03 Oct 2007
IBM Patents Checking a Box

Wow. What else can I say?

What do you call it when you drag a pointer over a checkbox to select or deselect it depending on its original state? Answer: US Patent 7,278,116. On Tuesday, the USPTO awarded IBM a patent for Mode Switching for Ad Hoc Checkbox Selection, aka Making an 'X'. Isn't this essentially the same concept as the older Lotus Notes selection model that IBM was recently asked to reintroduce?

(link) [Slashdot]

06:41 /Copywrongs | 2 comments | permanent link

Dead woman's medical records case could undermine FOI law

This is a UK ruling, but it asks some interesting questions that could impact a lot of areas beyond the medical. For example, consider the barriers that these kinds of rulings could raise in the field of genealogy.

A dead woman's medical records should not be released because a duty of confidentiality survives her death, the Information Tribunal has ruled. The decision backs an earlier ruling by the Information Commissioner.

(link) [The Register]

06:40 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link