INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Internet Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

The Internet, which has virtually revolutionized the world, has been nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Internet was proposed by the Italian edition of the popular ‘Wired’ magazine for promoting "dialogue, debate and consensus through communication" as well as democracy, the media reported.
Premier endorsers of the Internet for the nomination include 2003 Nobel lau reate Shirin Ebadi and Umberto Veronesi, the famous Italian surgeon known for his contributions to breast cancer treatments.
The magazine has also launched a dedicated campaign, "Internet for Peace", which will carry on till September, featuring different stories and experiences of those who with the Web have tried to do something concrete to promote peace and harmony in the world.
"We have to look at the Internet as a huge community where men and women from all over the world and with very different religious views can communicate and sympathize, spreading a new culture centered on collaboration and sharing of knowledge that breaks all barriers," Riccardo Luna, editor of the magazine, said.
"For this reason, the Internet can be considered the first weapon of mass construction, which we can deploy to destroy hate and conflict and propagate peace and democracy," he added.
Erna Solberg, the head of Norway's Conservative Party, put forth the name of Russian human rights activist Svetla na Gannushkina.
Kwame Anthony Appiah, president of the PEN American Center and a Prince ton philosophy professor, said in a statement that he had nominated Liu Xiaobo, a recently jailed Chinese dissident, for his "distinguished and principled leadership in the area of human and political rights and freedom of expression." The Chinese government urged the jury to disregard the submission.
"It would be completely wrong for the Nobel Prize committee to award the prize to such a person," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.
Former Illinois governor George Ryan was another nominee. (`AP' contributed to the story.)

Source: mint, Dated:Feb. 04. 2010.

COPY RIGHT

Government's move to relax Copyright Act lacks vision

In a well-meaning but shortsighted measure, the government plans to amend a half-a-century old law to allow the conversion of copyrighted books into the Braille format without any royalty and licence fees.

Most visually handicapped people, who would have benefited from the change, have already moved on from Braille to electronic and audio formats, screen-reading software and digital talking books, experts said. Conversion to these formats remains prohibitively expensive. Yet, the amendment to the Copyright Act of 1957--approved by the cabinet on 24 December and due to be tabled in Parliament in the Budget session--does precious little about it.

People with visual handicaps can read printed material only when it is converted into older formats such as Braille or newer and more flexible audio and electronic formats.
Non-profit organizations such as Inclusive Planet, Centre for Internet and Society and DAISY Forum spearheaded the Right to Read campaign in September 2009, which sought to amend the Copyright Act to increase access to copyrighted works for the visually challenged.

A total of 57 countries have made exceptions to their copyright laws to allow the conversion into formats accessible to the visually challenged.
Countries such as Cameroon, Chile, Indonesia and Ice and have limited their exceptions to the production of Braille copies. But 21 other countries, including Australia, France and Germany, allow conversion into electronic format as well.
Amendments in the US have allowed school texts and educational material for children to be converted by some authorized agencies into electronic or other formats accessible by the visually impaired free of charge.

In Britain, an exception to the copyright law in 2003 al owed producers of accessible material for the visually impaired to make multiple accessible copies of copyright material in any format.

The World Blind Union has proposed an international treaty to harmonize exceptions to copyright law to resolve these differences.

Source: mint, Dated: Feb. 03, 2010, By Manish Ranjan

PATENT INFRINGEMENT

Virgin Atlantic file case in UK against Jet

Britain-based Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd has filed a B case in a UK court charging Jet Airways (India) Ltd with infringing its patent on flatbed seats for the premium class.

In its 26.01.2010 edition, Mint reported that Jet Airways had objected to a patent claim filed in India by Virgin for the design and technology of the seats and the so-called herringbone configuration used in its upper class, the same as first or business classes on other carriers.

Virgin, founded by Richard Branson, holds the patent and design rights for the flatbed seating system in several countries, including in the UK. "We are currently pursuing Jet in the UK courts for jointly developing a seat with manufacturer Contour, which infringes Virgin Atlantic's patent," Anna Knowles, head of public relations at Virgin Atlantic, wrote in an email on Tuesday. "Any actions which Jet takes in India will have no impact on these UK actions."

Knowles added that Virgin had been granted patents in multiple jurisdictions and has a - pending patent in India. "It has - always been and will remain a - key strategic objective of Virgin Atlantic to protect its intellectual property rights from mis use by third parties," she wrote.

A Jet spokeswoman said in a text message on Tuesday that the airline would not comment on the issue as it is sub judice.
Source: mint [www.livemint.com] By P. R. Sanjai.

PATENT

26.01.2010

MINT [www.livemint.com]

Jet Airways, Virgin spar over seat design for first class

Jet Airways (India) Ltd has objected to a patent claim iled in India by British airline Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd for the design and technology used in its upper-class seats.

In a pre-emptive action, Jet Airways has moved a pre-grant opposition to a patent application filed at the Chennai patent office by Virgin Atlantic for the design and technology of the flatbed seat and the socalled herringbone configuration used in its upper class.

Brtish Airways (BA) was the first to introduce a herringbone layout, with seats facing outwards. Virgin introduced an inward-facing herringbone layout, in which the seats faced the aisle of the aircraft.

The upper class of Virgin is the equivalent of first class and business class on other carriers. Virgin Atlantic, promoted by Richard Branson, holds a patent and design rights for the flatbed seating system in several countries, including the UK.

Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways offers similar flatbed and wider seats in its first and business classes on long-haul international routes to the UK, the US and Singapore. A Jet Airways executive confirmed the carrier has moved against Virgin Atlantic's patent application. He did not want to be identified as the case is before the authorities.

An email sent on 21 January to Virgin remained unanswered; the India representative was unavailable in subsequent phone calls, while calls made to her mobile phone were also not answered. A Jet Airways spokesperson declined to comment.

Jet Airways had unveiled its new first-class seats in 2007.

Being the priciest, first and business classes are critical revenue earners for airlines that try to provide such fliers with the best possible amenities, including more space. For example, each first-class suite on Jet Airways--made by Britain's BE Aerospace Plc--has 26 sq. ft of usable space, and has sliding doors for privacy.

Virgin Atlantic's fight over the seats goes back to 2007, when it initiated legal proceedings against Premium Aircraft Interiors UK Ltd, known as Contour, the firm that designed the airline's flatbed seats. The airline alleged that Contour had sold copies of the design to rivals, including Jet Airways, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, and that it was suing for infringement of patent. Contour had also made the flatbeds for BA.

A UK patents court on 21 January 2009 ruled against Virgin Atlantic, saying it had "failed to prove that Contour copied its designs". In October, however, an appellate court reversed that order, saying the patent was valid and had been infringed.

A patent grant to Virgin in India will be a setback for Jet as it will have to reconfigure its first-class and business-class sections. Any change in firstclass configuration will take at least three-four months.

Jet Airways has 22 aircraft, comprising 10 Boeing 777s and 12 Airbus A330s, which use such seats, with eight firstclass seats on the Boeings and at least 30 business-class seats in both the aircraft.

"My client has opposed Virgin Atlantic patent claims here, on the ground that this design and technology has been in the public domain since long, and it is not qualified for patent grant under the restrictive provision of prior art," said Laxmi Kumaran, a patent lawyer and partner at New Delhi-based law firm Laxmi Kumaran and Associates, which is representing Jet Airways in the matter.

An early January hearing has been adjourned to February after Virgin sought more time to reply.

Shamnad Basheer, professor in intellectual property law at National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, said, "Since prior art is the ground for opposition, Virgin's claims can be disqualified due to lack of novelty, and known obviousness."

Denial on grounds of prior art means any invention that is known and in use before the date of the patent application (in India) will not be granted a patent. Similarly, if the previously known invention has been modified or innovated on later for the new claim, it can also be denied a patent right if the modification was obvious and could have been anticipated at the time of the first invention, according to Basheer.

By C. H. Unnikrishnan & P.R. Sanjai