January 2005 Articles

    • USPTO opens trade mark files to all

      31 Jan 2005

      The US Patent and Trademark Office announced on Friday that its trade mark application files will now be accessible on-line, free of charge. The files include the decisions, and the reasons behind those decisions, made by trade mark examining attorneys....

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    • Cost of ID card scheme could double, says report

      31 Jan 2005

      The cost of introducing ID cards could easily double, according to a think tank report published yesterday. This, together with the public sector's track record with IT projects could turn the national ID cards scheme into "Labour's poll tax," warns the...

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    • MP3 links breach copyright, says Norwegian court

      31 Jan 2005

      A student who ran a web site linking to free digital music files is liable for copyright infringement even though third parties provided the infringing material, the Norwegian Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

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    • FSA consults on implementing Basel II

      31 Jan 2005

      The UK's Financial Services Authority has set out its proposals for implementing a draft Directive that will incorporate the recently agreed Basel II Accord into the European Single Market.

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    • Movie makers sue P2P users again

      28 Jan 2005

      The Motion Picture Association of America has filed a second wave of lawsuits against people who traded digital copies of films over the internet in breach of copyright, according to CNET News.com.

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    • Kit-Kat told that 'Have a break' lacks character

      28 Jan 2005

      An attempt by Nestlé to register the phrase "Have a break" as a trade mark was dealt a major blow yesterday when Advocate General Juliane Kokott told the European Court of Justice that the phrase did not have specific character on its own.

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    • Microsoft worker stole $7 million of software

      28 Jan 2005

      A former Microsoft employee has admitted involvement in the theft of $7 million-worth of Microsoft software by exploiting a defect in the company's internal product ordering system, according to media reports.

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    • Medical records on Navy intranet in privacy blunder

      28 Jan 2005

      Employers at the Faslane Naval Base may have breached data protection rules by posting some staff medical records onto an intranet and e-mailing other confidential information to workers, according to news site icDunbartonshire.

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    • Earthlink wins spam settlement

      27 Jan 2005

      Earthlink has settled part of a court action brought against a network known as the Alabama Spammers, after two of the defendants agreed to make a payment to the ISP and to stop sending unsolicited commercial e-mail.

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    • Versace heir wins privacy complaint

      27 Jan 2005

      The niece of murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace has won an apology from Now magazine over the publication of an article speculating on her health and containing pictures showing the 18-year-old shopping in London.

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