In a scene reminiscent of the often overlooked 1983 gem ‘War Games’ (in which Matthew Broderick stars as a student who hacks into a military supercomputer and unwittingly ignites global nuclear warfare), the US and UK governments have announced that they intend to inflict cyber-attacks against each other in an attempt to beef up their respective defences to the reality of cyber terrorism.Continue Reading Is it a game or is it real?
Mark Cusack
Ireland scores highly on International Property Rights Index
Ireland has been ranked in 18th position globally and 11th in western Europe for the level of protection which it affords to property rights followng the publication of the International Property Rights Index 2014. The Index ranks 97 countries in respect of their legal and political environments, physical property rights and intellectual property rights.
Ireland is ranked one place higher at 17th globally in respect of its intellectual property rights protection. Most notably, it has been placed third globally and first in western Europe for its patent protection – a position which it shares with overall top ranked country Finland. This result should be further cemented by the proposed introduction of a local Irish division of the…
Continue Reading Ireland scores highly on International Property Rights Index
Data Protection Commissioner notified of TCD Data Breach
The Data Protection Commissioner has been notified of a data breach which has occurred at Trinity College Dublin.
The university’s Law School confirmed that personal data of law students who are participating in the Erasmus programme was inadvertently uploaded to a shared folder which was accessible by all second year law students. While it was intended that a list of students currently participating in the exchange programme would be uploaded in order to facilitate conversation between those students and students who were considering spending an academic year on exchange, the inclusion of the personal data which was attached to the list was overlooked.
The personal …
Continue Reading Data Protection Commissioner notified of TCD Data Breach
Of Mice and Men
Canadian electronic DJ Deadmau5 (real name Joel Zimmerman) is currently locked in a heated trade mark dispute with entertainment Goliath Disney.
Zimmerman performs his shows while wearing a cartoonish oversized mouse mask with even more cartoonish oversized rounded ears. This symbol, which has been dubbed "Mau5head", also appears on his range of clothing and accessories, including everything from cups to USB keys. Deadmau5 and his Mau5head are recognised and followed by millions world-wide. In June 2013, Zimmerman sought to cement his creation by applying for trade mark protection with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Disney, fearing that its own intellectual property was…