An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Google has announced it is launching a new organization, Open Usage Commons (OUC), to host the trademarks for three of its most important new open-source projects. These are Angular, a web application framework for mobile and desktop; Gerrit, a web-based team code-collaboration tool; and Istio, a popular open mesh platform to connect, manage,…
Tag: patent
US Secures World Stock of Key COVID-19 Drug Remdesivir
The U.S. has bought up virtually all the stocks of remdesivir, perhaps the most closely watched experimental drug to treat COVID-19. The Guardian reports: Remdesivir, the first drug approved by licensing authorities in the U.S. to treat Covid-19, is made by Gilead and has been shown to help people recover faster from the disease. The first 140,000 doses, supplied to drug…
Google Sues Sonos in Escalation of Wireless Speakers Fight
Google escalated a fight with Sonos over the wireless home-speaker market, filing a lawsuit that alleges patent infringement. From a report: The conflict between the two companies, which had been collaborating on incorporating some Google features in Sonos’s speakers, erupted in January when Sonos sued Google for infringing its patents. The speaker maker is facing increased competition from tech giants such…
Apple Granted Patent That Would Allow For Socially Distant Group Selfies
With people around the world self-isolating at home in order to curb the spread of Covid-19, Apple has received a patent for software that would allow people to take group selfies while socially distancing from one another. CNN reports: The US Patent and Trademark Office recently granted Apple a patent for the software that would allow for “synthetic group selfies,” or…
World Health Leaders Stress Need For Sharing of Vaccines
Long-time Slashdot reader tomtermite shares a report from The Guardian:
Ministers and officials from every nation will meet via video link on Monday for the annual world health assembly, which is expected to be dominated by efforts to stop rich countries monopolising drugs and future vaccines against Covid-19… The leaders of Italy, France, Germany and Norway, together with the European commission and…
3D Printed N95 Montana Mask Design Released Under GPLv3
Long-time Slashdot reader blackbearnh writes: Since the COVID-19 pandemic has made Personal Protective Equipment worth it’s weight in gold, Makers have been trying to help bridge the gap. While sewn masks have been the most common solution, the 3D printing community has been pitching in as well. The Montana Mask has been one of the most popular designs… Thursday, the group…
Predictive Text Patent Troll Tries To Shake Down Wikipedia
martiniturbide writes: WordLogic (patent troll) claims it has the rights of the concept of predictive text writing and went after the Wikimedia foundation. WordLogic offered a “discounted, lump sum fee of $30,000 in exchange for a paid-up one-time license,” an easy win they thought, but Wikimedia fought back. “Wikimedia notes that (1) WordLogic’s patents are invalid due to prior art, (2)…
The Most Widespread COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Target Bill Gates
In a 2015 speech, Bill Gates tried to warn that the greatest thread to humanity was an infectious virus, reports the New York Times. “Anti-vaccinators, members of the conspiracy group QAnon and right-wing pundits have instead seized on the video as evidence that one of the world’s richest men planned to use a pandemic to wrest control of the global health…
Elon Musk Still Predicts 1 Million Tesla Robotaxis By the End of the Year
“Elon Musk says Tesla’s plan for 1 million robotaxi vehicles on the road by the end of the year is still on — pending regulatory approval,” writes the electric car news site Electrek:
At Tesla’s ‘Autonomy Day’ event last year, Musk announced Tesla’s plan to deploy 1 million ‘Robotaxi’ vehicles for a self-driving ride-sharing network by the end of 2020. It’s an…
Elizabeth Warren’s Campaign Is Making Its Software Open Source
gavron writes: While most politicians are pro copyright maximalism and patent exclusivity, Elizabeth Warren’s campaign just open-sourced a bunch of software and are proud of having used open source to save money, and build upon the shoulders of other giants. Way to go! “Our tech team worked hard to make getting involved with @ewarren’s campaign as easy as possible,” reads a…