European Court of Justice Holds That Computer Program Functionality Is Not Copyrightable, but Programming Languages and File Formats may be, ECJ, EU, European Union

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Computer program functionality not copyrightable but programming languages and file formats may be protected by the Copyright Directive.

Current Obstacles to Freedom of Movement in the European Union (EU) and their Removal

The European Parliament News online has a piece on Removing obstacles to Europeans' freedom of movement

A New Job for Lawmakers: Wired.com Reports that Facebook Condemns Companies That Demand User Logins

Imagine if you will 50 or 100 years ago that an employer would have dared to ask a prospective employee to bring in all of his private correspondence for employer review. But that is exactly what is going on today as companies are demanding prospective employee private user logins for social networking sites in order to see who their friends are and what they are corresponding about.

That is a clear violation of the rights of privacy not only of the prospective employees but it also infringes on the expected rights of privacy of their friends. Only law enforcement agencies -- for legal cause -- should be able to demand such information.

Wired.com has the story at Facebook Condemns Companies That Demand User Logins.

Essentially, this a legislative problem, easily solved.

Nations and States should pass clear laws protecting the right to privacy of user accounts and should enforce such laws with draconian penalties against offenders. Since the LawPundit is against jail or prison penalties in principle -- except for truly dangerous crimes -- the legal sanctions should be applied via stiff fines against corporations as also against responsible officers or employees involved in such privacy rights violations.

Such fines have to be so massive enough to DETER the behavior effectively.
Whatever is necessary. Forfeiture of annual profits, doubling or tripling tax liabilities, impoundment of private or corporate annual earnings and similar measures seem worth considering. You stop privacy rights violation by making it exceedingly expensive to disobey the applicable laws.

Health Care Costs in Europe Substantially Below Medically-Related Prices in the United States

For various personal reasons, I have recently been confronted with researching health care costs in America and have been absolutely APPALLED at the exorbitantly high prices in the USA in comparison to Germany, where I am domiciled.

Not only that, but Americans get LESSER quality health care in the United States in spite of those doubly higher prices.

What goes on?

With a hat tip to CaryGEE, I found an article by Ezra Klein at the Washington Post Wonkblog asking and explaining

Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America and $280 in France.

As Ezra Klein writes:

"In 2009, Americans spent $7,960 per person on health care. Our neighbors in Canada spent $4,808. The Germans spent $4,218. The French, $3,978."

The Problem in America is HIGH PRICES. GOUGINGLY HIGH PRICES.

And yet, Americans are getting LESS for their money. Health care in the USA is not nearly up to the quality standard that we have here in Germany, at half the price.

Klein notes:

"On Friday, the International Federation of Health Plans — a global insurance trade association that includes more than 100 insurers in 25 countries — released more direct evidence. It surveyed its members on the prices paid for 23 medical services and products in different countries, asking after everything from a routine doctor’s visit to a dose of Lipitor to coronary bypass surgery. And in 22 of 23 cases, Americans are paying higher prices than residents of other developed countries. Usually, we’re paying quite a bit more."

Are pharmaceutical and health care companies in America immensely profitable? More profitable than elsewhere. Yes. Do they invest a lot more in America? No.

It is a business, for private profit, at the expense of YOUR health.

Many citizens are going around foolishly trying to repeal the Obama Health Care law, whereas the real PROBLEM lies elsewhere. As Klein writes:

"The 2010 health-reform law does little to directly address prices....

“There is so much inefficiency in our system, that there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit we can deal with before we get into regulating people’s prices.” says Len Nichols, director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics at George Mason University. “Maybe, after we’ve cut waste for 10 years, we’ll be ready to have a discussion over prices.”"

10 Years?

You know, America became a great country because it was historically more efficient than other countries and did away with many obstacles that hampered progress.

Today, it is exactly the opposite. Inertia is a mark made in America.

10 years is a long time to correct gross failings in the system.

And for all of you out there who have to find an affordable nursing home for your loved ones or yourself when the time comes -- good luck.

Remember, that in your choices of the people you elect as your lawmakers and representatives, you contributed to the faulty system you have -- and which you too will have to face, soon, down the road.

IP Reform Process Continues Apace in the United Kingdom Despite Concerns of Rights Holders

The process of liberalizing copyright laws in the United Kingdom continues apace in spite of criticism from vested interests.

Pinsent Masons has the story at Out-Law.com in Government stands by IP reform growth estimates despite rights holder concerns.

As in the United States, there is increasing recognition in the United Kingdom that intellectual property laws must be updated and adapted to the modern era, not only to catalyze the information industry, but also to keep vested interests from clogging up the machinery of progress.

Is Google's New Privacy Policy Effective March 1, 2012 a Violation of Data Protection Rules in the European Union as well as the HIPAA in the USA ?

What this new Google privacy policy may mean in practice is that ALL your searches will become part of a single portfolio of information about YOU and be connected to all your Google accounts and services.  Hmmm.

Now THAT could be a very serious problem of "Big Brother" really watching us.

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For the USA, Matt McGee has the story at Google’s New Privacy Policy May Violate HIPAA, Congresswoman Says


For Europe, Ian Paul at PCWorld has the story in Will Europe Upend Google's New Privacy Plan?

As Paul writes:

"Google's new privacy policy brings together more than 60 privacy policies from various Google products into one document. The new policy enables Google to consolidate your personal information strewn about various Google services so that Google can treat you as a single user across all of its products. Google currently has more than 70 individual privacy policies covering all of its services."

We use Google a lot as our main search engine, as one of our chief email providers and also via our Blogger blogs, so that we see the eminent sense for Google of consolidating all serendipity things that one person does via Google into one consolidated account. Indeed, when we accessed Blogger today, we were alerted by a notice to the upcoming change in privacy policy. However, we see searches, email and blogging as three separate services.

Is simple notification of the new privacy policy sufficient to enable it?
Can one legally justify this kind of private data consolidation?
Indeed, is it enough to permit users to opt out of logging in to escape it?

What about the interests of the users? Should they not be able to decide on an application basis what information they want to share and with whom or not? We have no doubt, for example, that Facebook will be facing an uphill legal battle in the future because of its pervasive consolidation of user information. It is rather remarkable that Facebook has gotten as far as it has.

It is a classic clash of the interests of online providers of services vs. the individual privacy interests of its users, interests that the law must protect.

There is a limit beyond which privacy invasion is so pervasive that the government will have to step in and so, "this far, and no further". Clearly, we are reaching that limit.

Frankly, we think Google is going to have to backtrack on this decision in order to avoid massive user discontent.

Croatians Say Yes to the European Union (EU)

So where is Croatia? and who are the Croatians?
America's most famous Croatian descendent right now is surely Nick Saban,
head coach of the current American national college football champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

Martin Schulz,
President of the European Parliament,
has issued a press release that
Croatians support EU accession

The BBC reports that the vote was about 2-1 in the EU Referendum, even though a simply majority would have sufficed.

This of course is strong evidence for the strength of the European Union, contrary to all the hype written by the mainstream news media.