August 2004 Archives

At a time when software intellectual-property issues are being hotly contested, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's CIO is leaving to head the Department of the Interior's National Business Center.

Douglas Bourgeois, who spent three years at the Patent Office, leaves an organization dealing with a business environment that has increasingly placed a high priority on defending intellectual property. Bourgeois spearheaded efficiency-improving projects, including an E-government initiative that has enabled online filing of patent applications and access to patent information, as well as data sharing with international patent offices.

By Sumner Lemon -

SHANGHAI -- Walk into the access-controlled room full of software developers at Bleum Inc.'s headquarters here and you can't miss the slogan written in large blue and black letters that stretches across the far wall: "Protect our customer."

The message is there to serve as a constant reminder for Bleum's team of English-speaking software engineers of the importance of keeping clients' software code secure, said Eric Rongley, the outsourcing service provider's founder and CEO.

By Harold Nedd -

The FBI asked Honolulu business leaders Wednesday for their help in fighting the growing menace of computer crimes in the workplace.

Charles Goodwin, the special agent in charge of the Honolulu division, used a Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Dave and Buster's Restaurant near downtown Honolulu, to try to spread the word about what he called "the threat of cyber attacks."

By Beatrice Arnfield -

Search warrants executed on August 25th were the result of Operation Digital Gridlock, a joint investigation conducted by the FBI, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

Early in the morning of August 25th, federal agents executed six search warrants at five residences and one Internet service provider in Texas, New York, and Wisconsin. They were investigating the illegal distribution of copyrighted movies, software, games, and music over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Computers, software and computer-related equipment were seized in the searches.

Reuters

Polish police have broken up a gang of more than 100 hackers who sold pirated music and films, using academic computer systems around the world to store their wares, a police spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

"They broke into the biggest systems they could find and set up 'warehouses' to store pirated games, films and music," police spokeswoman Agata Salatka said of one of Poland's biggest piracy-related busts.

By Suman Sahai -

The pending third amendment to the Indian Patent Act of 1970 will introduce a product patent regime for inventions in the fields of food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. There are contentious issues here and these have been aired in the intervening years. The nature of ‘invention’ recognised by the Bill is one.

Following the US lead, increasingly both ‘inventions’ and ‘discoveries’ are becoming patentable. This is against the philosophy and purpose of the patent system—which is to reward inventions that society has a use for. ‘Invention’ in the new Bill must be clearly defined so that patents are granted only to products that benefit the public and must not include mere discoveries of existing products.

By Ingrid Marson -

Cisco released a security advisory on Wednesday warning that some Cisco networks could be vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks.

The problem occurs if a malformed packet is sent to a router that has been configured for the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol. This problem is limited to versions 12.0S, 12.2, and 12.3 of Cisco's IOS routing software.

Jon Oltsik, a network security analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group, said the vulnerable versions and configuration are in common use and the effects of a successful attack could be devastating to an enterprise.

By Sandra Dick -

MARK CLARK was relaxing in bed mulling over his bizarre new life in the heart of a war zone when the first massive explosion ripped through the hotel room opposite.

Just six feet of Baghdad hotel corridor separated the young Scots lawyer from almost certain death at the hands of Iraqi rebels armed with rockets and with murder and mayhem on their minds.

Escaping the smoke-filled, blood-splattered wreckage of the al-Rashid hotel that October morning was more down to sheer luck than anything else. But now, as Iraq’s small but fiercely proud band of athletes challenge the world’s greatest sportsmen and women in the ancient home of the Olympic games, the war-ravaged nation has reason to be glad that he did.

By Michelle Kessler -

New York tech component maker Corning expects to sell 10% to 15% fewer fiber optics this quarter than the previous one — and it blames Beijing.

The Chinese government tacked a 16% tariff on many of Corning's products in June, after two Chinese competitors accused it of dumping: selling products below market value to gain share. Several other non-Chinese companies were taxed too, at rates as high as 46%.

BOSTON --(Business Wire)-- Aug. 16, 2004 -- Enhanced Dynamic Information Sharing, Increased Personalization and Access Control Capabilities Help Businesses Maximize Return and Manage Risk of Enterprise-wide Idea Management

Imaginatik, the leading Idea and Innovation Management company, today announced Idea Central V6, a new version of its award-winning idea management software. The latest Idea Central release delivers a number of key features designed to track, control and protect intellectual property, a vital concern for companies committed to innovation. Idea Central V6 also features new communication and information sharing capabilities and an enhanced Portal Module that plays a key role in fostering the culture of innovation that top corporations strive to achieve.

Industry Minister, Jacqui Smith, has unveiled the UK's first intellectual property (IP) crime strategy.

Intellectual property crime cheats consumers, costs jobs and helps fund organised crime. Piracy and counterfeiting, including DVDs, perfumes, clothing and alcohol, costs the UK economy billions of pounds and undermines the success of many of the UK’s best companies.

The national strategy, developed by the Patent Office, brings together brand owners, police, trading standards and customs to:
> increase the sharing of intelligence between different agencies;
> improve training for those working at the front-line;
> better co-ordinate the agencies involved in the fight against intellectual property crime; and
> monitor progress and success by publishing an annual national enforcement report.

Call centers and credit-card processors are tightening security to ease U.S. and European fears of identity theft

A line of neatly dressed workers files into the Golden Millennium, a shimmering glass-and-steel building in central Bangalore. One by one, they swipe ID cards through a reader, then empty their pockets and bags and stuff cell phones, PDAs, and even pens and notebooks into lockers as a dour security guard watches. Staffers ending their shifts, meanwhile, are busy shredding notes of conversations with customers. At the reception desk, visitors sign a daunting four-page form promising not to divulge anything they see inside -- and even then are only allowed to peer into the workspace through thick windows.

By Caroline McGregor -

President Vladimir Putin doesn't get to vote in the U.S. elections in November, but it's clear he'd cast his ballot for George W. Bush if he did.

The conventional wisdom is that Democratic candidate John Kerry would be more critical of the constraints Putin has put on democratic freedoms. Bush, a Republican, meanwhile, is a fellow warrior on terror who treats Putin with respect.

Yet it's overly simplistic to assume that a Kerry victory would signal a return to the eat-your-spinach days of the Clinton administration.

Reacting to a new study that reveals that 37 per cent of all business software used in the EU in 2003 was pirated, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has called on EU governments to take action in a number of key areas.

The study, carried out by market analysts IDC, has valued the cost to European software publishers at over eight billion euro. BSA has responded to the report by publishing a strategic five-point plan which includes boosting respect for intellectual property; increasing the confidence of industry to promote research and development (R&D) and stimulate the investment and growth of the European digital economy; enhancing security and encouraging the development of the European Network and Information Security Agency; encouraging growth and innovation; and supporting improved Software Asset Management (SAM) practices as a fundamental business asset.

Justin Podur and C.P. Pandya - ZNet -

Carlos Andres Perez, a former President of Venezuela and leader of the Venezuelan 'opposition' against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, said in a recent interview that "Violence will allow us to remove [Chavez]. That's the only way we have," and that Chavez "must die like a dog, because he deserves it." (1)

Chavez "deserves it" because of efforts to create home-grown development and regional integration in ways that offer a genuine challenge to the neoliberal model. Because such programs are popular with the poor, "violence is the only way" to stop them.

By Geoffrey James -

It's not coincidence. The past 18 months saw two major IP lawsuits involving Chinese electronics firms. In the first, Cisco Systems sued Chinese telecom manufacturer Huawei Technologies for allegedly stealing router source code. In the second, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) accused Shanghai-based foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) of stealing trade secrets. The cases served as vivid reminders that in China IP rights are often problematic. IP theft is rampant in China, according to Patrick Powers, director of the Beijing office of the Washington, D.C.-based trade group the US-China Business Council. "If you do business in China, you should assume that your designs and products can and will be copied," he warns.

"Everyone who deploys in China experiences at least some IP theft," says Ned Barnholt, CEO of Agilent Technologies, which maintains a manufacturing facility in Shanghai and several R&D facilities in Shanghai and Beijing. The thievery is made all the more toxic by the lack of any effective way to obtain satisfaction. "The risks of IP theft are high because criminal penalties are too weak to deter IP rights violations," says Powers.

By A. Jose Cortina -

1. The Problem

U.S. owners of patents or registered trademarks may find themselves the target of sham letters regarding overseas registration of their patents or trademarks. The letters typically solicit payments for services which are of no value. The owners, if fooled, end up making payments of large sums of money and receive nothing of value in return.

2. The Targets

The companies issuing such letters have been around for a number of years promoting to patent owners the registration of patents on fictional international patent registers. The practice is so prevalent that the European Patent Office has issued a warning reminding the public that it alone has the authority to issue patents which provide legally enforceable rights.

Sue Bushell, CIO -

Queensland is leading the charge among Australia’s government organisations to commercialize its own intellectual property — to the tune of $65 million in revenue over the next three years

Since Queensland established its Smart State policy in 1998, it has invested heavily in the knowledge industries and science education as a way to generate jobs and future opportunities for all Queenslanders.