The blog
Writing & notes
Essays, notes and reflections on technology, law and life.
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Corporate cyber-espionage alleged by petroleum software developer
The president of Platte River Associates, a United States software development company, has pleaded guilty to charges of hacking into a competitor’s website and copying commercially sensitive files. The company develops specialist petroleum exploration software, and the target of the cyber-espionage was Zetaware, one of its chief competitors. The facts are rather curious: the executive,… Read more β
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Latest novelty trade mark in Russia: π
In a move as bold as it is legally questionable, Superfone, a Russian mobile advertising company, has applied for a trade mark in respect of the characters ‘;-)’ (a winking emoticon). According to the certificate of grant, the registration applies to classes 35, 38 and 41. It’s unclear whether it extends to any territories beyond… Read more β
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Illegal logging in an age of computer crime: lessons from Brazil
To combat deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian province of ParΓ‘ has been using computer technology to administer a system of forestry permits. Unfortunately, the system has led to widespread abuse by logging companies that have allegedly hired hackers to issue fake permits: Companies logging the rainforest for timber or charcoal production are only… Read more β
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Australian spammer fined $92 715
If you received an email marketing Indian herbal pharmaceuticals last year, chances are it came from Mr Lance Atkinson of Pelican Waters, Queensland. This New Zealand man, living in Australia, has agreed to pay fines of $92 715 to the New Zealand Internal Affairs Anti-Spam Compliance Unit. According to media reports, Mr Atkinson admitted participating in… Read more β
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Cisco sued for GPL copyright infringement
The Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) has commenced proceedings against Cisco Systems Inc, alleging copyright infringement. The plaintiff argues that Cisco distributed software subject to the General Public License (GPL) without meeting the terms of the popular open source licence. Specifically, FSF alleges that Cisco’s subsidiary Linksys sold networking products containing GPL software without making… Read more β
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Facebook accidentally exposes members’ dates of birth
During a public beta test of its new user interface, social networking website Facebook has accidentally exposed personal information — at this stage limited to the date of birth and age — of all its members. According to Sophos, which created a YouTube video illustrating the flaw, as many as 80 million dates of birth… Read more β
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endonym
EHN-doh-nim noun A name used by a community to refer to itself or its language, as distinct from a name given to them by outsiders. Deutschen is an endonym of the people known in English as German and Mapuche is an endonym of the people known to outsiders as Araucanios. Antonym: exonym. Read more β
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exonym
EK-soh-nim noun 1. A name used by foreigners for a place, as Florence for Firenze. 2. A name used by foreigners to refer to a people or social group that the group itself does not use, as Germans for Deutsche. Synonym: xenonym. Antonym: endonym. Vienna is an exonym of Wien. Read more β
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autocephaly
/ΛΙtΙΛsΙfΙli/ noun 1. Having its own head; independent of episcopal or patriarchal jurisdiction, as certain Eastern European churches. 2. Subordinate to no superior authority; self-governing. From the Greek kephalos meaning ‘head’ (ie, self-headed). Cf autonomous, from nomos, menaing ‘law’ (ie, self-legislated). The Orthodox Church in America was granted autocephaly by the Patriarch of Moscow in… Read more β
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Are you a:
Sometimes I get curious about who reads this blog. Judging by the number of *.unimelb.edu.au and *.uq.edu.au visitors, I suspect that you’re mostly law students looking for notes. Am I wrong? Read more β