Category: Ignorant or unreasonable

Stupid Patent of the Month: Microsoft’s Design Patent on a Slider | Electronic Frontier Foundation


For the first time ever, this month’s Stupid Patent of the Month is being awarded to a design patent. Microsoft recently sued Corel for, among other things, infringing its patent on a slider, D554,140, claiming that Corel Home Office has infringed Microsoft’s design. The design patent, as detailed by Microsoft in its complaint, is titled “User Interface for a Portion of a Display Screen” and entitles Microsoft to own this:

Source: Stupid Patent of the Month: Microsoft’s Design Patent on a Slider | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Judge Not Impressed With Government’s Warrantless 921-Page ‘Peek’ Into A Suspect’s Cellphone | Techdirt

All the DHS wanted was a warrantless “peek” at the contents of a seized iPhone. The phone, one of three seized from a person suspected of drug trafficking, was examined by the DHS, with the warrant arriving a month later. Now, all of the evidence obtained from the phone is being tossed out.

In the order granting the suppression of evidence obtained from the phone, Judge Sterling Johnson points out that the government revised its story several times during oral testimony.

DHS Special Agent Thomas Wilburt worked with the CBP to detain the suspect, Adamou Djibo, at the JFK Airport. Djibo’s iPhone was taken and examined by Wilburt, who couldn’t seem to accurately recall the details of the examination.

Source: Judge Not Impressed With Government’s Warrantless 921-Page ‘Peek’ Into A Suspect’s Cellphone | Techdirt

Registrar Shuts Down Pirate Bay Domain Names


The Pirate Bay lost all of its active “Hydra” domain names this morning. ThePirateBay.LA, .GD, .MN and .VG were suspended by their registrar, alongside several other TPB related domains. The domain troubles make the site hard to reach through the usual channels, but The Pirate Bay still has some backups in reserve.

Source: Registrar Shuts Down Pirate Bay Domain Names

Harvard Law Review Freaks Out, Sends Christmas Eve Threat Level Over Public Domain Citation Guide | Techdirt

Source: Harvard Law Review Freaks Out, Sends Christmas Eve Threat Level Over Public Domain Citation Guide | Techdirt

Museum Sued for Art Depicting Jesus as White | Lowering the Bar


Plaintiff suffered “emotional and psychological harm” from exposure to the offending art, and four days later, he sued, demanding among other things that it be removed from the museum.

Source: Museum Sued for Art Depicting Jesus as White | Lowering the Bar

Netgear Shows Customers How to Share Pirate Movies – TorrentFreak

Showing users how to send large video files is a task undertaken by dozens of software and hardware manufacturers but for the folks at Netgear the issue is now a controversial one. Want to send a pirate movie to a friend after downloading it from a torrent site? Netgear apparently has an app for that.

Source: Netgear Shows Customers How to Share Pirate Movies – TorrentFreak

Martin Shkreli’s other pharma company is dramatically collapsing | Ars Technica


Following arrest of CEO, KaloBios loses CFO, accountants, is delisted from Nasdaq.

Source: Martin Shkreli’s other pharma company is dramatically collapsing | Ars Technica

Just Because Australia Won Its Plain Packaging Case Against Philip Morris Doesn’t Mean Corporate Sovereignty Isn’t A Threat | Techdirt

the dismissal of the case on procedural grounds means that we will never get a ruling on the substance of Philip Morris’ claims. As such, the award contributes nothing to the bigger debate about the conflict between investment protection and public policy.

Source: Just Because Australia Won Its Plain Packaging Case Against Philip Morris Doesn’t Mean Corporate Sovereignty Isn’t A Threat | Techdirt

HIV Dating App Company Threatens Press With HIV Infection For Reporting On Personal Info Leak | Techdirt

Ah, the old “We’ll just infect you and your family with HIV, haha!” tactic to silence reporters. This is a company that, again, caters directly to the community of the HIV infected, exposed that community’s personal information, and then used HIV infection as a cheap threat on a reporter simply for reporting on the leak. Why would anyone want anything to do with these people any longer? And, while barely apologizing, Hzone appears to be more interested in doing CYA than true security.

Source: HIV Dating App Company Threatens Press With HIV Infection For Reporting On Personal Info Leak | Techdirt

Nineteen-Hour ‘Standoff’ Ends With Law Enforcement Officers Destroying An Empty House | Techdirt

A SWAT truck with a battering ram attached was used to poke holes and tear apart the house in an attempt to drive the nonexistent suspect out. As deputies became unable to find him, they began taking their frustration out on couches, beds, lamps, clothing, toys, and even the family’s Christmas tree was ripped through a window and smashed to bits.

The entire time, Nita Lane, the homeowner, was trying to tell the cops that Alexius was not there and does not live there.

The sheriff, quite expectedly, remains unapologetic. Despite being told by the victim that Alexius was not in her house, [Sheriff David] Groves maintains that his officers acted in the best possible manner.

Source: Nineteen-Hour ‘Standoff’ Ends With Law Enforcement Officers Destroying An Empty House | Techdirt