Daniel Nazer, EFF

Daniel Nazer

EFF

San Francisco, CA, United States

Contact Daniel

Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.

Start free trial

Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • EFF

Past articles by Daniel:

EFF

The Public Domain Is Back, But It Still Needs Defenders

We're taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what's at stake, and what we need to do to make... → Read More

EFF

Stupid Patent of the Month: A Patent on Using Mathematical Proofs

In some fields, software bugs are more than the proverbial pain in the neck. When software has to ensure that an airplane lands safely, or that a pacemaker keeps operating, there’s no room for error.The idea that mathematical proofs could be used to prove that software is error-free has been around... → Read More

EFF

Stupid Patent of the Month: How 34 Patents Worth $1 Led to Hundreds of Lawsuits

One of the nation’s most prolific patent trolls is finally dead. After more than a decade of litigation and more than 500 patent suits, Shipping & Transit LLC (formerly known as Arrivalstar) has filed for bankruptcy. As part of its bankruptcy filing , Shipping & Transit was required to... → Read More

EFF

Stupid Patent of the Month: Trolling Virtual Reality

This month’s stupid patent describes an invention that will be familiar to many readers: a virtual reality (VR) system where participants can interact with a virtual world and each other. US Patent No. 6,409,599 is titled “Interactive virtual reality performance theater entertainment system.” Does... → Read More

EFF

With EFF’s Help, Language Teacher Responds to Ridiculous Patent Threat

Foreign languages have been taught, and studied, for thousands of years. People who teach languages are the last folks that should be dealing with patent threat letters—but incredibly, that’s exactly what has happened to Mihalis Eleftheriou. Hodder and Stoughton, a large British publisher, has sent... → Read More

EFF

Once Again, New York State Considers a Terrible Right of Publicity Law

In what now appears to be an annual ritual, a bad right of publicity law is being rushed through at the end of the legislative session in New York. Assembly Bill 8155-B (and its counterpart Senate Bill 5857-B) would dramatically expand New York’s right of publicity, making it a property right that... → Read More

EFF

New Hampshire Court: First Amendment Protects Criticism of “Patent Troll”

A New Hampshire state court has dismissed a defamation suit filed by a patent owner unhappy that it had been called a “patent troll.” The court ruled that the phrase “patent troll” and other rhetorical characterizations are not the type of factual statements that can be the basis of a... → Read More

EFF

EFF to Supreme Court: Don’t Turn US Patents Into Worldwide Patents

The general rule in patent law is that each country has its own patent system. If you want damages for sales in the United States, you need a U.S. patent. If you want damages for sales in New Zealand, you need to get a New Zealand patent, and so on. A case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court... → Read More

EFF

EFF Asks Federal Circuit Not to Make It Harder To Challenge Software Patents

In its landmark Alice v. CLS Bank decision, the Supreme Court returned some much-needed balance to the patent system. The court invalidated an abstract software patent, essentially ruling that adding “on a computer” to an abstract idea does not make it patentable. The Alice ruling has been... → Read More

EFF

Playboy Drops Misguided Copyright Case Against Boing Boing

In a victory for journalism and fair use, Playboy Entertainment has given up on its lawsuit against Happy Mutants, LLC, the company behind Boing Boing. Earlier this month, a federal court dismissed Playboy’s claims but gave Playboy permission to try again with a new complaint, if it could dig up... → Read More

EFF

Federal Judge Says Embedding a Tweet Can Be Copyright Infringement

Rejecting years of settled precedent, a federal court in New York has ruled that you could infringe copyright simply by embedding a tweet in a web page. Even worse, the logic of the ruling applies to all in-line linking, not just embedding tweets. If adopted by other courts, this legally and... → Read More

EFF

Fair Use Overcomes Chrysler's Bogus Copyright Notice

If you watched this year’s Super Bowl, you might have seen an advertisement for Dodge Ram featuring a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. voiceover. To criticize the ad, and to show how antithetical it was to King’s views, Current Affairs magazine created new version. The altered version overlays audio... → Read More

EFF

EFF to Court: Don't Let Celebrities Censor Realistic Art

A huge range of expressive works—including books, documentaries, televisions shows, and songs—depict real people. Should celebrities have a veto right over speech that happens to be about them? A case currently before the California Court of Appeal raises this question. In this case, actor Olivia... → Read More

EFF

EFF to Court: Don’t Let Trolls Get Away With Asserting Stupid Software Patents

If trolls don’t face consequences for asserting invalid software patents, then they will continue to shake down productive companies. That is why EFF has filed an amicus brief urging the court to uphold fee awards against patent trolls (and their lawyers) when they assert software patents... → Read More

EFF

Australian Government Wants to Give Satire The Boot

The National Symbols Officer of Australia recently wrote to Juice Media, producers of Rap News and Honest Government Adverts, suggesting that its “use” of Australia’s coat of arms violated various Australian laws. This threat came despite the fact that Juice Media’s videos are clearly satire and no... → Read More

EFF

Courtroom “Feud” Leaves Accurate Speech About Celebrities Unprotected

The first season of FX’s drama Feud told the story of the rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Set in Hollywood during the early sixties, the drama portrays numerous real-life figures from the era. Catherine Zeta-Jones appeared as Olivia de Havilland. Unfortunately, de Havilland did not... → Read More

EFF

Stupid Patent of the Month: Will Patents Slow Artificial Intelligence?

We have written many times about why the patent system is a bad fit for software. Too often, the Patent Office reviews applications without ever looking at real world software and hands out broad, vague, or obvious patents on software concepts. These patents fuel patent trolling and waste. As... → Read More

EFF

Stupid Patent of the Month: JP Morgan Patents Interapp Permissions

We have often criticized the Patent Office for issuing broad software patents that cover obvious processes. Instead of promoting innovation in software, the patent system places landmines for developers who wish to use basic and fundamental tools. This month’s stupid patent, which covers user... → Read More

EFF

California Court of Appeal Overturns Dangerous Right of Publicity Ruling

Almost all posts on social media include depictions of real people. And most social media websites include advertising. Does this combination mean that nearly everyone featured on social media can sue for infringement of their right of publicity? That would be disruptive. Fortunately, a new ruling... → Read More

EFF

Stupid Patent of the Month: HP Patents Reminder Messages

On July 25, 2017, the Patent Office issued a patent to HP on reminder messages. Someone needs to remind the Patent Office to look at the real world before issuing patents. United States Patent No. 9,715,680 (the ’680 patent) is titled “Reminder messages.” While the patent application does... → Read More