Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Check out RevSpace!
RevSpace! Revspace.com http://www.revspace.com/ os finally up and running! I'm building new pages now to put up. Go check out the new and improved layout! http://www.revspace.com/
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Extraterritoriality in Patent Infringement Cases
The Recent Expansion of Extraterritoriality in Patent Infringement Cases
by Katherine E. White*
INTRODUCTION
[¶1] The rapid pace of globalization has intensified the desire to expand the territorial reach of United States law to determine patent infringement.[1] Historically, enforcement of patent rights was limited to infringement activity occurring solely within the borders of the United States.[2] The concept of territoriality is not unique to patent law, but is instead a venerable principle of the law of the United States generally.[3] However, the fundamental and traditional principal of territoriality recently has been expanding to find patent infringement for activity occurring entirely outside of the United States.[4]
[¶2] Previously, the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit have expanded the territorial reach of patent laws only in very limited circumstances. One circumstance has been when the nature of a system or device is such that it cannot be physically located in any single country's territory. An example of this would be when the nature of a system's components permits their use to be separated from their physical location, such that the system may not be located wholly within one jurisdiction.[5] In such cases, instead of focusing on physical location, the system is deemed located where it is primarily used or controlled.[6]
[¶3] Another reason for expanding the territorial reach of patent law is based on distinctions regarding the type of patent claims obtained. Whether claims are written to cover devices and systems versus whether they protect processes or methods has affected the decision whether to extend the territoriality of the patent laws beyond the boundaries of the United States.[7] For example, courts have found patent claims on processes require, under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a),[8] all steps of the process occur within the United States for patent infringement to arise.[9] If, however, the claims are drawn to a device, where only one part of the system takes place outside the United States, extraterritorial application of the patent law of the United States is appropriate.[10]
[¶4] In an unprecedented move, the Federal Circuit, in AT&T v. Microsoft Corp.,[11] held that copying in a foreign country of software made in the United States infringed United States patents under United States law. Such a holding " provides extraterritorial expansion to U.S. law by punishing under U.S. law 'copying' that occurs abroad." [12] Although courts have previously expanded the geographic boundaries where United States patent law applies, never before have the arguments for extraterritorial reach diverged so far from the traditional arguments to extend territoriality. This extraterritorial application of the patent laws perhaps is related to the unique qualities of software as a technological art. Because software is a mysterious concept that most laymen do not understand intuitively, issues that should remain separate have been conflated and confused, leading to an unfortunate and unprecedented application of extraterritoriality of the patent laws.
[¶5] AT&T is a monumental case because never before have courts related their decision to extend the geographic boundaries of patent law to be dependant on the nature of the field of technology on which the patent was granted. The holding in AT&T expands territoriality while violating the fundamental principle of providing " the same treatment to all forms of invention without discrimination." [13]
[¶6] In AT&T, the court looked to the nature of software inventions as an excuse to treat them differently from inventions involving other technological arts.[14] Despite difficulties in separating computer software from its existence as an arrangement of algorithms,[15] any expansion of extraterritorial application of United States patent law should not be based on the nature of the technological arts, but on principles derived from precedent. The dissimilar treatment in AT&T is in conflict with precedent and United States treaty agreements.[16] Perhaps the AT&T case reveals problems associated with patenting software.[17] In any case, AT&T goes too far in extending extraterritoriality for United States patents, and is likely to encourage software manufacturers to make their software overseas to escape patent infringement liability in the United States.
[¶7] Part I of this Article is a general overview of the strict application of the doctrine of territoriality in patent infringement cases. Part II discusses the limits of the strict application of the doctrine of territoriality. Part III reviews Congress's legislative solution to close a loophole in the doctrine of territoriality. Part IV discusses the subsequent expansion by the courts of extraterritoriality beyond what Congress intended.
Read The Full Story at:
The Recent Expansion of Extraterritoriality in Patent Infringement Cases
by Katherine E. White*
INTRODUCTION
[¶1] The rapid pace of globalization has intensified the desire to expand the territorial reach of United States law to determine patent infringement.[1] Historically, enforcement of patent rights was limited to infringement activity occurring solely within the borders of the United States.[2] The concept of territoriality is not unique to patent law, but is instead a venerable principle of the law of the United States generally.[3] However, the fundamental and traditional principal of territoriality recently has been expanding to find patent infringement for activity occurring entirely outside of the United States.[4]
[¶2] Previously, the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit have expanded the territorial reach of patent laws only in very limited circumstances. One circumstance has been when the nature of a system or device is such that it cannot be physically located in any single country's territory. An example of this would be when the nature of a system's components permits their use to be separated from their physical location, such that the system may not be located wholly within one jurisdiction.[5] In such cases, instead of focusing on physical location, the system is deemed located where it is primarily used or controlled.[6]
[¶3] Another reason for expanding the territorial reach of patent law is based on distinctions regarding the type of patent claims obtained. Whether claims are written to cover devices and systems versus whether they protect processes or methods has affected the decision whether to extend the territoriality of the patent laws beyond the boundaries of the United States.[7] For example, courts have found patent claims on processes require, under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a),[8] all steps of the process occur within the United States for patent infringement to arise.[9] If, however, the claims are drawn to a device, where only one part of the system takes place outside the United States, extraterritorial application of the patent law of the United States is appropriate.[10]
[¶4] In an unprecedented move, the Federal Circuit, in AT&T v. Microsoft Corp.,[11] held that copying in a foreign country of software made in the United States infringed United States patents under United States law. Such a holding " provides extraterritorial expansion to U.S. law by punishing under U.S. law 'copying' that occurs abroad." [12] Although courts have previously expanded the geographic boundaries where United States patent law applies, never before have the arguments for extraterritorial reach diverged so far from the traditional arguments to extend territoriality. This extraterritorial application of the patent laws perhaps is related to the unique qualities of software as a technological art. Because software is a mysterious concept that most laymen do not understand intuitively, issues that should remain separate have been conflated and confused, leading to an unfortunate and unprecedented application of extraterritoriality of the patent laws.
[¶5] AT&T is a monumental case because never before have courts related their decision to extend the geographic boundaries of patent law to be dependant on the nature of the field of technology on which the patent was granted. The holding in AT&T expands territoriality while violating the fundamental principle of providing " the same treatment to all forms of invention without discrimination." [13]
[¶6] In AT&T, the court looked to the nature of software inventions as an excuse to treat them differently from inventions involving other technological arts.[14] Despite difficulties in separating computer software from its existence as an arrangement of algorithms,[15] any expansion of extraterritorial application of United States patent law should not be based on the nature of the technological arts, but on principles derived from precedent. The dissimilar treatment in AT&T is in conflict with precedent and United States treaty agreements.[16] Perhaps the AT&T case reveals problems associated with patenting software.[17] In any case, AT&T goes too far in extending extraterritoriality for United States patents, and is likely to encourage software manufacturers to make their software overseas to escape patent infringement liability in the United States.
[¶7] Part I of this Article is a general overview of the strict application of the doctrine of territoriality in patent infringement cases. Part II discusses the limits of the strict application of the doctrine of territoriality. Part III reviews Congress's legislative solution to close a loophole in the doctrine of territoriality. Part IV discusses the subsequent expansion by the courts of extraterritoriality beyond what Congress intended.
Read The Full Story at:
The Recent Expansion of Extraterritoriality in Patent Infringement Cases
Teen Charged With Sending Nude Pics of Herself - ABC News
Teen Charged With Sending Nude Pics of Herself - ABC News: Girl Faces Felony Charges After Allegedly Sending Photos of Herself to Classmates
By SCOTT MICHELS
Oct. 10, 2008 —
A 15-year-old Ohio girl faces felony charges and may have to register as a sex offender for allegedly taking nude photos of herself and sending them to her high school classmates.
The girl, whose name has not been released, was arrested last week and charged in juvenile court with possessing criminal tools and the illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, said Licking County, Ohio, prosecutor Ken Oswalt.
Her alleged actions are part of what some in law enforcement say is a growing problem around the country.
During a court appearance this week, the teen denied the charges, according to Oswalt. The girl attends Licking Valley High School in the town of Newark. Her lawyer declined to comment.
"There's a totally false perception among juveniles that there is no risk to this," Oswalt told ABCNews.com. "That picture, once taken and sent, gives anyone who receives it the ability to do anything with it, forever. If a picture of you found its way onto the Internet, that's going to haunt you, potentially forever."
If convicted, the girl could face a sentence of anywhere from probation to several years in a juvenile detention center. A judge also has the discretion to make the girl register as a sex offender under Ohio law.
Oswalt said other teens who received the photographs, which are considered child pornography under state law, may also be charged.
Law enforcement agencies and schools across the country say they are struggling to deal with a relatively new phenomenon -- teens who send nude photos to friends and classmates.
A 17-year-old in Wisconsin was charged in May with child pornography for allegedly posting naked pictures of his ex-girlfriend on the Internet. The girl had sent him the pictures. He told the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department he was just "venting" after she broke up with him.
Earlier this year, another teenager in Ohio reportedly made a sexual cell phone video of himself and sent it to female classmates. One of the girls forwarded the video to at least 30 other people. Similar incidents have been reported in Wyoming, New York and Pennsylvania.
Oswalt said his office got several such cases a week earlier this year before he started giving presentations at high schools warning of the potential consequences of sending nude photos.
One of those presentations, he said, was delivered at Licking Valley, the same high school attended by the 15-year-old.
Oswalt said the girl had already been warned by school administrators about what he called "inappropriate cell phone behavior."
The Licking Valley High School principal did not return a call for comment.
In Pittsburgh, Pa., police Detective Mike Overholt told ABC News he encounters similar problems at least once a week. "It's ballooned here," he said.
"My sense is they look at it as if there's nothing wrong with it," said Overholt. "It's being a star."
But there can be serious consequences in many states that make child pornography illegal to send or possess.
A teen field hockey player in upstate New York testified earlier this year that she took a photograph of herself in panties and bra and sent it to her coach at his request.
"It made me feel special and important," she told a jury, according to Binghamton Press Sun Bulletin. "He would say I was beautiful, that I had a good body and was really athletic."
The coach was convicted of child pornography and other charges.
Candice Kelsey, author of "Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence," said online culture encourages exhibitionism. "It's a means of getting attention, of becoming more popular," she said. "It's an unhealthy extension of a healthy adolescent exploration."
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5995084&page=1
Copyright © 2010 ABC News Internet Ventures
By SCOTT MICHELS
Oct. 10, 2008 —
A 15-year-old Ohio girl faces felony charges and may have to register as a sex offender for allegedly taking nude photos of herself and sending them to her high school classmates.
The girl, whose name has not been released, was arrested last week and charged in juvenile court with possessing criminal tools and the illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, said Licking County, Ohio, prosecutor Ken Oswalt.
Her alleged actions are part of what some in law enforcement say is a growing problem around the country.
During a court appearance this week, the teen denied the charges, according to Oswalt. The girl attends Licking Valley High School in the town of Newark. Her lawyer declined to comment.
"There's a totally false perception among juveniles that there is no risk to this," Oswalt told ABCNews.com. "That picture, once taken and sent, gives anyone who receives it the ability to do anything with it, forever. If a picture of you found its way onto the Internet, that's going to haunt you, potentially forever."
If convicted, the girl could face a sentence of anywhere from probation to several years in a juvenile detention center. A judge also has the discretion to make the girl register as a sex offender under Ohio law.
Oswalt said other teens who received the photographs, which are considered child pornography under state law, may also be charged.
Law enforcement agencies and schools across the country say they are struggling to deal with a relatively new phenomenon -- teens who send nude photos to friends and classmates.
A 17-year-old in Wisconsin was charged in May with child pornography for allegedly posting naked pictures of his ex-girlfriend on the Internet. The girl had sent him the pictures. He told the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department he was just "venting" after she broke up with him.
Earlier this year, another teenager in Ohio reportedly made a sexual cell phone video of himself and sent it to female classmates. One of the girls forwarded the video to at least 30 other people. Similar incidents have been reported in Wyoming, New York and Pennsylvania.
Oswalt said his office got several such cases a week earlier this year before he started giving presentations at high schools warning of the potential consequences of sending nude photos.
One of those presentations, he said, was delivered at Licking Valley, the same high school attended by the 15-year-old.
Oswalt said the girl had already been warned by school administrators about what he called "inappropriate cell phone behavior."
The Licking Valley High School principal did not return a call for comment.
In Pittsburgh, Pa., police Detective Mike Overholt told ABC News he encounters similar problems at least once a week. "It's ballooned here," he said.
"My sense is they look at it as if there's nothing wrong with it," said Overholt. "It's being a star."
But there can be serious consequences in many states that make child pornography illegal to send or possess.
A teen field hockey player in upstate New York testified earlier this year that she took a photograph of herself in panties and bra and sent it to her coach at his request.
"It made me feel special and important," she told a jury, according to Binghamton Press Sun Bulletin. "He would say I was beautiful, that I had a good body and was really athletic."
The coach was convicted of child pornography and other charges.
Candice Kelsey, author of "Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence," said online culture encourages exhibitionism. "It's a means of getting attention, of becoming more popular," she said. "It's an unhealthy extension of a healthy adolescent exploration."
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5995084&page=1
Copyright © 2010 ABC News Internet Ventures
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Hackers Brew Self-Destruct Code to Counter Police Forensics | Threat Level | Wired.com
Hackers Brew Self-Destruct Code to Counter Police Forensics | Threat Level | Wired.com
Hackers have released an application designed to thwart a Microsoft-packaged forensic toolkit used by law enforcement agencies to examine a suspect’s hard drive during a raid.
The hacker tool, dubbed Decaf, is designed to counteract the Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, aka Cofee. The latter is a suite of 150 bundled, off-the-shelf forensic tools that run from a script. Microsoft combined the programs into a portable tool that can be used by law enforcement agents in the field before they bring a computer back to their forensic lab. The script runs on a USB stick that agents plug into the machine.
The tools scan files and gather information about activities performed on the machine, such as where the user surfed on the internet or what files were downloaded.
Someone submitted the Cofee suite to the whistleblower site Cryptome last month, prompting Microsoft lawyers to issue a take-down notice to the site. The tool was also being distributed through the Bit Torrent file sharing network.
This week two unnamed hackers released DECAF, an application that monitors a computer for any signs that Cofee is operating on the machine.
According to the Register, the program deletes temporary files or processes associated with Cofee, erases all Cofee logs, disables USB drives, and contaminates or spoofs a variety of MAC addresses to muddy forensic tracks. The hackers say that later releases of the program will allow computer owners to remotely lock down their machine once they detect that it has fallen into law enforcement hands. The hackers, however, have not released source code for the program, which would make it easy for anyone to see if the program contains malware that might also harm a computer or allow the attackers to take control of it. Hackers Brew Self-Destruct Code to Counter Police Forensics | Threat Level | Wired.com
Hackers have released an application designed to thwart a Microsoft-packaged forensic toolkit used by law enforcement agencies to examine a suspect’s hard drive during a raid.
The hacker tool, dubbed Decaf, is designed to counteract the Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, aka Cofee. The latter is a suite of 150 bundled, off-the-shelf forensic tools that run from a script. Microsoft combined the programs into a portable tool that can be used by law enforcement agents in the field before they bring a computer back to their forensic lab. The script runs on a USB stick that agents plug into the machine.
The tools scan files and gather information about activities performed on the machine, such as where the user surfed on the internet or what files were downloaded.
Someone submitted the Cofee suite to the whistleblower site Cryptome last month, prompting Microsoft lawyers to issue a take-down notice to the site. The tool was also being distributed through the Bit Torrent file sharing network.
This week two unnamed hackers released DECAF, an application that monitors a computer for any signs that Cofee is operating on the machine.
According to the Register, the program deletes temporary files or processes associated with Cofee, erases all Cofee logs, disables USB drives, and contaminates or spoofs a variety of MAC addresses to muddy forensic tracks. The hackers say that later releases of the program will allow computer owners to remotely lock down their machine once they detect that it has fallen into law enforcement hands. The hackers, however, have not released source code for the program, which would make it easy for anyone to see if the program contains malware that might also harm a computer or allow the attackers to take control of it.
Hackers have released an application designed to thwart a Microsoft-packaged forensic toolkit used by law enforcement agencies to examine a suspect’s hard drive during a raid.
The hacker tool, dubbed Decaf, is designed to counteract the Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, aka Cofee. The latter is a suite of 150 bundled, off-the-shelf forensic tools that run from a script. Microsoft combined the programs into a portable tool that can be used by law enforcement agents in the field before they bring a computer back to their forensic lab. The script runs on a USB stick that agents plug into the machine.
The tools scan files and gather information about activities performed on the machine, such as where the user surfed on the internet or what files were downloaded.
Someone submitted the Cofee suite to the whistleblower site Cryptome last month, prompting Microsoft lawyers to issue a take-down notice to the site. The tool was also being distributed through the Bit Torrent file sharing network.
This week two unnamed hackers released DECAF, an application that monitors a computer for any signs that Cofee is operating on the machine.
According to the Register, the program deletes temporary files or processes associated with Cofee, erases all Cofee logs, disables USB drives, and contaminates or spoofs a variety of MAC addresses to muddy forensic tracks. The hackers say that later releases of the program will allow computer owners to remotely lock down their machine once they detect that it has fallen into law enforcement hands. The hackers, however, have not released source code for the program, which would make it easy for anyone to see if the program contains malware that might also harm a computer or allow the attackers to take control of it. Hackers Brew Self-Destruct Code to Counter Police Forensics | Threat Level | Wired.com
Hackers have released an application designed to thwart a Microsoft-packaged forensic toolkit used by law enforcement agencies to examine a suspect’s hard drive during a raid.
The hacker tool, dubbed Decaf, is designed to counteract the Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, aka Cofee. The latter is a suite of 150 bundled, off-the-shelf forensic tools that run from a script. Microsoft combined the programs into a portable tool that can be used by law enforcement agents in the field before they bring a computer back to their forensic lab. The script runs on a USB stick that agents plug into the machine.
The tools scan files and gather information about activities performed on the machine, such as where the user surfed on the internet or what files were downloaded.
Someone submitted the Cofee suite to the whistleblower site Cryptome last month, prompting Microsoft lawyers to issue a take-down notice to the site. The tool was also being distributed through the Bit Torrent file sharing network.
This week two unnamed hackers released DECAF, an application that monitors a computer for any signs that Cofee is operating on the machine.
According to the Register, the program deletes temporary files or processes associated with Cofee, erases all Cofee logs, disables USB drives, and contaminates or spoofs a variety of MAC addresses to muddy forensic tracks. The hackers say that later releases of the program will allow computer owners to remotely lock down their machine once they detect that it has fallen into law enforcement hands. The hackers, however, have not released source code for the program, which would make it easy for anyone to see if the program contains malware that might also harm a computer or allow the attackers to take control of it.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
White House's Ties to Health Care Industry Deeper Than Visitor Records Show | Politics | AlterNet
If there's one thing the political wing of the United Shakedown Artists we know more accurately today as the global finance oligarchy and corporate rule is that people really do get very emotionally attached to images of celebrity and the popular appeal of psycophancy, is that they've got the art and science of developing effective propaganda bullet points that people really couldn't care less about . What is a public oppinion? The GOP rank and file are going on as before, however they do it in a mindless haze imported from the global conspiracy theory clen blah blah
durnk typing above.
on for for as long as I can remember,
White House's Ties to Health Care Industry Deeper Than Visitor Records Show | Politics | AlterNet
durnk typing above.
on for for as long as I can remember,
White House's Ties to Health Care Industry Deeper Than Visitor Records Show | Politics | AlterNet
Thursday, November 26, 2009
MPAA Says: Don't Like Global Fascism? Go Fuck Yourself!
Yup! That's right folks: If you think the idea of world government sucks ass and that people should at least have a say in deciding what laws we should impose upon ourselves, well... Go Fuck Yourself! You Hate Hollywood!!! And ya know what else, You're an ungreatful, unpatriotic communist bed wetter who support international terrorism!!! You Bastards!!!! Argh!!!
And so there it is. I hate Hollywood! Forget about the so called great propaganda they produce there for just a moment... I don't hate Detroit simply because some really crappy cars are made there year after year after year. I might hate the fucknuts at Ford or Chevy or whatever, but surely not Detroit!!! Rock City? No fuckin' way man! Hollywood? Give me a fuckin' break. Fuck Hollywood. Nothin' there but a bunch of smack shootin' crack tootin' baby rapin' video tapin' ass whores lookin for no good, if you ask me... Fuck em!!! The whole three lots left of em...
That's my response to this article: MPAA Says Copyright-Treaty Critics Hate Hollywood Threat Level Wired.com
There's got to be a better way of protecting intellectual property rights!!! And I think I've got the answer, start thinking for yourself and tell thsse fucking idiots to go fuck themselves in the ass three times daily... Turn off your TV!!! for god's sakes!!! Pretty soon, they'll think they have the intellectual rights to the whole of the English language or Spanish or perhaps French. Fuck it, The MPAA has dibs on every form of communication that could possibly take place between human beings, between mamal and foul, between fish and bait. Go fucking figure!!!
But I oh how I do love copyleft, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and all the other blessed bands muckraking the fuck out of this shit. Without them, we might sereously never know anything about anything ever again. On account of, We The Peoople don't seem to matter anymore... We are the enemy!!! Well I say, fuck that!
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT: www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/mpaa-acta-letter/
And so there it is. I hate Hollywood! Forget about the so called great propaganda they produce there for just a moment... I don't hate Detroit simply because some really crappy cars are made there year after year after year. I might hate the fucknuts at Ford or Chevy or whatever, but surely not Detroit!!! Rock City? No fuckin' way man! Hollywood? Give me a fuckin' break. Fuck Hollywood. Nothin' there but a bunch of smack shootin' crack tootin' baby rapin' video tapin' ass whores lookin for no good, if you ask me... Fuck em!!! The whole three lots left of em...
That's my response to this article: MPAA Says Copyright-Treaty Critics Hate Hollywood Threat Level Wired.com
There's got to be a better way of protecting intellectual property rights!!! And I think I've got the answer, start thinking for yourself and tell thsse fucking idiots to go fuck themselves in the ass three times daily... Turn off your TV!!! for god's sakes!!! Pretty soon, they'll think they have the intellectual rights to the whole of the English language or Spanish or perhaps French. Fuck it, The MPAA has dibs on every form of communication that could possibly take place between human beings, between mamal and foul, between fish and bait. Go fucking figure!!!
But I oh how I do love copyleft, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and all the other blessed bands muckraking the fuck out of this shit. Without them, we might sereously never know anything about anything ever again. On account of, We The Peoople don't seem to matter anymore... We are the enemy!!! Well I say, fuck that!
Public Knowledge, a “copyleft” lobbying group who has seen the unfinished
treaty’s text, blasted Glickman’s comment, which comes weeks after the MPAA
urged the Federal Communications Commission to support internet
filtering of unauthorized copyrighted material.
“We do want to make certain that the rights of internet users are not
trampled by overwhelming government power asserted at the behest of a single special interest,” Gigi Sohn, Public Knowledge’s president, said in a statement. She added that it is “inappropriate to ask ISPs and application designers to do what the studios themselves have found impossible to do: manage security to prevent all illegal copying.”
Along with Public Knowledge, the movie studios, internet providers, electronics companies and lawyers for the recording industry have been given access to the text of the treaty that has not finalized. We’ve asked many of them to provide details, but confidentiality agreements with the Obama administration forbid that.
While Glickman would do well by apologizing for his George W.
Bush-style “With us or against us” smearing of his debate opponents, we applaud his call to unwind the secrecy surrounding the accord.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT: www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/mpaa-acta-letter/
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