Image via CrunchBase Apple’s “app store” continues to generate controversy through its rejections. I must agree with the following analysis that use of icons–especially as provided through an API expressly for that purpose should not violate trademark law (or copyright for that matter). It is, I think, rather like using “Xerox” or “Coca-Cola” to specifically identify those products–since the whole basis of trademark is to essentially avoid consumer confusion, this usage is not a viol... Read Full Story

Image via Wikipedia The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama’s administration refused to disclose due to “national security” concerns, has leaked. It’s bad. Secret copyright treaty leaks. Its bad. Very bad. — Boing Boing. Michael Geist has more: Despite the efforts to combat leaks, information on the Internet chapter has begun to emerge (just as they did with the other elements of the treaty). The ACTA Internet Chapter:... Read Full Story

Image via Wikipedia The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama’s administration refused to disclose due to “national security” concerns, has leaked. It’s bad. Secret copyright treaty leaks. Its bad. Very bad. — Boing Boing. Michael Geist has more: Despite the efforts to combat leaks, information on the Internet chapter has begun to emerge (just as they did with the other elements of the treaty). The ACTA Internet Chapter:... Read Full Story

This is an excellent write-up about how fair use works, along with its complexities (and areas where it is more straightforward, generally where courts have already ruled on a very similar use previously): If you kill someone, you’ve committed murder, right? Yes — unless he was about to shoot you first, in which case we call it self-defense. Fair use takes that same concept to copyright law. It is all about justification, and this is a key to understanding it. Fair use allows use of a work th... Read Full Story

This is an excellent write-up about how fair use works, along with its complexities (and areas where it is more straightforward, generally where courts have already ruled on a very similar use previously): If you kill someone, you’ve committed murder, right? Yes — unless he was about to shoot you first, in which case we call it self-defense. Fair use takes that same concept to copyright law. It is all about justification, and this is a key to understanding it. Fair use allows use of a work th... Read Full Story

An add-on that Microsoft silently slipped into Mozilla’s Firefox last February leaves that browser open to attack, Microsoft’s security engineers acknowledged earlier this week. via Sneaky Microsoft plug-in puts Firefox users at risk ( — Internet — Software — Security ). I suppose somewhere in Microsoft’s licensing language there is an acknowledgment and release of liability for actions like this. Even so, I certainly don’t think most Microsoft customers expect updates to so directly comprom... Read Full Story

An add-on that Microsoft silently slipped into Mozilla’s Firefox last February leaves that browser open to attack, Microsoft’s security engineers acknowledged earlier this week. via Sneaky Microsoft plug-in puts Firefox users at risk ( — Internet — Software — Security ). I suppose somewhere in Microsoft’s licensing language there is an acknowledgment and release of liability for actions like this. Even so, I certainly don’t think most Microsoft customers expect updates to so directly comprom... Read Full Story

It could mark one of the biggest changes for lawyers joining the profession since the first U.S. bar exam was given in Delaware in 1763 — a single bar exam aimed at standardizing attorney credentials nationwide. via Law.com — Uniform Bar Exam Drawing Closer to Reality. Law is slow to develop, so this will take a while — but it’s a step in the right direction. Additional related articlesWhy are lawyers miserable: want a list? — Times OnlineTheory v. Practice in Law School EducationAre law sch... Read Full Story

It could mark one of the biggest changes for lawyers joining the profession since the first U.S. bar exam was given in Delaware in 1763 — a single bar exam aimed at standardizing attorney credentials nationwide. via Law.com — Uniform Bar Exam Drawing Closer to Reality. Law is slow to develop, so this will take a while — but it’s a step in the right direction. Additional related articlesTheory v. Practice in Law School EducationLaw school vs. graduate schoolIs virtual lawyering the future? ... Read Full Story

Image via Wikipedia Cory Doctorow points out that the first 80% of creating a media center is easy: a decent computer (I used an old Pentium III and an old PowerBook, but you can use newer tech if you’re not a poor student), video out (S-Video to an old-school TV, VGA or HDMI to a new HDTV), big hard drives, maybe network sharing (I used an Airport Extreme I inherited) so you can access media from multiple rooms. But what about content — “the other 20 percent”? Now, onto the other 20 percen... Read Full Story