Announcements
New issue of SCRIPT-ed
The new issue of SCRIPTed is now online. This issue covers a good range of issues, including an analysis of the German case that has declared the validity of the GPL.
Litigation
US Supreme Court readies P2P debate
This is where the great battle of our time will be fought. The P2P debate in the US Supreme Court is upon us, a case that will probably shape the near future of the legal validity of sharing networks. But one must say that sharing will go on regardless of Read more…
Patent abuse
Costa Rican canopy tour patent troubles
Some local news from Costa Rica. The weirdest patent claim has made some of the news over here, after a Canadian patented and claimed the ownership of the “canopy tours”, a great way to travel on the top of the rainforest to see the wildlife from close range. The problem Read more…
Games
Marvel sues City of Heroes
This is a great article by Fred von Lohmann about the surreal case of Marvel suing the makers of the popular “City of Heroes” MMORPG game. Marvel complains that City of Heroes is guilty of contributory infringement of copyright and trademark because some players in their site are creating characters Read more…
Google
Digital trail
This is an excellent article by Regina Lynn about the dangers of Google and leaving a digital trail. We are increasingly leaving a digital footprint that tells people about our interests, opinions and tastes. People can Google and find some amazing details about who you really are. It makes one Read more…
Computing
Cheap Windows targets Asian markets
Reuters reports that Microsoft is targetting its cheap (sorry, “low cost”) version of Windows XP to Asian markets. The stated purpose of this is to try to make Windows more appealing in emerging markets. The real reasons are: to hook home users into Windows, to try to stop the rampant Read more…
Computing
Isn’t wireless wonderful?
Technollama is coming to you today from the Playfair Library, where we are attending the very interesting conference named “Towards Utopia or Irreconcilable Tensions: the interface between intellectual property, competition and human rights“. More reports later, but I am hoping to load the powerpoints from some of the talks later Read more…
Open science
Open Biotechnology
This is an interesting article in the excellent WorldChanging blog. The article looks at the possibility of using open source models in drugs and biotechnology. Although the article cites many of the possible uses for the technology, it fails to mention that the reason why this is still in “planning Read more…
Blogging
The year of the blog
2004 has been the year of the blog. The BBC reports that the word “blog” has now been included in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The definition reads: “BLOG noun [short for Weblog] (1999) : a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by Read more…