Brexit Update - January 2020; Dehns via Mondaq, January 15, 2020

Clare Mann, Dehns via Mondaq; Brexit Update - January 2020

"On 9 January 2020, MPs voted in favour of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the legislation which will implement the Government's proposed Withdrawal Agreement. The Bill has now passed to the House of Lords for further review and it is expected that the Withdrawal Agreement will be ratified by the European Parliament later this month.

The UK is due to leave the EU on 31 January 2020.  Assuming the Withdrawal Agreement is ratified, an 11-month transition period until 31 December 2020 will commence immediately upon the UK's exit, during which the status quo will remain. EU trade mark registrations will continue to have legal effect in the UK during the transition period and UK trade mark attorneys will retain their rights of representation before the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

At the end of the transition period, EU trade marks which are fully registered will be automatically cloned in the UK by the creation of comparable UK national rights which will retain the EU filing dates (and any relevant priority/seniority dates). These national rights will be created by the UK Intellectual Property Office free-of-charge.

EU trade marks which are the subject of pending applications when the transition period ends will not be automatically cloned in the UK.  Instead, their owners will have a period of nine months in which to re-file in the UK while retaining the EU filing date and, if appropriate, priority/seniority date(s).  Regular official filing fees will apply."

Maria Strong Appointed Acting Register of Copyrights; Publishers Weekly, December 18, 2019

Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly; Maria Strong Appointed Acting Register of Copyrights

"Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has appointed Maria Strong as acting register of Copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office, succeeding register of Copyrights Karyn Temple, who announced last week that she will be leaving the Copyright Office to accept a new position as the global general counsel of the Motion Picture Association. Strong's appointment will begin January 5, 2020.

Strong has served as associate register of Copyrights and director of Policy and International Affairs since April 23, 2019. She joined the Copyright Office in 2010, and prior to that spent 19 years in private practice in Washington, DC, representing clients from the media, technology, and entertainment sectors. She began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Federal Communications Commission."

 

Apple Lawsuit Against Cyber Startup Threatens ‘Dangerous’ Expansion Of Copyright Law; Forbes, January 13, 2020

Thomas Brewster, Forbes; Apple Lawsuit Against Cyber Startup Threatens ‘Dangerous’ Expansion Of Copyright Law

"As Apple and Corellium head towards mediation talks, the iPhone maker has been criticized for “dangerous” claims that the cybersecurity startup has broken copyright laws. Critics say the lawsuit could lead to an expansion of U.S. copyright law and legally endanger software creators and security researchers tinkering with Apple tech.

Corellium “virtualizes” Apple iPhones. In other words, it creates software-only versions of the devices, helping researchers and developers better test hacks or the functionality of apps. For instance, if a developer wanted to see whether their app crashes iOS or breaks a phone entirely, they won’t have to restart or buy a new iPhone if they can just spawn a new software version at speed.

But Apple believes this amounts to illegal replication of its famous phone."

Troll Watch: AI Ethics; NPR, January 11, 2020

NPR; Troll Watch: AI Ethics

"NPR's Michel Martin speaks with The Washington Post's Drew Harwell about the ethical concerns posed by new AI technology." 

"MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We're going to spend the next few minutes talking about developments in artificial intelligence or AI. This week, the Trump administration outlined its AI policy in a draft memo which encouraged federal agencies to, quote, "avoid regulatory or non-regulatory actions that needlessly hamper AI innovation and growth," unquote. And at the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual technology showcase, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios elaborated on the administration's approach, warning that overregulation could stifle industries. But this stance comes as companies are announcing some boundary pushing uses for AI, including to create composite images of fake people and to conduct background checks. And those uses are raising ethical issues.

So to hear more about this, we've called Drew Harwell. He covers artificial intelligence for The Washington Post. He's with us now. Drew, welcome. Thanks so much for joining us."

Work Together webinar; Swedish National Heritage Board, November 18, 2019

Swedish National Heritage Board; Work Together webinar

"Work together

“Things turn out better when you make them together!”, said Elisabeth Standár during our webinar session on collaborations on the basis of open cultural heritage data. This quote sums up perfectly the subject of the “Work together” session as we explored the possibilities and challenges of working together with SOCH, Europeana and Wikimedia. From very different perspectives, Maria Carlsson (Swedish National Heritage Board), Barbara Fischer (German National Library), Elisabeth Standár (Internetmuseum) and Liam Wyatt (Europeana/Wikimedia) shared their insights in how collaboration with open cultural heritage data networks and organizations can support and help your institution."

Paris Musées embraces open access; europeana pro, January 9, 2020

Douglas McCarthy, europeana pro; Paris Musées embraces open access

"In a major step towards greater open access in France, Paris Musées is releasing its digital collections into the public domain with a CC0 waiver. Europeana's Douglas McCarthy spoke with Philippe Rivière, Head of Communication and Digital at Paris Musées, to find out more."

"Tell us all about the Paris Musées open access announcement. 

From January 2020, Paris Musées will begin releasing digital images of its out-of-copyright works into the public domain under the Creative Commons CC0 waiver. Our first release numbers more than 150,000 images and other sets will follow. We are publishing the material set by set so that the copyright status of the artworks and photographs can be carefully evaluated. 

Which collections and what type of images are being openly released? 

Paris Musées manages the fourteen museums of the City of Paris and altogether the collection numbers over a million artworks. From archaeology to fashion and contemporary art, the collections are remarkably diverse and they are still being digitised. Since May 2016 our collections have been accessible online at http://parismuseescollections.paris.fr/en. 

What motivated Paris Musées to adopt open access now? 

Paris Musées has been working on its open access strategy for some time and discussions intensified during the development of our collections website. Our project team was aware of the international Open GLAM movement and we wanted to make our own contribution to it."

Harry and Meghan seek global trademark for 'Sussex Royal' brand; The Guardian, January 12, 2020

Ben Quinn, The Guardian; Harry and Meghan seek global trademark for 'Sussex Royal' brand

"The application covering Australia, Canada, the EU and US was filed in December with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in the name of their new foundation, according to details online.

As well as the application to register Sussex Royal – which the couple have been using on their Instagram account and on a website launched last week as they announced they were “stepping back” as senior royals – one was also made to register “Sussex Royal the Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”.

Six classes were listed in the applications, covering printed matter such as magazines and greeting cards, clothing ranging from footwear to pyjamas, charitable fundraising and management, as well as education and social care services including the organising and conducting of emotional support groups."