Researcher illegally shares millions of science papers free online to spread knowledge; Science Alert, 2/12/16

Fiona MacDonald, Science Alert; Researcher illegally shares millions of science papers free online to spread knowledge:

"A researcher in Russia has made more than 48 million journal articles - almost every single peer-reviewed paper every published - freely available online. And she's now refusing to shut the site down, despite a court injunction and a lawsuit from Elsevier, one of the world's biggest publishers.

For those of you who aren't already using it, the site in question is Sci-Hub, and it's sort of like a Pirate Bay of the science world. It was established in 2011 by neuroscientist Alexandra Elbakyan, who was frustrated that she couldn't afford to access the articles needed for her research, and it's since gone viral, with hundreds of thousands of papers being downloaded daily. But at the end of last year, the site was ordered to be taken down by a New York district court - a ruling that Elbakyan has decided to fight, triggering a debate over who really owns science."

Pitt to merge SIS, CS department; The Pitt News, 2/11/16

Taylor Mulcahey, The Pitt News; Pitt to merge SIS, CS department:

"Within the next year and a half, Pitt’s computer science department and school of information science will become one.

The new undergraduate school, the School of Computing Informatics, is slated to accept its first students in the fall of 2017 and will combine the 32 SIS faculty with the 18 CS faculty and distribute the 50-person staff in three new departments: computer science, informatics and network systems and information culture and data stewardship...

A “shift from a singular focus on high performance computing to embracing big data, data analytics, [and] the interaction between computation and information, is driving the department merger,” Larsen said.

A growing number of other universities around the country, such as University of California, Irvine, University of Michigan, Indiana University and Drexel University, have reorganized their programs in similar ways.

For Pitt, the change comes as the University looks to shift its focus to big data projects. In March 2015, Pitt teamed up with Carnegie Mellon University and UPMC to form the Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance, a partnership to find new ways to use large sets of patient data in health care.

In October 2015, Pitt collaborated with UPMC, CMU and other city and county officials to open the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center, which has published city and county data, such as logs of the city’s 311 calls and information about opioid deaths, online."

U.S. the Best for Intellectual Property; U.S. News & World Report, 2/10/16

Isabella Gutierrez, U.S. News & World Report; U.S. the Best for Intellectual Property:

"For the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. has been listed as having the best environment in the world for intellectual property, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday, although the country ranks only fifth when it comes to enforcing intellectual property rights.

The chamber's annual International IP Index compared 38 countries that together account for around 85 percent of the world's gross domestic product, assessing them on major factors involved in intellectual property like patent and copyright protections and the safeguarding of trade secrets.

In the U.S., intellectual property industries account for 40 million jobs and 38 percent of GDP, Donohue said. The country took first place for its overall intellectual property environment in part because of its trade secret and copyright protections and membership in international treaties.

Behind the U.S. were the United Kingdom, Germany and France, surpassing countries like China, Japan and Canada."

Martin Shkreli Sued by Artist Over Wu-Tang Clan Album; Associated Press via New York Times, 2/9/16

Associated Press via New York Times; Martin Shkreli Sued by Artist Over Wu-Tang Clan Album:

"A Long Island artist sued ex-pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli and others Tuesday over the use of his art in a Wu-Tang Clan album, saying he never expected portraits he posted on a fan blog two years ago to be used without his permission.

Artist Jason Koza said in the Manhattan federal court copyright infringement lawsuit that his portraits of members of the New York-based hip-hop group were used without authorization on an album Shkreli bought for $2 million."

Appeals court upholds Warner Bros.’ Superman rights; ComicBookResources.com, 2/11/16

Kevin Melrose, ComicBookResources.com; Appeals court upholds Warner Bros.’ Superman rights:

"A federal appeals court has again sided with DC Comics and Warner Bros. in the long-running feud over the rights to the Man of Steel.

As first reported by THR, Esq., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a 2013 ruling that the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel relinquished their claim to the character in a 2001 settlement with DC, and therefore are not able to terminate the copyright.

This legal dispute has proved as resilient as the Man of Steel, so we won’t label this a “definitive judgment.” However, the Siegel family would appear to have few options left beyond a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. For now at least, Superman remains in the hands of Warner Bros. and DC."

’80s X-Men characters come to life in rocking music video; ComicBookResources.com, 2/10/16

Brett White, ComicBookResources.com; ’80s X-Men characters come to life in rocking music video:

"In addition to a spot-on Lila Cheney (performed by singer Sage Montclair in full ’80s Joan Jett glory) and Dazzler (Gentry Roth) on backing vocals, the fan-made music video features the complete nine-person New Mutants roster (that’s Cannonball, Sunspot, Mirage, Karma, Wolfsbane, Magma, Magik, Cypher and Warlock), the team’s dance instructor Stevie Hunter (complete with a shout-out to Kitty Pryde) and Strong Guy. Yes, Strong Guy. If you’re a fan of the X-Men and don’t mind having a super catchy song stuck in your head for the rest of the day, then “I Will Steal Your Heart!” is necessary viewing."

‘Happy Birthday to You’ Is Finally Out of Copyright; New York Magazine, 2/10/16

Samuel Lieberman, New York Magazine; ‘Happy Birthday to You’ Is Finally Out of Copyright:

"The rights to the song “Happy Birthday to You” have been the subject of 80 years of legal battles, but they're coming to an end on March 14. On that day, the seven-note tune will finally go into the public domain, as the music publisher Warner/Chappell — which has been charging moviemakers and TV networks many thousands of dollars whenever they film people singing around a cake — has agreed to pay a $14 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by people who've paid to use the song."