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open source, open genomics, open creation
18 September 2013
Why the Idea of the Software Patent Does Not Fly
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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about the growing threat of software patents in Europe (again). I was delighted to come across thi...
EU Consultations: A Modest Proposal
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Last week I reported on the reply I received from Jean Bergevin of the European Commission on the subject of the IPRED consultation, and...
The Most Dangerous Windows Infection of All
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Readers of this blog don't need to be told about Windows' awful security record, or how, when news outlets talk glibly of "v...
Open Source (Seeds) Under Threat
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Seeds might seem far from the world of high tech and free software, but they have much in common. Seeds contain DNA, which is a (quaterna...
Benefit Claimants Must Use Ancient Microsoft Software
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Remember the bad old days when the UK government forced people to use Microsoft software in order to interact with it online? Remember h...
Dutch Law Would Authorize Police To Hack Into Foreign Computers And Phones: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
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When we wrote last year about a Dutch idea to give police there the power to break into computers -- even those located abroad -- we and...
Royalty Collection Agency SABAM Sues Belgian ISPs In Pursuit Of Its Fantasy 'Piracy License'
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Back in November 2011, we wrote about the Belgian music royalty collection agency SABAM's demand for 3.4% of Internet subscriber fee...
Now US And EU Want To Apply Upward Ratchet To TRIPS Itself
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Here on Techdirt we often talk about the copyright ratchet -- the fact that for three hundred years changes to copyright have always b...
Mozilla Sends Cease And Desist Letter To Commercial Spyware Company For Using Firefox Trademark And Code To Trick Users
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Techdirt has written several times about the increasing tendency for governments around the world to turn to malware as a way of spying ...
New EU Regulation Threatens Rare Seed Varieties, Agricultural Independence And Food Supply Resilience In Europe
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Unless we are farmers, we tend to take seeds for granted. But civilisation is built on seeds: it was the rise of large-scale agricultu...
Africa's Ancient Plant Diversity And Seed Independence Under Threat, Supposedly In The Name Of Progress
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As Africa continues to develop rapidly, Western countries and companies are increasingly interested in bringing it into existing internat...
Brazil's Marco Civil Not Dead Yet; Yahoo Voices Support
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Techdirt has been following the story of Brazil's innovative Marco Civil project, a civil-rights based framework for the Internet, fo...
28 July 2013
TTIP's "Science-based" Assault on Democracy Begins
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Last month I predicted that one of the main tropes that would be used in the TAFTA/TTIP negotiations would by that of "science-based&...
21 July 2013
Why has Monsanto "Quit" Europe? The Answer is ISDS in TAFTA/TTIP
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The battle to bring GM food to Europe has been fiercely fought for years. Most assumed it would be continue to rage for many more. Which m...
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20 July 2013
OxyContin And The Art Of 'Evergreening'
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A few weeks back, we wrote about the Indian Supreme Court's rejection of Novartis's attempt to use " evergreening " to...
No, The UK Did Not Just Abolish Copyright, Despite What Photographers Seem To Think
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The photographers are freaking out again. After last year's excitement with Instagram's changes to its terms of service, now i...
What New-Style Trade Agreements Are Really About (Hint: It's Not Trade)
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Given the massive impact that new-style trade agreements like TPP and TAFTA/TTIP are likely to have on the lives of hundreds of millio...
Has Russia's VKontakte Social Network Betrayed Its Users? Or Is It Under Attack For Defending Them?
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We last wrote about the Russian social network site VKontakte , often called "The Facebook of Russia," a year ago. Since then,...
McAfee Patents System To 'Detect And Prevent Illegal Consumption Of Content On The Internet'
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As a post on the French site Numerama reminds us ( original in French ), the department responsible for implementing the three-strikes p...
US Demands Transparency Everywhere -- But Only From Everyone Else
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Techdirt has written about the Special 301 report many times, but that's not the only US government publication putting other countr...
After Muzzling Librarians And Scientists, Now Canada Starts Making It Difficult For Citizens To Express Their Views
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Last month, Techdirt wrote about the requirement for librarians employed by the Canadian government to self-censor their opinions, even...
UK 'Snooper's Charter' Torn Up; Now What?
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Since the UK government published the draft version of its Communications Data Bill -- better known as the "snooper's charter&qu...
Not Learning From ACTA: IPR Protection And Enforcement Seen As 'Less Difficult Issue' For TAFTA/TTIP
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Despite increasing calls for the imminent TAFTA/TTIP trade negotiations to be conducted as openly as possible, it seems likely that, a...
EU Free Trade Agreements With India And Canada Grind To A Halt
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Techdirt has been covering the free trade agreement being negotiated between India and the EU for a while now -- that is, as well as any...
Public Domain Human Genome Project Generated More Research And More Commercial Activity Than Proprietary Competitor
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Traditionally, there has been a blithe assumption that more innovation occurs when patents are granted than when they are not. But as T...
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