All posts tagged: arent

Birkenstocks Aren’t Art, German Federal Court Says

Birkenstocks Aren’t Art, German Federal Court Says

A German federal court recently decided that Birkenstocks cannot be considered art, since they are just comfortable, popular footwear made of cork. After years of litigation, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice dismissed the intellectual property case against Birkenstock, which is especially known for its Arizona sandal, featuring wide-straps and large buckles. The court’s ruling stated that a product can not be copyrighted if “technical requirements, rules or other constraints determine the design.” Birkenstock, which is headquartered in Linz am Rhein in western Germany, filed a lawsuit against three competitors, arguing that they sold similar styles of sandals to four signature models. These models, Birkenstock said, are “copyright-protected works of applied art” that could not be copied. Related Articles Under German law, works of fine art are granted stronger intellectual property protections compared to the design or “applied art” of consumer products. The lawyers representing Birkenstock argued that German copyright law gave the sandal’s creators exclusive rights of use, just as they would for any artist or creator of literary works, computer programs, or paintings. Other …

No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits

No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits

Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed that his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project had uncovered massive government fraud when it alleged that 150-year-olds were claiming Social Security benefits. But Musk has provided no evidence to back up his claims, and experts quickly pointed out that this is very likely just a quirk of the decades-old coding language that underpins the government payment systems. Musk first made the claims during his Oval Office press conference last week, when he claimed that a “cursory examination of Social Security, and we got people in there that are 150 years old. Now, do you know anyone that’s 150? I don’t know. They should be in the Guinness Book of World Records … So that’s a case where I think they’re probably dead.” While no evidence was produced to back up this claim, it was picked up by the right-wing commentators online, primarily on Musk’s own X platform, as well as being reported credibly by pro-Trump media outlets. Computer programmers quickly claimed that the 150 figure was not evidence …

Apprenticeships aren’t designed for young people any more

Apprenticeships aren’t designed for young people any more

The number of people in England choosing to enrol in an apprenticeship has declined markedly over the past decade. Apprenticeship participation has fallen overall from 908,700 in 2016-17 to 736,500 in 2023-24. Particularly notable has been a shift away from apprenticeships providing introductory skills for young people towards them becoming higher level qualifications for older adults. In 2023-24, 55,660 under-19s were taking part in an intermediate apprenticeship, down from 75,500 in 2019-20. On the other hand, 185,810 over-25s were participating in a higher level apprenticeship in 2023-24 – up from 109,770 in 2019-20. “Apprenticeship starts for the under-25s fell by 38% in the period 2015-16 to 2022-23,” education secretary Bridget Phillipson told the House of Commons in September 2024. “It will fall to this Labour government to turn that around.” Continued messaging from successive governments has emphasised that apprenticeships are for young people. “To every young person I meet my message is that no matter who you are, or where you’re from, or whatever career you want to do, an apprenticeship will open doors for …

For teens, virtual reality worlds aren’t all fun and games

For teens, virtual reality worlds aren’t all fun and games

3-D: Short for three-dimensional. This term is an adjective for something that has features that can be described in three dimensions — height, width and length.  attention: The phenomenon of focusing mental resources on a specific object or event. avatar: (in virtual reality) An electronic rendering of some image. It becomes the virtual form of some character (even a computer or game user) that will be moved and manipulated by a computer user. It can interact with its environment and other characters. behavior: The way something, often a person or other organism, acts towards others, or conducts itself. bullying: (v. to bully) A group of repeated behaviors that are mean-spirited. They can include teasing, spreading rumors about someone, saying hurtful things to someone and intentionally leaving someone out of groups or activities. Sometimes bullying can include attacks using violence (such as hitting), threats of violence, yelling at someone or abusing someone with violent language. Much bullying takes place in person. But it also may occur online, through emails or via text messages. Newer examples including making fake profiles …

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Can Now Be Customized for Kids Who Aren’t Ready for Smartphones

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Can Now Be Customized for Kids Who Aren’t Ready for Smartphones

Samsung Unpacked 2025 is serving us plenty of new products to be excited about, but where does it leave parents of kids who might not be ready for their first smartphone? The answer comes in the form of the Galaxy Watch for Kids setup, making it possible for parents to share the smartwatch experience with their kids without throwing them into the deep end. You Can Now Program a Galaxy Watch to Stay Connected With Your Kids Announced in connection to Samsung Unpacked 2025, Google and Samsung have announced what they’re calling the Galaxy Watch for Kids “experience.” According to a report in Google’s The Keyword, parents will now be able to set up a Galaxy Watch with “guardrails,” for kids who may not be old enough for a smartphone—or even the full functionality of a smartwatch. As a result, you’ve got kids “using their cell-enabled smartwatches responsibly to build positive digital habits.” Google To be clear, this is not a release of a new, separate, smartwatch like the kid-friendly Fitbit Ace LTE; rather, it’s …

Intel Officials Warned Police That US Cities Aren’t Ready for Hostile Drones

Intel Officials Warned Police That US Cities Aren’t Ready for Hostile Drones

In the memo obtained by WIRED, DHS displays less confidence in its ability to detect menacing drones. The document, which authorities were instructed not to make public, states that “tactics and technology to evade counter-UAS capabilities are circulated and sold online with little to no regulation.” In reality, the ability of police to track errant drones is hindered by a range of evolving technologies, the memo says, including “autonomous flight, 5G command and control, jamming protection technology, swarming technology, and software that disables geofencing restrictions.” The mystery in New Jersey and similar phenomena in Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland, among other states, have put a spotlight on the ongoing efforts of state and federal legislators to expand the government’s access to counter-UAS technology. Speaking to reporters via Zoom on Saturday, a DHS official said the agency is urging Congress to “extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities,” and ensure “state and local authorities are provided the tools they need to respond to such threats as well.” Currently, only a handful of federal agencies—including DHS and the …

Kallas gave top EU official the ax and governments aren’t happy – POLITICO

Kallas gave top EU official the ax and governments aren’t happy – POLITICO

Juhansone, a former Latvian ambassador, who is currently the top EU official at the Commission, is a close ally of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her chief of staff Bjoern Seibert.  Should Juhansone clinch the top job at the EEAS it could be seen as a power grab by von der Leyen, who has a highly centralized, top-down management style as Commission boss. But it would also mean that with Kallas, a second person from a Baltic country would play a key role in foreign policy, a prospect that doesn’t sit well with some governments. Tense relations Kallas’ position, officially called EU high representative, is notoriously tricky. Although one of the bloc’s 27 commissioners, the EU foreign policy chief sits institutionally somewhere between the Commission and the Council ― which represents the member countries ― and is responsible for the 2,500-plus staff working in EEAS headquarters as well as around 2,800 employees working at delegations across the world.  The decision by Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister, has ruffled feathers just a week …

Vintage Digicams Aren’t Just a Fad. They’re an Artistic Statement

Vintage Digicams Aren’t Just a Fad. They’re an Artistic Statement

Lee’s beloved Kyoceras are one such victim of the ravages of time. “I’ve had 15 copies pass through my hands. Around 11 of them were dead on arrival, and three died within a year. That means I have one left right now. It’s basically a special occasions-only camera, because I just never know when it’s going to die.” These photographers have learned that it’s sometimes better to move on from a potential ticking time bomb, especially if the device is still in demand. O’Keefe points to the Epson R-D1 as an example. This digital rangefinder from printer-maker Epson, with gauges on the top made by Epson’s watchmaking arm Seiko, was originally sold as a Leica alternative, but now it fetches Leica-like premium prices. “I actually sold mine a year and a half ago,” she says. “I loved it, it was beautiful. But there’s a point for me, where I can see that this thing is certainly going to die, probably in the next five years. So I did sell that one, but it is such …

Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up

Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up

Remember when childhood was supposed to be carefree? When skinned knees were badges of honor, not trauma? When kids roamed neighborhoods unsupervised and somehow survived to tell the tale? Those days are long gone, replaced by a sanitized, over-monitored, therapy-saturated childhood that’s producing a generation of anxious, depressed young people ill-equipped to handle life’s inevitable challenges. At least, that’s the provocative argument at the heart of Abigail Shrier’s incendiary new book “Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up.” With her characteristic blend of meticulous reporting and sharp commentary, Shrier takes aim at what she sees as the true culprit behind the youth mental health crisis: not social media or academic pressure, but the mental health industry itself. A Damning Diagnosis Shrier, best known for her controversial bestseller “Irreversible Damage” about transgender youth, doesn’t pull any punches in her latest work. She argues that well-meaning but misguided mental health professionals, educators, and parents have inadvertently stunted children’s emotional growth through excessive coddling, accommodation, and medicalization of normal childish behavior. The result? A generation of young …

Children aren’t reading for pleasure according to new research – here’s how you can help them love books

Children aren’t reading for pleasure according to new research – here’s how you can help them love books

The National Literacy Trust’s annual literacy survey 2025 reveals that one in three children and young people do not enjoy reading, with only 35% of eight to 18-year-olds stating that they enjoy reading in their spare time. This is the lowest figure recorded since 2005 when the National Literacy Trust started to gather this data. This report reveals that children and young people’s enjoyment of reading is now at a crisis point. Many literacy researchers like me are just not surprised by this data. Given the lack of funding and closure of our local libraries. Not to mention the narrow approach to the curriculum for reading in schools, which is targeted specifically at struggling readers. This includes the systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) scheme, which teach children to read by breaking words down into their individual sounds and is pushed too early. As well as the dreaded phonics screening check, which tests your child’s phonics knowledge, standardising testing. Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live …