US Copyright Office to "grant an exemption specifically allowing for repair of retail-level food preparation equipment—including soft serve ice cream machines similar to those available at McDonald's. The change should "spark a flurry of third-party repair activity and enable businesses to better serve their customers." - Ars Technica
The rule bans businesses from creating, buying or selling reviews and testimonials attributed to people who don't exist, including those that are AI generated. False celebrity endorsements aren't allowed and companies can't pay or otherwise incentivize genuine customers to leave positive or negative reviews. - Engadget
The blackmail plot cost millions. “The state’s objective was to prevent the leak of photos, videos and audios that revealed King Juan Carlos I’s infidelity with actress and TV star Bárbara Rey. Public knowledge of the affair would have put the stability of the monarchy in jeopardy.” - El País
“Prime subscriptions pay for Amazon to grow—to gobble up market share, put small stores out of business, and make Bezos more powerful. Newspaper subscriptions, by the same token, pay for newspapers to grow. They pay for reporting and editing and fact-checking.” - The Atlantic
The reopening is barreling toward its reopening date, and “while visitors to the most notable cathedrals in neighbouring countries, including Spain, Italy and Britain, routinely pay for the privilege, France’s Roman Catholic church is fiercely opposed to the idea.” - The Guardian (UK)
While in the past, we may have been cynical that cultural tourism was just a watered-down ‘sell-y’ option parcelled up by cruises or tour group operators, this tainted perception seems to have matured into a specialist industry that calls on arts professionals to lead the experiences. - ArtsHub
External and Internal advocacy work solidified support for the sector and gave funding agencies “seats at the table” within local government funding deliberations that were not available prior to the pandemic and that LAAs will work to retain. - SMU Arts
"Two new laws — cracking down on organizations that receive international funding and what the government calls L.G.B.T. propaganda — and the violent response by security forces to protests this year have many artists and others working in cultural organizations reconsidering their livelihoods, or even their futures in the country." - The New York Times
"Can they take action now to mitigate its potentially serious consequences? Calling around, I found that many people were not eager to discuss the matter on the record, which is perhaps not surprising. But some people were willing to chat." - Artnet
As the war nears its third year, a cohort of Italian curators, artists, and art historians, including Luca Tomìo and Alessandro Romanini, have bucked the trend of that isolation to participate or curate exhibitions there. - ARTnews
"(Celebrations) will include exhibitions and events throughout the Smithsonian's museums (and zoo), an expansion of the institution’s annual Folklife Festival, temporary public reopenings of the Arts and Industries Building (which has mostly been closed since 2004) and Smithsonian Castle, as well as digital and satellite programming." - The Art Newspaper
Why is Blair Kamin doing this? "I’m a realist, and I realize that, given who the Tribune is owned by now and given the realities of the business model of journalism having collapsed, either somebody was going to do something, or nothing would get done." - Medill Local News Initiative
“The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted,” reads the statement. Thousands of creative professionals from the worlds of literature, music, film, theatre and television have given their backing to the statement. - The Guardian
"Nearly a month before Danielle SeeWalker was slated to paint a mural in Vail, town staff told her that a social media post featuring a different painting she created — one comparing the violence in Gaza to the genocide of Native Americans — was 'too polarizing.'" She and the ACLU are suing on First Amendment grounds. - Rocky Mountain...
In contrast, ordinary Portland cement must be baked in a kiln at around 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit. “It’s a huge saving” in energy, she said, leading to “a 70 percent reduction in carbon footprint.” - The New York Times
