July 2011 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

Re: [nexa] Fwd: [A2k] When Patents Attack (NPR)

by Angelo Raffaele Meo

On 26/07/2011 00:21, J.C. DE MARTIN wrote: > > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: [A2k] When Patents Attack (NPR) > Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:12:23 -0400 > From: Manon Ress <manon.ress(a)keionline.org> > To: a2k discuss list <a2k(a)lists.keionline.org> > > > > FYI: Great NPR radio show on Saturday re patent trolls and patents and > innovation in general > > When Patents Attack > http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/07/25/138576167/when-patents-attack > > Planet Money's Alex Blumberg and NPR's Laura Sydell co-reported this > week's episode of This American Life. Check out TAL's "Ways to Listen" > page to find out when the show airs on your local station, and how you > can download the podcast. Here's the story. > > Nathan Myhrvold is a genius and a polymath. He made hundreds of > millions of dollars as Microsoft's chief technology officer, he's > discovered dinosaur fossils, and he recently co-authored a six-volume > cookbook that "reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing > food." > > Myhrvold has more than 100 patents to his name, and he's cast himself > as a man determined to give his fellow inventors their due. In 2000, > he founded a company called Intellectual Ventures, which he calls "a > company that invests in invention." > > But Myhrvold's company has a different image among many Silicon Valley insiders. > > The influential blog Techdirt regularly refers to Intellectual > Ventures as a patent troll. IPWatchdog, an intellectual property site, > called IV "patent troll public enemy #1." These blogs write about how > Intellectual Ventures has amassed one of the largest patent portfolios > in existence and is going around to technology companies demanding > money to license these patents. > > [...] > > Continua qui: > http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/07/25/138576167/when-patents-attack > > > > -- > Manon Anne Ress > Knowledge Ecology International > 1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 500 > Washington, DC 20009 USA > http://www.keionline.org > manon.ress(a)keionline.org > > _______________________________________________ > A2k mailing list > A2k(a)lists.keionline.org > http://lists.keionline.org/mailman/listinfo/a2k_lists.keionline.org > > > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa Caro Juan Carlos, l'articolo che citi, letto con attenzione, è la dimostrazione che hanno ragione quei pochi che aspettano con ansia il giorno in cui lo statuto del brevetto sarà soppresso del tutto. Cito testualmente: "Nathan Myhrvold is a genius and a polymath. He made hundreds of millions of dollars as Microsoft's chief technology officer, he's discovered dinosaur fossils <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/12/080512fa_fact_gladwell>, and he recently co-authored a six-volume cookbook <http://modernistcuisine.com/about-modernist-cuisine/> that "reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing food." Myhrvold has more than 100 patents <http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%25…> to his name" Myhrvold ha fondato un'azienda di grande successo, chiamata "Intellectual Ventures". Proseguo nelle citazioni: "Intellectual ventures pays inventors for patents. It gathers patents together into a huge warehouse of inventions that companies can use if they want. It's sort of like a department store for patents: Whatever technology you're looking for, Intellectual Ventures has it. The company even has its own massive lab, with people walking around in white lab coats, mixing chemicals in beakers and looking at stuff under microscopes. There's a machine shop. A nanotechnology section. It's like a playground for scientists and engineers. Intellectual Ventures has invented a nuclear technology that's safer and greener than existing technologies. A cooler that can keep vaccines cold for months without electricity. And the world's most high-tech mosquito zapper". Poichè l'articolo è molto lungo, chiudo con una citazione che mi pare più significativa di altre: "The pitch he heard was, basically, Intellectual Ventures helps defend against lawsuits. Intellectual Ventures has this horde of 35,000 patents — patents that, for a price, companies can use to defend themselves. Technology companies pay Intellectual Ventures fees ranging "from tens of thousands to the millions and millions of dollars ... to buy themselves insurance that protects them from being sued by any harmful, malevolent outsiders," Sacca says. There's an implication in IV's pitch, Sacca says: If you don't join us, who knows what'll happen? He says it reminds him of "a mafia-style shakedown, where someone comes in the front door of your building and says, 'It would be a shame if this place burnt down. I know the neighborhood really well and I can make sure that doesn't happen.' " Raf

July 27, 2011

In: Berkman Center Opportunity: Clinical Instructor, Cyberlaw Clinic

by a.dicorinto＠uniroma1.it

July 27, 2011

Equo compenso: una “graziosa” esenzione.

by Emanuele Lerro

Segnalo questo interessante articolo di Guido Scorza.Equo compenso: una “graziosa” esenzione.In attesa del TAR Lazio, la SIAE inventa un “protocollo d’intesa” Mentre *in tutta Europa* – Italia inclusa – continua a discutersi della legittimità della disciplina sull’equo compenso per copia privata ed i Giudici della Corte di Giustizia<http://punto-informatico.it/3018123/PI/Commenti/equo-compenso-riscossa.aspx> e del Consiglio di Stato <http://www.guidoscorza.it/?p=2688> francese iniziano a fissare in modo inequivocabile il principio secondo il quale *nessun compenso* – equo o meno equo che sia – è dovuto per supporti e dispositivi venduti ed acquistati in ambito professionale, la SIAE, concede – quasi si trattasse di una “grazia” del Sovrano ai suoi sudditi – una nuova esenzione. In attesa che il *TAR Lazio*, nelle prossime settimane, dichiari, come ci si augura, l’illegittimità dell’intera disciplina italiana voluta dalla SIAE e concessale, come regalo di Natale, dall’allora Ministro Bondi, conviene, quindi, dar conto di questa novità annunciata – come sempre in sordina – dalla nostrana Società Italiana autori ed editori attraverso un aggiornamento, non segnalato neppure in home page, sul proprio sito internet<http://www.siae.it/CopiaPrivata.asp?click_level=3700.1100.0102&link_page=Mu…> . Continua qui: http://www.leggioggi.it/2011/07/26/equo-compenso-una-graziosa-esenzione/ Saluti e.

July 26, 2011

Fwd: [A2k] When Patents Attack (NPR)

by J.C. DE MARTIN

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [A2k] When Patents Attack (NPR) Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:12:23 -0400 From: Manon Ress <manon.ress(a)keionline.org> To: a2k discuss list <a2k(a)lists.keionline.org> FYI: Great NPR radio show on Saturday re patent trolls and patents and innovation in general When Patents Attack http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/07/25/138576167/when-patents-attack Planet Money's Alex Blumberg and NPR's Laura Sydell co-reported this week's episode of This American Life. Check out TAL's "Ways to Listen" page to find out when the show airs on your local station, and how you can download the podcast. Here's the story. Nathan Myhrvold is a genius and a polymath. He made hundreds of millions of dollars as Microsoft's chief technology officer, he's discovered dinosaur fossils, and he recently co-authored a six-volume cookbook that "reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing food." Myhrvold has more than 100 patents to his name, and he's cast himself as a man determined to give his fellow inventors their due. In 2000, he founded a company called Intellectual Ventures, which he calls "a company that invests in invention." But Myhrvold's company has a different image among many Silicon Valley insiders. The influential blog Techdirt regularly refers to Intellectual Ventures as a patent troll. IPWatchdog, an intellectual property site, called IV "patent troll public enemy #1." These blogs write about how Intellectual Ventures has amassed one of the largest patent portfolios in existence and is going around to technology companies demanding money to license these patents. [...] Continua qui: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/07/25/138576167/when-patents-attack -- Manon Anne Ress Knowledge Ecology International 1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA http://www.keionline.org manon.ress(a)keionline.org _______________________________________________ A2k mailing list A2k(a)lists.keionline.org http://lists.keionline.org/mailman/listinfo/a2k_lists.keionline.org

July 25, 2011

La nostra sfida per il futuro

by a.dicorinto＠uniroma1.it

July 25, 2011

Fwd: [A2k] FreedomBox in EP on 7 September (warning: HTML mail...)

by J.C. DE MARTIN

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [A2k] FreedomBox in EP on 7 September (warning: HTML mail...) Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:11:34 +0200 From: Erik Hjalmar Josefsson <erik.hjalmar.josefsson(a)gmail.com> To: a2k(a)lists.keionline.org png banner with EPFSUG and FreedomBox Dear friends and colleagues, I am very happy to invite you to a presentation of FreedomBox, a new generation of software-powered devices to enable freedom of expression and private communications for citizens around the world, as well as a hands on session for learning how to protect our privacy with free software both on our personal computers and office laptops. *Time:* 10h00-12h00 Wednesday 7 September 2011 (download to your agenda <http://www.erikjosefsson.eu/sites/default/files/epfsug-freedombox-event-201…>) *Location:* Room PHS 4 B001 (Building Paul-Henri Spaak, 4th floor, room B001) *Regi- stration:* If you don't have a badge, please mail that you are coming to epfsug(a)epfsug.eu <mailto:epfsug@epfsug.eu?subject=Attending%20EPFSUG%20meeting%20with%20FreedomBox%20on%207%20September&body=Dear%20friends,%0A%0AI%20am%20aware%20that%20when%20I%20send%20this%20mail,%20it%20will%20become%20public%20and%20archived%20on%20the%20following%20web%20address:%20%20http://epfsug.eu/wws/arc/epfsug%0A%0AI%20would%20like%20to%20come%20to%20the%20EPFSUG%20meeting%20with%20FreedomBox%20on%207%20September.%0A%0APlease%20send%20instructions%20on%20when%20and%20how%20to%20enter%20the%20Parliament%20to%20the%20following%20email%20address:%0A%0A%0AThank%20you%20and%20best%20regards,> (open registration), otherwise no registration necessary. There is an interesting link between these presentations and the movie "Disco and Atomic War <http://www.tarand.ee/2010/11/%E2%80%9Cdisco-and-atomic-war%E2%80%9D/?lang=en>" which was screened in the EP last year. While its title and poster could lead your thoughts elsewhere, the key theme in the film is actually about technology - the film shows how access to information transformed Estonia and Estonians, contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Back then we had to hack the antennas to receive Finnish TV signals, today we see new technologies being hacked, and sometimes with the same aim as then, to get access to information enabling change. It is therefore a pleasure to invite you to the next meeting of EPFSUG to reach through history and see the link between my old friends the Estonian antenna hackers and the hackers who make new technology available with the FreedomBox. You are warmly welcome. Best regards, Indrek Tarand Agenda for EPFSUG meeting 7 September 2011 WELCOME by EPFSUG Patron MEP Indrek Tarand *About EPFSUG* The European Parliament Free Software User Group is an open community of staff, assistants and Members of the European Parliament, and of supporters from the free software community. Its goals are to: * Assist people interested in using free software in the European Parliament * Drive adoption of free software in the European Parliament's information infrastructure * Push for use of open standards, to ensure equal access for citizens using free software * Work in cooperation with like-minded groups in Europe and around the world A BOX OF FREEDOM *A FreedomBox in every home* Jonas Smedegaard The FreedomBox<http://www.freedomboxfoundation.org/learn/> is a project to help you to stay in control of your own privacy on the internet. Why is this needed? Because you often loose or have to give up privacy rights in whole or in part when you participate in centralised social network platforms. Privacy concerned computer enthusiasts have practised protection of personal digital freedoms for quite some time now, using a range of well known technical tools. FreedomBox is a tiny low-power box containing these same reliable tools, improved to be dead-easy to use also by ordinary citizens. Jonas will explain, explore and expose what is fundamentally at stake and show how each of you can turn the internet around to serve yourself and thereby all of us. EXPLO- RING THE OFFICE LAPTOP *Ubuntu and boot option three* Johannes Woelfing Legend has it that MEP offices may acquire a laptop from LSUMEP with Ubuntu<http://www.ubuntu-be.org> as one (of three) boot options. Johannes will give a short field report on what it's like to get your hands on the office laptop and try out Evolution, LibreOffice and Firefox in the EP environment. We'll also get a report on tmail and how it works with EP servers in general and with the Exchange servers in particular. Bring your own office laptop and compare! PRIVACY POWER TO THE PEOPLE! *You can never get too much privacy can you?* Joris Vanhove By summing up why securing your email communications and spoof-proofing your identity is essential, Joris will walk us through the basics of email privacy, and tutor signing, verifying and encrypting in three quick steps. It's easy and fun! Bring your laptop and try it out! /Become a supporter!/<http://epfsug.eu/become-a-member-or-a-supporter> /Can't wait to learn more about free software?/ <http://www.fsf.org/working-together> _______________________________________________ A2k mailing list A2k(a)lists.keionline.org http://lists.keionline.org/mailman/listinfo/a2k_lists.keionline.org

July 25, 2011

impegni per la crescita: dibattito sulla trasparenza/Freedon of Information Act, articoli del Sole 24 ore - lettera del Ministro Brunetta

by Mauro Alovisio

- Gent.mi segnalo interessanti articoli del Sole 24 ore in materia di trasparenza ("Freedom of Information Act) Il dibattito in materia è stato originato dal seguente articolo: I Nove impegni per la crescita Sole 24 ore il cui punto Punto 8 è intitolato Trasparenza: Trasparenza della pubblica amministrazione:una forte iniziativa con l'adozione di una legge per la libertà d'informazione ("Freedom of Information Act", secondo le migliori esperienze straniere). Questo consentirebbe di monitorare l'operato dei funzionari pubblici e li renderebbe più responsabili di inutili ritardi, evitando il rimpallo delle pratiche tra un ufficio e l'altro. http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2011-07-16/nove<http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2011-07-16/nove-impegni-crescita-081…> -impegni-crescita-081016.shtml?uuid=AaNvVcoD&fromSearch<http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2011-07-16/nove> Trasparenza Motore di sviluppo articolo di Galimberti, Sole 24 ore del 17 luglio 2011 con approfondimenti in materia di Freedon of Information Act http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2011-07-17/trasparenza-motore-svilup… Sulla trasparenza la riforma c’è, Lettera di Renato Brunetta al Sole 24 ore 20 luglio 2011 http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2011-07-19/sulla-trasparenza-riforma… Tali articoli (specie l'ultimo) suscitano una domanda ma è davvero questa > la buona trasparenza o è una trasparenza "opaca"? > > Cordiali saluti > Mauro Alovisio > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa > >

July 25, 2011

In: [FrontiereDigitali] [Flxer] [IT] FLxER 5.3 is out!!

by a.dicorinto＠uniroma1.it

July 25, 2011

Remarks by Lawrence E. Strickling Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Internet Governance Forum--USA

by Marco Pancini

Vi consiglio questa lettura interessante. A presto. marco Source: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/speechtestimony/2011/remarks-assistant-secretary-st… July 18, 2011 Remarks by Lawrence E. Strickling Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Internet Governance Forum--USA Washington, DC July 18, 2011 -As prepared for delivery- Thank you for the opportunity to speak once again at the IGF-USA. I want especially to thank Marilyn Cade for her work in pulling together the third edition of this meeting and I am glad to have had the opportunity to speak at each of these sessions. We are at a critical time in the history of the Internet. Last month I spoke at the Internet Society’s INET meeting in New York City where the question before the house was “What kind of Internet do I want?” I answered that I wanted an Internet that is open, innovative, growing and global and that continues to rely on the established global Internet institutions for guidance and direction. But in the last year we have seen more and more instances of restrictions on the free flow of information online, disputes between various standards bodies and even appeals from incumbent carriers in Europe for government intervention on the terms and conditions for exchanging Internet traffic. We have seen statements by international organizations and even some governments to regulate the Internet more directly. All of these events only strengthen my view that now is truly a time for all to get involved who are concerned about maintaining a vibrant and growing Internet and who want to preserve established global Internet institutions. When we speak of global Internet institutions, we are referring to multistakeholder organizations, like the Internet Society, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), that have played a major role in the design and operation of the Internet. A top priority of the Obama Administration, and in particular, NTIA, is to preserve and enhance the multistakeholder model that has been a hallmark feature of the global Internet institutions that have been responsible for the success of the Internet. Maintaining the openness, transparency, and user choice of today’s Internet can only be sustained and advanced in a world where all stakeholders participate in relevant decision making, not one where governments, or other stakeholders, dominate. We believe that preserving our existing institutions while extending this model to other aspects of Internet policymaking is important for ensuring the continued growth and innovation of the Internet. Today, I would like to discuss some recent events where we have made substantial progress on our goal to protect and enhance the multistakeholder process for Internet governance. First, many of you know that I have devoted a lot of time in speeches to the accountability and transparency of ICANN, the multistakeholder organization that coordinates the Domain Name System for the Internet. Starting last year, as one of its commitments to the global Internet community set forth in the Affirmation of Commitments, ICANN undertook a detailed review of its accountability and transparency. I had the privilege of participating on the team that conducted this review. It was truly multistakeholder, with members from around the globe including China, Egypt, and South America, representing elements of the global Internet community such as registries, registrars, users, and governments. The team completed its review last December and issued a report with 27 recommendations to the ICANN Board for improving accountability and transparency at ICANN. A little more than three weeks ago, at its meeting in Singapore, the ICANN Board adopted these recommendations as proposed by the review team. I am very pleased by the Board’s action, which demonstrates a commitment to improving the accountability and transparency of ICANN and to the multistakeholder process of Internet policymaking. Now the focus turns to ICANN management and staff, who must take up the challenge of implementing these recommendations as rapidly as possible and in a manner that leads to meaningful and lasting reform. These recommendations, when implemented in a thorough and meaningful way, will measurably improve the accountability and transparency of the organization. And while a lot of people worked very hard to get to this point with ICANN, I think the success of the effort so far illustrates an important point about multistakeholder organizations. Multistakeholder institutions derive their legitimacy from the support and active participation of all stakeholders. Accordingly, they are more likely than regulatory or treaty-based organizations to adapt to change and evolve when the stakeholders demand it. It is difficult to imagine employing a similar process to reform more traditional regulatory agencies as quickly or as thoroughly. The other big news in Singapore was ICANN’s decision to move forward to expand the number of generic top level domains, or gTLDs. While that decision may not have satisfied everyone, the process used by the Board to reach its decision is worthy of note. In response to long-standing concerns held by governments about the expansion proposal, the ICANN Board held a number of focused exchanges with the Government Advisory Committee to resolve as many of the issues as possible. These exchanges represented the first meaningful interactions between the GAC and the ICANN Board since ICANN’s inception and it is critical that the lessons learned through these recent interactions result in clear, predictable processes for the ICANN Board and the GAC going forward. >From our perspective, ICANN improved the new gTLD program by incorporating a significant number of the GAC proposals. The fact that not all of the GAC’s proposals were adopted does not represent a failure of the process or a setback to governments; rather, it reflects the reality of a multistakeholder model. More important is the fact that the ICANN Board now recognizes the need to bring governments into its multistakeholder policymaking in a more meaningful way. If we are to combat the proposals put forward by others, such as to grant the International Telecommunication Union the authority to veto ICANN Board decisions, we need to ensure that our multistakeholder institutions have provided a meaningful role for governments as stakeholders. A second major achievement of the last month was the action taken by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris at the end of June to adopt a set of Internet policymaking principles. The occasion was the OECD’s High Level Meeting on the Internet Economy for senior decision-makers from governments, the private sector, civil society, and the technical community and it was an unprecedented opportunity to advance the global consensus around the working multistakeholder model that we believe is critical to the Internet’s continued success. Participants at the meeting agreed to a communiqué on policy-making principles that will create the conditions for an open, interoperable, secure, and continually innovating Internet. The communiqué reflects a growing global consensus on the value of the multistakeholder approach towards addressing Internet challenges. The principles are not intended to harmonize global law, but rather provide a common framework for companies and governments as they consider Internet policy issues. The OECD member nations endorsed the policymaking principles as did the business and technical advisory committees. The civil society advisory committee could not endorse the entire document due to its concern with provisions relating to online protection of intellectual property. However, everyone supported the plank encouraging multistakeholder cooperation in policy development processes. So, with these actions in Singapore and Paris, where do we go next? What is the call to action for all of you? First and foremost, do not take the OECD principles as the end of the work. Really, we are just at the beginning. Reaching an agreement on the OECD language was a challenge, but our history with those member states and ideological similarities gave us confidence that we would eventually reach consensus. However, some other nations, many with less experience with the multistakeholder model, may be inclined instead to support treaty-based structures for Internet governance. It is our job to advocate for this model and highlight how this multistakeholder process protects their national interests. The United States is most assuredly opposed to establishing a governance structure for the Internet that would be managed and controlled by nation-states. Such a structure could lead to the imposition of heavy-handed and economically misguided regulation and the loss of flexibility the current system allows today, all of which would jeopardize the growth and innovation we have enjoyed these past years. The OECD’s policymaking principles are perhaps the clearest statement yet that the United States and like-minded nations oppose treaty-binding regulation of the Internet. Now our challenge is to convince the rest of the world of the advantages of the multistakeholder approach. Next November, the United States will participate in the ITU’s World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT). This treaty negotiation will conduct a review of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), the general principles which relate to the provision and operation of international telecommunication services. We can expect that some states will attempt to rewrite the ITRs in a manner that would establish heavy-handed governmental control of the Internet and cybersecurity. These are the countries that we, including all of us in this room, must reach to promote the multistakeholder model, and our work must begin right away. The IGF in Nairobi will provide us all with an excellent opportunity to get started on this important task. I will use speaking opportunities at the IGF and the Government of Kenya’s Ministerial meeting to explain why we feel multistakeholder Internet governance is so valuable to preserving and enhancing a dynamic Internet and how it can be most useful in countries with little tradition of employing it. My team at NTIA will also work extensively at the bilateral level over the next year to spread the message. We ultimately hope to attain a global consensus on Internet governance that will preserve an open, interoperable, secure, and continually innovating Internet. But we need your help. Before I close, I would like to remind everyone of the July 29th deadline for responses to NTIA’s Further Notice of Inquiry on the IANA functions contract. This process is the first comprehensive review of the IANA functions contract since the award of the initial contract in 2000. We have been conducting what I hope the community agrees is an open and transparent process on the contract. Based on comments received to our original notice, we have gone back to the global community to confirm that we interpreted correctly what was said in the comments. We set forth our tentative conclusions in response to the comments and then provided a draft Statement of Work for public comment. This is the first time NTIA has sought public input on the draft Statement of Work. In keeping with our commitment to the multistakeholder model, NTIA is actively seeking the input of global stakeholders. I encourage you to all carefully read the Further Notice and submit comments by the deadline. In closing, let me assure all of you that the United States government is committed to the multistakeholder model of Internet policymaking. We are encouraged by the fact that support for the model is the consensus view of the participants in this conference and we look forward to working with all of you to build a global consensus on this principle with nations around the world. Thank you. -- Marco Pancini | Senior Policy Counsel | pancini(a)google.com | +32.28948492 +32.473531203 This email may be confidential or privileged. If you received this communication by mistake, please don't forward it to anyone else, please erase all copies and attachments, and please let me know that it went to the wrong person. Thanks.

July 25, 2011

caso Jammie Thomas-Rasset_ridotta la condanna

by MANTELERO ALESSANDRO

Il giudice ha ridotto la precedente condanna da 1,5 milioni dollari a $ 54.000, affermando che "an award of $1.5 million for stealing and distributing 24 songs for personal use is appalling" http://goo.gl/jKg0U

July 24, 2011