Author archives

Russia says its businesses can steal patents from anyone in ‘unfriendly’ countries

Washington Post: “Russia has effectively legalized patent theft from anyone affiliated with countries “unfriendly” to it, declaring that unauthorized use will not be compensated. The decree, issued this week, illustrates the economic war waged around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the West levies sanctions and pulls away from Russia’s huge oil and gas industry. Russian …

Subjects: Intellectual Property, Legal Research

Bing’s ‘Russian invasion of Ukraine’ results show Opinions section and timelines

Search Engine Land: “The Opinions section contextualizes news-related listings for users, which may help reduce misinformation. Microsoft Bing’s search results for queries related to the conflict in Ukraine show an Opinions section and two timelines (one in the main column and another in the knowledge panel)…”

Subjects: Internet, Knowledge Management, Search Engines

Publicizing Corporate Secrets for Public Good

Morten, Christopher, Publicizing Corporate Secrets for Public Good (February 13, 2022). University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 171, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract= “Federal regulatory agencies in the United States hold a treasure trove of valuable information essential to a functional society. Yet little of this immense and nominally “public” resource is accessible to the public. …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Intellectual Property, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Breached! Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve It (Chapter 1)

Solove, Daniel J. and Hartzog, Woodrow, Breached! Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve It (Chapter 1) (March 1, 2022). Oxford University Press (2022), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4043111 – “Digital connections permeate our lives—and so do data breaches. Given that we must be online for basic communication, finance, healthcare, and more, it is remarkable …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Legal Research, Privacy

EPI’s Family Budget Calculator

“EPI’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living. The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children) in all counties and metro areas in the United States. Compared with the federal poverty line …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System

Please Whitelist new email address for beSpacific

beSpacific will soon use a new email listserv to deliver daily alerts to opt-in subscribers. To facilitate this transition, please Whitelist the following address: [email protected] This will ensure no interruption in the delivery of beSpacific daily email updates. If you are receiving beSpacific email updates at work, please contact your Help Desk or IT service …

Subjects: E-Mail, Knowledge Management

Tracking the Refugee Crisis in Europe

UN Refugee Agency – The Ukraine Refugee Situation: “The Operational Data Portal (ODP) was created in 2011 to enable UNHCR’s institutional responsibility to provide an information and data sharing platform to facilitate coordination of refugee emergencies. This was achieved using independent ‘situation views’ covering major emergencies such as the Syria situation or the Central African …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Knowledge Management

Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 12, 2022

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 12, 2022 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly …

Subjects: Censorship, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Free Speech, Internet, Privacy, Social Media

How to Safely Travel Within the US

Wired: “We’ve revamped this guide to focus more on domestic travel in the US and removed some sections of the international advice, which is now in its own, separate article. We added information on downloading and using digital proof-of-vaccination apps, as well as alternatives to rental cars, and we’ve updated quarantine information and required proof …

Subjects: Health Care, Transportation

After 2 Years of COVID, Scientists Still Don’t Have Answers to These Vital Questions

CNET: “On March 13, 2020, US President Donald Trump issued a state of emergency in response to COVID-19, two days after the World Health Organization announced the outbreak could be characterized as a pandemic. At that time, fewer than 2,000 Americans had tested positive for the virus. Today, there have been 79 million cases reported in this …

Subjects: Health Care, Medicine

The best free backup software and services

PC World: “Finding a good free backup solution is easier than you’d think. A host of companies offer free online backup or free backup software—and perhaps surprisingly, nearly all of them are quite competent. Of course these companies have ulterior motives. Their free versions usually only provide enough storage for essential data, or lack some …

Subjects: E-Mail, E-Records, Internet, Knowledge Management