COVID-19 first target of new AI research consortium; Berkeley News, March 26, 2020

Sarah Yang, College of Engineering, Berkeley News; COVID-19 first target of new AI research consortium

"The University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are the headquarters of a bold new research consortium established by enterprise AI software company C3.ai to leverage the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and the internet of things (IoT) to transform societal-scale systems.

C3.ai announced the creation of the C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute (C3.ai DTI) today, along with a call for research proposals for AI techniques to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and possible future pandemics.

“The C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute is a consortium of leading scientists, researchers, innovators and executives from academia and industry, joining forces to accelerate the social and economic benefits of digital transformation,” said Thomas M. Siebel, CEO of C3.ai, in a statement. “We have the opportunity through public-private partnership to change the course of a global pandemic. I cannot imagine a more important use of AI.”

The first call for proposals, due May 1, 2020, targets research that addresses the application of AI and machine learning to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, rigorous approaches to design sampling and testing strategies, and methods to improve societal resilience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other areas relevant to pandemic mitigation."

Updates Regarding COVID-19 Impacts on Trademark Operations at the USPTO; The National Law Review, March 24, 2020

Abe Jentry Shanehsaz, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, The National Law Review; Updates Regarding COVID-19 Impacts on Trademark Operations at the USPTO

"As we continue to watch the effects of COVID-19 on our communities, it is impossible not to be struck by the scale of school closures and shuttered businesses, as well as the swift transitions made to accommodate mass teleworking nearly overnight. We have seen various government agencies offering late fee forgiveness, deadline extensions, and a plethora of other accommodations in light of the unique challenges presented by the novel virus.

When considering how COVID-19 might impact trademarks here in the United States, there are two important things to keep in mind:..."

That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief; Harvard Business Review (HBR), March 23, 2020

Scott Berinato, Harvard Business Review (HBR); That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief

"One colleague mentioned that what she felt was grief. Heads nodded in all the panes.

If we can name it, perhaps we can manage it. We turned to David Kessler for ideas on how to do that. Kessler is the world’s foremost expert on grief. He co-wrote with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief through the Five Stages of Loss. His new book adds another stage to the process, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. Kessler also has worked for a decade in a three-hospital system in Los Angeles. He served on their biohazard’s team. His volunteer work includes being an LAPD Specialist Reserve for traumatic events as well as having served on the Red Cross’s disaster services team. He is the founder of www.grief.com which has over 5 million visits yearly from 167 countries...

What can individuals do to manage all this grief?

Understanding the stages of grief is a start. But whenever I talk about the stages of grief, I have to remind people that the stages aren’t linear and may not happen in this order. It’s not a map but it provides some scaffolding for this unknown world. There’s denial, which we say a lot of early on: This virus won’t affect us. There’s anger: You’re making me stay home and taking away my activities. There’s bargaining: Okay, if I social distance for two weeks everything will be better, right? There’s sadness: I don’t know when this will end. And finally there’s acceptance. This is happening; I have to figure out how to proceed.

Acceptance, as you might imagine, is where the power lies. We find control in acceptance. I can wash my hands. I can keep a safe distance. I can learn how to work virtually...

One particularly troubling aspect of this pandemic is the open-endedness of it. 

This is a temporary state. It helps to say it. I worked for 10 years in the hospital system. I’ve been trained for situations like this. I’ve also studied the 1918 flu pandemic. The precautions we’re taking are the right ones. History tells us that. This is survivable. We will survive. This is a time to overprotect but not overreact.

And, I believe we will find meaning in it. I’ve been honored that Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s family has given me permission to add a sixth stage to grief: Meaning. I had talked to Elisabeth quite a bit about what came after acceptance. I did not want to stop at acceptance when I experienced some personal grief. I wanted meaning in those darkest hours. And I do believe we find light in those times. Even now people are realizing they can connect through technology. They are not as remote as they thought. They are realizing they can use their phones for long conversations. They’re appreciating walks. I believe we will continue to find meaning now and when this is over." 

Everyday ethics: Adapting to isolation; Reading Eagle, March 25, 2020

John C. Morgan, Reading Eagle; Everyday ethics: Adapting to isolation

"And here is the irony of it all for me — that which I rejected, the virtual world of newspapers, schools, and public conversation, was more needed now than ever. The very reality I had rebelled against now is the means of keeping contact with the world outside.

I learned in school that adaptation is the key to human survival. It’s the one quality that has enabled us to survive changes. Adapt or die might be the motto that has kept us on this planet for so long. And that which I thought I had rejected has become the means by which I communicate with others.
Here's something else I learned these past few weeks of isolation. There is more than one way to connect with others.

My phone and laptop are means of communication, too. That which I developed over the many years of life —  the inner world —  became as important as the outer world. Whether through writing, meditation, walking, or listening to music, I do not feel alone. The real issue is not getting lost in either the inner or outer worlds in which we live but learning to balance both in one’s life."

The coronavirus crisis is a moral test. Will we pass?; Deseret News, March 21, 2020

Jennifer Graham, Deseret News; The coronavirus crisis is a moral test. Will we pass?

The challenges facing Americans are revealing our individual and national character. 

"Pardon, America, your character is showing. 

Among the people pointing this out is New York writer Jon Katz, who has observed that the demands of social distancing are coming up against radical individualism and selfishness born of a society in which we “count our money, pay our bills, shrink into the digital world and forget how to talk to people face to face.”

“The coronavirus is a moral threat, and an ethical challenge, in that it asks each of us to be mindful of ourselves and others and to police ourselves for the good of all,” Katz recently wrote on his blog...

Our first order of ethical behavior right now social distancing, Faden said. Second is taking care of others, particularly those most at risk and those who live alone. Third, she said, is giving blood, if we are able. And fourth is being solicitous and appreciative of everyone we encounter, from health care workers to cashiers to people coming to collect our trash.

“Be especially appreciative, demonstrably so, to anyone in your life you encounter who is taking on risks to protect you,” she said."

How Do I Manage My Intellectual Property During the Coronavirus Pandemic?; Lexology, March 25, 2020

LegalVision - Linda Katnic, Lexology; How Do I Manage My Intellectual Property During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

"But what if your critical intellectual property (IP) deadlines arise during uncertain times? What options do you have if you miss a deadline due to circumstances related to COVID-19?

Extensions and exceptional circumstance

Thankfully, numerous Intellectual Property Offices have taken action to make sure that your intellectual property rights may remain safe in the event you cannot meet a deadline due to the COVID-19 outbreak...

Key Takeaways

Many Intellectual Property Offices have officially indicated that they will be empathetic when considering extension requests in the wake of Covid-19, while others have even suspended deadlines completely for the time-being. Check what extensions or changes of process are being offered in the jurisdictions relevant to your applications."

Celebrating the Women Leading the Copyright Office; Library of Congress: Copyright Creativity At Work Blog, March 25, 2020

Alison Hall, Library of Congress: Copyright Creativity At Work Blog; Celebrating the Women Leading the Copyright Office

"To celebrate Women’s History Month, I wanted to write about the five women who have served (and are serving) as leaders of the U.S. Copyright Office. Women have led this Office consecutively since November 1993, and their accomplishments are nothing short of incredible. These five lawyers (who all attended either Columbia Law School or George Washington Law) have contributed over 100 years of public service to the Copyright Office, counting all their roles. Here is just a snapshot of their accomplishments and contributions to copyright."

Marriott’s CEO Demonstrates Truly Authentic Leadership In A Remarkably Emotional Video; Forbes, March 21, 2020

Carmine Gallo, Forbes; Marriott’s CEO Demonstrates Truly Authentic Leadership In A Remarkably Emotional Video

"Authentic leadership is, by definition, real and genuine. Authenticity is more than a management buzzword. It’s a way of acting and communicating that inspires loyalty. 

Marriott International CEO, Arne Sorenson, is an authentic leader and he proved it this week with the release of a 6-minute video to Marriott employees, shareholders, and customers. 

“This is what leadership sounds like,” one person said after watching the video on Twitter. Others said Sorenson’s video was “heartfelt and inspiring.” Yet another Twitter said, “a master class in leadership.” 

What, exactly, did Sorenson do that elicited such an outpouring of favorable comments? 

In short, Sorenson lowered the shield. He was candid, vulnerable, humble, emotional and hopeful."

I Spent a Year in Space, and I Have Tips on Isolation to Share; The New York Times, March 21, 2020

Scott Kelly, The New York Times; I Spent a Year in Space, and I Have Tips on Isolation to Share

"We are all connected

Seen from space, the Earth has no borders. The spread of the coronavirus is showing us that what we share is much more powerful than what keeps us apart, for better or for worse. All people are inescapably interconnected, and the more we can come together to solve our problems, the better off we will all be.

One of the side effects of seeing Earth from a the perspective of space, at least for me, is feeling more compassion for others. As helpless as we may feel stuck inside our homes, there are always things we can do — I’ve seen people reading to children via videoconference, donating their time and dollars to charities online, and running errands for elderly or immuno-compromised neighbors. The benefits for the volunteer are just as great as for those helped."

ALA Executive Board recommends closing libraries to public; American Library Association (ALA), March 17, 2020

Press Release, American Library Association (ALA); ALA Executive Board recommends closing libraries to public

"The American Library Association (ALA) Executive Board released the following statement in support of libraries and library workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic:

"The ALA Executive Board unequivocally stands in support of the safety and well-being of library workers and the communities we serve," stated the board. "To protect library workers and their communities from exposure to COVID-19 in these unprecedented times, we strongly recommend that academic, public and school library leaders and their trustees and governing bodies evaluate closing libraries to the public and only reopening when guidance from public health officials indicates the risk from COVID-19 has significantly subsided. 

"It is very difficult for us to put forward this recommendation. Libraries pride themselves on being there during critical times for our communities. We are often the only institutions to remain open during times of crisis. Service and stewardship to our communities are core to our profession. 

"We have weighed the situation of our country and what has happened in other countries around the world. The health of our library workers and the communities we serve is of utmost and equal importance. Libraries are by design unable to practice social distancing to the degree recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health authorities. Keeping libraries open at this time has the potential to harm communities more than help. We underscore the importance and need to come together in this crisis and commit to ensuring our libraries, which provide so many important services to our communities, do not serve as vectors for a fast-moving pandemic.

"Libraries are responding creatively and proactively to this crisis. School libraries in many states have closed along with schools and many have plans to provide online classes to students. Public libraries are making virtual resources available and considering other ways they can help during the crisis. Academic libraries are providing online services and access to resources. All libraries are working with their school administrators, governments, boards, and university administrations to determine critical services and closures following local directives. 

"Additionally, and in alignment with our companion organization, the ALA Allied Professional Association (APA), we encourage libraries to ensure that all library workers receive fully paid leave, including health coverage, while libraries are closed.

"Although closing a library is a local decision, we urge library administrators, local boards and governments to close library facilities until such time as library workers and our communities are no longer at risk of contracting or spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus.

"The ALA Executive Board is committed to supporting our library workers, ALA members, and the communities we serve during these challenging and uncertain times." 

For more information about ALA resources on COVID-19, visit http://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/pandemic-preparedness

About the American Library Association:

ALA is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, ALA has been the trusted voice of libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit ala.org."

Some governors have been leading the way. Others, not so much.; The Washington Post, March 20, 2020

Editorial Board, The Washington Post; Some governors have been leading the way. Others, not so much.

"WHEN NEW YORK and Oregon sent urgent appeals to the federal government for N95 masks, which protect against coronavirus, days passed this month before they finally received shipments — of devices well past their expiration date and therefore useless for surgery and other acute-care settings. That drove home the increasingly clear point that the burden is on states to compensate for the federal government’s sluggish response to the gravest public health crisis in a century.

Some governors have been quick to take that lesson and run with it; others much less so."

Coronavirus will radically alter the U.S.; The Washington Post, March 19, 2020

William Wan, Joel Achenbach, Carolyn Y. Johnson and Ben Guarino, The Washington Post; Coronavirus will radically alter the U.S.

Here’s what may lie ahead based on math models, hospital projections and past pandemics

"The power of the individual

Stanford virologist Karla Kirkegaard said she has tried to stave off dread from the projected U.S. death tolls with a case study she teaches in her classes:

Amid a cholera outbreak in mid-19th century London, as panicked residents fled one hard-hit neighborhood, a doctor named John Snow calmly entered the breach. He deduced that the source of hundreds of deaths was a single contaminated water pump and persuaded authorities to remove the pump’s handle — a strategy that ended the outbreak.

Controlling the covid-19 pandemic will take much more than a single water pump, Kirkegaard acknowledged as she sheltered in place at her Bay Area home.

But the story, she said, reminds her how powerful the simple act of one individual can be."

Leadership In The Time Of COVID-19; Forbes, March 19, 2020

Mark Nevins, Forbes; Leadership In The Time Of COVID-19

"The reality of life post-COVID-19 has not fully sunk in yet, and its consequences for our businesses, organizations, economy, and society will play out over the rest of 2020 and beyond.  Right now, we really need sober, smart, values-driven, and focused leadership.  Remember the old adage, “Crisis does not build character, it reveals it.”...

There’s no “playbook” for leadership when the stakes are high, and there’s certainly no playbook for what to do in the face of a 21^st Century pandemic.  We are all facing threats on multiple fronts at once: to self, family, employees, customers, suppliers and business partners, governmental and financial systems, and potentially our social fabric.  Even the Dean of the Harvard Business School can only offer a few good insights for companies facing this new reality, but no silver-bullet solutions.

So, what should you do if you’re responsible for a team, organization, or company?  Following are a few suggestions. (Note: the paragraphs below include carefully chosen links to help you in pragmatic ways—please click through.)...

Your employees will remember for a long time how they were treated during this crisis. Nothing drives employee loyalty and engagement more than knowing “my boss cares about me as a human being.” As a leader you should treat this COVID-19 crisis as a defining moment for yourself and your organization. Step up and lead accordingly."

Viral ethics: Keeping our moral compass in a time of confinement; The Spokesman-Review, March 19, 2020

Eli Francovich, The Spokesman-Review; Viral ethics: Keeping our moral compass in a time of confinement

"“We can’t panic and we can’t lose our intrinsic moral compass and doing right by our fellow human beings,” said Dr. Darryl Potyk, chief for medical education at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Spokane. “I would worry more about me giving it to her. But if she’s in danger, the present danger is apparent. I want to deal with the apparent danger right now.” 

Coming together

And so, last week, I approached the ailing woman.

She needed to go to the bus plaza. She’d taken a bus from her home in the Spokane Valley, where she lives alone, to drop off some paperwork downtown. While she was walking back, she had some sort of attack or episode, she didn’t know what exactly, maybe something to do with her diabetes.

She grasped the crook of my arm and, I’m not proud to admit, I recoiled at first, worried she might touch my hand. 

Five people had already passed and not helped, she said. We walked slowly to the plaza. She stumbled often, her back arching backward, threatening to upend her precarious grasp on gravity. A Spokane Transit Authority employee saw us and, without any visible hesitation, took her other arm. The three of us shuffled to the waiting area for her Paratransit bus. 

I bought her a slice of pizza and she thanked us."

Wharton introduces six-week online course on coronavirus and global crisis management; The Daily Pennsylvanian, March 13, 2020

Benjamin Moss-Horwitz, The Daily Pennsylvanian; Wharton introduces six-week online course on coronavirus and global crisis management

"Wharton management professor Mauro Guillén is launching an online half-credit course on the global business implications of the coronavirus outbreak — which he said is the first university course to focus on the pandemic. The course, titled “Epidemics, Natural Disasters, and Geopolitics: Managing Global Business and Financial Uncertainty,” will run for six weeks starting March 25 and will be taught by fourteen different lecturers...

Each week, the course will examine the coronavirus outbreak from a new angle, Guillén said. Course topics will include the effect of the coronavirus on the global marketplace and geopolitics, as well as how leaders negotiate risk and handle emotional distress in times of crisis, Guillén said.

"The crisis is at its core about public health, but it has dramatic implications for markets, budgets, governments, and societies all around the world," Garrett wrote."

Baseball teams put ads everywhere. One summer league team is ditching them entirely.; The Washington Post, February 26, 2020

Jacob Bogage , The Washington Post; Baseball teams put ads everywhere. One summer league team is ditching them entirely.

"“The current model [in minor league baseball] is put ads everywhere. Ballparks have turned into the Yellow Pages. What we’ve seen is that’s outdated. People aren’t choosing to do business with people just because of the relationship they have with their favorite sports team. They choose to do business with people based on who offers the best experiences, and that’s what we want to go all in on.”

Minor league and summer league teams can rarely market individual players to fans, and it isn’t easy to convince many of those fans to hold a rooting interest in the local team. The players move on to other clubs too quickly to gain name recognition, and fans already follow major league clubs, making it hard to get them hooked on lower tiers of the game. So to fill the stands, minor league and summer league franchises turn to promotions, fun merchandise, eclectic concessions and other chicanery.

The Bananas, who play in the Coastal Plain League, call that method of marketing, “fans first.” They’re so invested in the approach that the team offers workshops to business leaders under the banner “Fans First University.” The front office pays less attention to winning games and more attention to making sure spectators have a good time."

WIPO’s Coordination Committee Nominates Singapore’s Daren Tang for Post of Director General; Press Release, World Intellectual Property Organization, March 4, 2020

Press Release, World Intellectual Property Organization;

WIPO’s Coordination Committee Nominates Singapore’s Daren Tang for Post of Director General

"The WIPO General Assembly will meet in an extraordinary session on May 7-8, 2020, to confirm the Coordination Committee’s nomination.

The process of electing a Director General is governed by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization and “2019 Procedures for the Nomination and Appointment of Directors General of WIPO,” adopted by Member States in October 2019.

The Coordination Committee, which comprises 83 member states, met on March 4, and held two rounds of voting from an initial list of six candidates. Kazakhstan’s candidate withdrew her candidacy ahead of the first round of voting. Following the first round, the candidate with the least votes, from Peru, was eliminated.

Two other candidates – from Colombia and Ghana – withdrew their candidatures ahead of the second round of voting.

Mr. Tang prevailed in the second and final round of voting with 55 votes; Ms. Binying Wang of China received 28 votes.

Mr. Tang...is the Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.

The term of the current Director General, Mr. Francis Gurry, ends on September 30, 2020."

Singaporean named to head intellectual property agency; AP via The Washington Post, March 4, 2020

Jamey Keaten | AP via The Washington Post; Singaporean named to head intellectual property agency

"A Singaporean official defeated a candidate from China in a leadership contest for the U.N.’s intellectual property body, which was swept into a rift between Washington and Beijing over claims of Chinese theft of technological know-how.

Daren Tang, 47, the CEO of Singapore’s intellectual property office, won a crucial nomination to become the next director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organization over China’s Wang Binyang, a veteran at the agency.

The “coordination committee” handed a 55-28 victory to Tang in a final round of voting that began Wednesday with five candidates vying to replace the agency’s outgoing chief, Francis Gurry of Australia...

WIPO’s general assembly has final say in May, but it has never rejected a committee nominee since the 192-country agency was created in 1967."

Singapore’s Daren Tang to Succeed Gurry as Next WIPO Director General; IPWatchdog, March 4. 2020

IPWatchdog; Singapore’s Daren Tang to Succeed Gurry as Next WIPO Director General

"Daren Tang has been elected to be the next WIPO Director General, succeeding Francis Gurry.
 
Tang is currently the Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). He has served in this capacity since 2015. Prior to that he was Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Legal Counsel for IPOS and Senior State Counsel, International Affairs Division at the Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers. He also has served as Chairperson for WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights."

China already leads 4 of the 15 U.N. specialized agencies — and is aiming for a 5th; The Washington Post, March, 3, 2020

Courtney J. Fung and Shing-Hon Lam, The Washington Post; China already leads 4 of the 15 U.N. specialized agencies — and is aiming for a 5th

Beijing is campaigning to lead the global intellectual property agency 

"The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a U.N. agency specializing in intellectual property protection, will pick a new head this week. China now heads up four of the 15 U.N. specialized agencies — the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the U.N. Industrial Development Organization. 

Beijing is running a campaign to lead WIPO — despite U.S. and E.U. concerns about China’s lack of protection for intellectual property rights. China is also a huge user of the global intellectual property system, filing almost half of global patent applications in 2018."

China Vies to Run U.N. Patent Office in Bid for Fifth Leadership; Reuters via The New York Times, March 4, 2020

Reuters via The New York Times; China Vies to Run U.N. Patent Office in Bid for Fifth Leadership

"A Chinese lawyer is one of two Asian favorites to head the world patent office, a post that would give Beijing its fifth U.N. leadership role and, according to its critics, an unprecedented level of influence over new technologies.

Voting opened on Wednesday at the 193-member Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which shapes global rules for intellectual property and oversees a patent system in which China and its firms, like telecoms giant Huawei Technologies, have a growing stake.

The Coordinating Committee, a group of 83 countries chaired by France, met behind closed doors to choose a nominee. Whoever is chosen needs to be confirmed at a general assembly in May...

WIPO members vote by secret ballot and campaign videos have not been made public."

Librarian of Congress Seeks Input on Register of Copyrights; The Library of Congress, March 2, 2020

Press Release, The Library of Congress;

Librarian of Congress Seeks Input on Register of Copyrights

"The public will have the opportunity to provide input to the Library of Congress on expertise needed by the next Register of Copyrights, the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, announced today.

Beginning today, March 2, a form to solicit this feedback is online and open to the public. The form will be posted through Friday, March 20.

• Public input form: https://www.loc.gov/about/librarian-of-congress-seeks-input-on-register-of-copyrights/
• Deadline for submitting comments: Friday, March 20, 2020

The Library of Congress will review all input and use it to help develop the knowledge, skills and abilities requirements for our announcement to fill the Register of Copyrights position.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services, and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, and register and record creative works of authorship at copyright.gov."