocol
telephony service, and get unlimited calling domestically and to
Western Europe. Should we sign up and start calling random
people in France, Spain, Germany, Italy to discuss the big issues?
[Would multi-lingual readers please fill up the comment section
with French, Spanish, German, and Italian language translations of the
following potentially useful phrase: "Why can't you speak
English like an educated person?"]
Microsoft and Europeans Argue Over Ruling
Microsoft and Europeans Argue Over Ruling04/13/2005 10:22 PM A year and a month after the European Union's antitrust ruling against
Microsoft, the software company has still not carried out either of
the resulting orders.
Microsoft, Europeans argue over ruling04/14/2005 10:15 AM A year and a month after the European Union's landmark antitrust
ruling against Microsoft, the software company has still not carried
out either of the resulting orders, and this week the two sides argued
over when a progress report might be forthcoming.
The European commissioner for competition, Neelie Kroes, wrote to
Microsoft last month requesting information on how the company would
comply with the antitrust ruling. The deadline for a response was
Monday, but two days later she has still received no reply, European
officials said. There was speculation that Microsoft, based in
Redmond, Wash., was testing the European Commission's patience, but
the company insisted that was not the case. Tom Brookes, a public
relations adviser to Microsoft, said a reply was "imminent."
Hopes fade for missing Europeans12/31/2004 06:41 AM At least 5,000 Europeans are still missing - most of them presumed
dead - after the tsunami wrecked Thai resorts.
Europeans Punish Governments in Vote
Europeans Punish Governments in Vote06/13/2004 06:18 PM Europeans from Estonia to Portugal also sent a strong message of
apathy by largely staying away from polling stations.
Europeans Vote on Final Day of Elections (AP)
Europeans Vote on Final Day of Elections (AP)06/13/2004 05:52 AM AP - From Sweden to Slovakia, Europeans in 19 countries chose from
candidates for the EU parliament Sunday, wrapping up the bloc's first
election since its historic expansion eastward in May. Six other
countries, including Britain, had already cast ballots in the four-day
election, seen as a report card for governments at home.
Microsoft to Soon Seek Stay of Ruling by Europeans
Microsoft to Soon Seek Stay of Ruling by Europeans06/25/2004 02:15 AM With less than a week to go until a European antitrust ruling is
scheduled to take effect, Microsoft is about to ask a European court
to block the order.
Europeans Delay Enforcement of Order Against Microsoft
Europeans Delay Enforcement of Order Against Microsoft06/28/2004 01:45 AM The European Commission said that it would not enforce a deadline for
ordering Microsoft to start selling a modified version of its Windows
operating system.
telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/11/11
/do1102.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2003/11/11/ixopinion.html track this
site | 8 links
Europeans Reject Bin Laden 'Truce' (washingtonpost.com)
Europeans Reject Bin Laden 'Truce' (washingtonpost.com)04/15/2004 10:15 PM washingtonpost.com - BERLIN, April 15 -- Five weeks after a series of
bombs killed 191 people on trains in Madrid, Arab television networks
on Thursday aired an audiotape, purportedly of al Qaeda leader Osama
bin Laden, in which the speaker offered not to attack any European
nation that withdrew its troops from Muslim countries.
Europeans Weigh Regulating of Converging Media
Europeans Weigh Regulating of Converging Media06/05/2005 10:45 PM In a world where television is jumping out of the tube and into mobile
phones and the Internet, European officials are talking about taking
their regulatory oversight along as well.
Europeans Investigate CIA Role in Abductions (washingtonpost.com)
Europeans Investigate CIA Role in Abductions (washingtonpost.com)03/14/2005 05:36 PM washingtonpost.com - MILAN -- A radical Egyptian cleric known as Abu
Omar was walking to a Milan mosque for noon prayers in February 2003
when he was grabbed on the sidewalk by two men, sprayed in the face
with chemicals and stuffed into a van. He hasn't been seen since.
Euro-copyrights.org educates Europeans about new copyright laws
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