How much safer is automatic emergency braking? IIHS finds out
Does automatic emergency braking (AEB) help cars avoid crashes at higher speeds? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that, like your mileage, your crash results may vary. A new study released Thursday found that increased speeds diminished the efficacy of stopping in nine out of ten popular crossover SUVs tested by the...2025 Kia K5 preview
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Kia K5? What does it compare to? Formerly called the Kia Optima, the refreshed 2025 K5 midsize sedan tries to keep pace with new iterations of the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and the related Hyundai Sonata. Is the 2025 Kia K5 a good car? Historically, it’s a good value, and this year it comes with more...Test drive: 2024 Nissan Rogue improves to be fine and good
When friends and neighbors asked me what I thought of the refreshed 2024 Nissan Rogue SL with AWD, I said, “It’s fine.” That reply wouldn’t suffice any more for them than it would this review. “Good infotainment upgrades, smooth transmission, it’s gotten quieter, and it’s one of the bigger compact...2025 Subaru Outback
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Subaru Outback? What does it compare to? The 2025 Subaru Outback is a rugged, comfortable five-seat vehicle that blurs the line between station wagon and midsize crossover. It competes with Subaru’s own Forester, as well as the Honda Passport and Hyundai Santa Fe. Is the 2025 Subaru Outback a good SUV? Yes...2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class: Flagship SUV goes electric
"Give my creation life!" Gene Wilder cried in his eponymous role as "Young Frankenstein," where the young doctor strove to make a bigger, bolder, better version of his monster for a new generation. Mercedes has done something similar but much more serious with the Tuesday unveiling of its latest creation, the fully electric 2025 Mercedes-Benz G...Subaru Legacy bows out after 2025
The car that forms the basis for the Subaru Outback is about to disappear. On Tuesday, Subaru announced the Legacy will exit production after the 2025 model year. The Legacy nameplate has been on sale since 1989. Subaru has screwed together more than 1.3 million Legacys in the U.S. at its Lafayette plant in Indiana over the course of six...Ford Maverick vs Hyundai Santa Cruz: Compare Pickup Trucks
Looking for the utility of a pickup truck but don’t want the size or fuel economy penalty of a full-size truck? The Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz fit the bill. They both seat five and ride like compact crossovers, and their small beds and modest length mean they easily fit into garages and parking spaces. Launched in 2022...2025 Toyota Camry headlines this week's new car reviews
Toyota continues to roll out its revamped product line, with the 2025 4Runner completing the overhaul on the truck side, and our first drive with the new Land Cruiser. We also took a last spin of the Mini Cooper Clubman in rorty John Cooper Works form, and revisited the excellent Ford Maverick hybrid. Here's what moved us this week. Reviews 2025...Test drive: Last spin in the Mini Cooper Clubman JCW
Mini has shut the doors on the Clubman with the rear barn doors and a whole lot of Cooper cute. A last spin in the 2024 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman reminded me how much this performance-minded small wagon will be missed. Like so many other brands, Mini is in the midst of a reboot, expanding its electric vehicle lineup with a 2025 Mini Cooper E...Ford recalls 456,565 Maverick, Bronco Sport for loss of drive power
Ford is recalling the Maverick and Bronco Sport once again for a battery issue that could stall the vehicles while in motion or prevent them from starting, the NHTSA disclosed this week. The control modules in those vehicles can't detect a change in the 12-volt battery state of charge while driving. A battery failure can be triggered at a stop by...2025 Toyota Camry
With the Camry, Toyota has rarely veered from a winning midsize sedan recipe. Again for 2025 the Camry’s automotive comfort food. Not deconstructed, not capped with gold flake and caviar, it’s just mac and cheese out of a box—a nice box, but a box nevertheless. What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Toyota Camry? What does it compare...Test drive: 2024 Ford Maverick lends adulthood a hand
One of the keys to adulting is resilience. Plans change, kids grow into adults, wedding receptions get outnumbered by celebrations of life, and on it goes. Riding the vicissitudes, the imperative is to keep on keeping on, Bob Dylan crooned, like a bird that flew. Fortunately, the 2024 Ford Maverick small pickup truck hasn’t changed much...2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz
What kind of vehicle is the 2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz? What does it compare to? It’s a pickover, part small pickup, and part compact crossover. Direct rivals for the 2024 Santa Cruz include the Ford Maverick and Honda Ridgeline, but crossover intenders looking for something different might cross-shop the Chevrolet Colorado and Toyota Tacoma as...2024 Toyota Land Cruiser
The 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser marks the return of an icon and throws the nameplate back with retro flair. But it leaves some hardware off the menu so that the similar Lexus GX can thrive—and it’s nearly overlapped by Toyota’s own upcoming 2025 4Runner. What kind of vehicle is the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser? What does it compare to?...2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali: 440-mile range, $99,495 price
The 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 goes on sale this summer with a $99,495 price and a range of 440 miles, GMC announced Tuesday. The electric pickup truck tops the Sierra range, and costs $3,000 more than the range-topping 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST First Edition expected to land this summer. Both electric pickup trucks cost about $9,000..."Defend Trade Secrets Act" - How Will This New Law Affect Your Business?
With a near unanimous (410-2) vote on April 27, 2016, the House passed the aDefend Trade Secrets Acta (aDTSAa). Having already been passed by the Senate (87-0), the legislation advances to President Obama, who has signaled that he will sign the bill into law. The law is drafted to go into effect on the day of its enactment, and will apply to misappropriation occurring on or after that date.
Read more...(wcsr.com).
Trade Secrets of the Assault Rifles
From the Daytona Beach News-Journal of Florida, a Florida contribution to the evolving role of trade secrets, concerning old-fashioned stealing, a vendetta against a former employee, and, of course, assault weapons.
The paper reports that two men -- Mark Hazelip and Jake Economou a were arrested and charged with stealing trade secrets from Tactical Machining of Deland, Florida, a company that produces upper and lower receivers for AR-15 rifles.
The two alleged stole computer programs, blueprints, drawings and a list of customers. Hazelip quit the company in January and went to work for a competitor, Daytona CNC . Economou was later fired from Tactical Machining. According to investigators, Hazelip talked of putting Tactical Machining out of business/
Instead, after a tip from another former employee working at Daytona CNC, the police aexecuted a search warrant at Daytona CNC and found the Tactical Machining blueprints and drawings for the gun parts and a spiral bound notebook with the name of clients in Hazelip's desk.a
Uncle Samas Economic Espionage a Not Looking for Your Trade Secrets
This follows on the heels of reports that the NSA has hacked into the systems of various foreign companies including a Brazilian state oil company.
The report quotes James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence:
aWhat we do not do, as we have said many times, is use our foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of, or give intelligence we collect, to US companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line.a
This issue, obviously, is far from settled.
John Deere in Trade Secrets Dispute with Former Factory General Manager
From the Business Section of the Waterloo Cedar Falls (IA) Courier, a story concerning a trade secrets case by agricultural equipment maker Deere & Co. against the long-time general manager of its largest combine factory.
Deere is seeking injunctive relief against Eric Hansotia, who was hired by Deere competitor AGCO into a position that "significantly overlaps" his old job.
The case is pending in federal court in Illinois.
By the sound of the allegations, the case concerns both inevitable disclosure type claims, but also has claims that the defendant aIn his last four days of work . . . connected portable electronic storage devices, some of which computer logs indicate contained Deere trade secrets, to his Deere computer, and he may have kept those devices after his employment ended.a
Chinese Trade Secrets Theft Hits US Universities
Now, in a new twist, Reuters reports that three Chinese researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have been charged in federal court with bribery in connection with theft of trade secrets relating to MRI technology.
The researchers apparently received at least $400,000 in bribes to provide information to a Chinese Medical Imaging company, United Imaging Healthcare, and a Chinese government-backed research institute, Shenzen Institute of Advanced Technology.
The three were charged in federal court in the Southern District of New York where the US Attorney doesnat play.
Man Bites Dog!
According to the report, Pearson VUE, Pearsonas computer-based testing division, acquired Certiport on May 15, 2012, but decided to suspend the online service of Certiport (China).
That company now claims that Pearson stole its client list under the pretense of an audit and informed customers of the change without prior consent of the other shareholders of Certiport (China).
An initial court date is scheduled for May 23, 2013.
Trade Secrets Finally Gets Toward the Top of the National Agenda
The administration has released its 141-page Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets. This comes just after the president signed an executive order adesigned to help U.S. computer networks guard against cyberattacks,a as USA Today put it.
The story contains comments from Victoria Espinel, the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement coordinator.
In the words of USA Today:
aThe strategy includes diplomatic engagement with nations where incidents of trade secret theft are high, working with industries on the best ways to protect their secrets, and stepped up prosecutions of business espionage.a
The plan comes out at the same time as reports of Chinese Red Army hacking into U.S. computers.
Espinel says: "The administration will continue to act vigorously to combat the theft of American trade secrets that could be used by foreign companies or foreign governments to gain an unfair commercial advantage over U.S. companies."
Sounds like weare finally getting serious about a problem that has been allowed to grow for years.
Bratz-Mattel Doll Fight Ends Not with a Bang But a Whimper
Now it looks to be all over.
A prA(c)cis goes like this: designer leaves Mattel to go to MGA Entertainment where he designs the popular Bratz line of dolls. Mattell sues MGS for copyright infringement and gets a $100 million verdict and the rights to Bratz going forward.
The Ninth Circuit finds that amount excessive and sends the case back down to the trial court where the jury finds nothing for Mattel, but returns a $170 million verdict against Mattel on a counterclaim for theft of trade secrets, along with $137 million in attorneysa fees.
Now the Ninth Circuit vacates that verdict, finding it time-barred. The attorneysa fees, however, stick.
Itas time to find a cautionary tale here, but the case is so weird we may just need to chalk it up as a one-off.
A Video Overview of the Economic Espionage Act
Do Computer Fraud & Abuse Act Prosecutions Sometimes Go Too Far?
Offered here without commentary, an article from Slate concerning the recent suicide of Aaron Swartz who was set to go on trial next month for violations of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act for unlocking a database of scholarly articles.
Prosecutors charging decisions a particularly the amount of prison time and penalties to be sought a are generally discretionary, rarely reviewable, and certainly subject to abuse (and not just under the CFAA).
There should be near unanimous agreement that what happened to Aaron is sad and, if an over-reaching prosecution played a role, something that ought to be rectified.
More on Economic Espionage Act Amendments
The story quotes John Marsh of Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP as saying that the two bills passed by Congress represent "a strong commitment by the federal government to broaden the protections of trade secrets."
The bill, once itas signed by the President, will increase the maximum penalty for misappropriating trade secrets to benefit a foreign government from $500,000 to $5 million for individuals and also applies the law more broadly to the services industry.
The big question on tap for 2013: will Congress create a federal civil remedy for trade secrets theft as a cognate to the criminal statute represented by the EEA?
Amendment to Economic Espionage Act
In the Aleynikov case that we reported about over the years, the defendant managed to walk because the trade secrets he stole were not aproduceda for use in interstate commerce.
Under the new law, designed to reverse the earlier decision in Aleynikov, trade secrets used in or intended for use in interstate commerce are now included. The produced for requirement is gone.
Now say goodnight to the 112th Congress.
Chinaas Economic Espionage
According to Lewis, China is the worldas most aggressive practitioner of economic espionage, targeting key industries such as telecom, aerospace, energy and defense. Among other victims are Google and Nortel while some companies that are victims aoften conceal their losses.a
Lewis also argues that the national strategy of economic espionage actually serves to handicap Chinaas own development.
His final assessment:
Economic espionage lies at the heart of the larger issue of Chinaas integration into the international system -- the norms, practices, and obligations that states observe in their dealings with one another and with the citizens of other states. A failure to hold China accountable for espionage undermines efforts to bring Beijing into the fold. In the end, any peaceful rise requires that China play by the rules, even if it seeks to change them, rather than pretend they do not apply.
More Kolon Troubles
The US Attorney in Richmond has indicted the company and five officials, charging them with trade secrets theft. According to the Business Week report here the indictment includes a forfeiture claim seeking at least $225 million in alleged criminal proceeds from the company.
Civil trade secrets cases are bad enough. Criminal ones should be avoided at all costs.
Huawei a Another Side of the Story
Farhad Manjoo, in Slate, says that whether a given piece of technology is dangerous is not determined by the nationality of the company that makes it.
As Manjoo puts it:
In reality, most devices are from everywhere. Your Android smartphone was designed in Korea, assembled in China, runs an operating system created in California, and works on a cellular carrier owned by a firm based in Germany. If youare worried about a certain companyas connections to China, you should be worried about pretty much every company in the tech industryathey all have large operations there, and, as a result of those operations, theyave all cut certain less-than-transparent deals with Chinese authorities.
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/10/huawei_zte_are_chinese_telecom_firms_really_a_danger_to_national_security.html
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