Author: CARE Staff

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Artificial Intelligence and Evolving Issues Under U.S. Copyright and Patent Law

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ABSTRACT

The proliferation of AI tools in the arts, commercial design industries, and other endeavors has raised core questions regarding who or what actually supplied the alleged creative or inventive elements, if any, to the AI system’s output. In both U.S. copyright and patent law the question focuses on a case-by-case analysis as to how much of the final product evidences human “authorship” or invention. Also, creativity as well as infringement, can be located in various phases of the AI system’s creation, ingestion of training materials, management, and operation – including its output, whether affected prior to the output or after it. Issues such as liability for selecting ingestion materials or target data, as well as the potential inadvertent triggering of patent law’s bar date through use of specific AI systems, have also come to the forefront of AI’s potential to secure, forfeit, or impact claimed proprietary rights in AI-assisted creative and inventive activities. Several alternative intellectual property and unfair competition approaches that can supplement or supplant copyright and patent law principles also come into play as users of AI seek to protect the products of their efforts.

AUTHOR

Gary Rinkerman is a partner at the law firm of FisherBroyles LLP, an Honorary Professor of U.S. Intellectual Property Law at Queen Mary University in London, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Assurance Research and Engineering (“CARE”) in the College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University, Virginia. For those interested in “digital archeology,” Professor Rinkerman also successfully argued one of the first cases in which copyright in object code was enforced and he co-founded and served as Editor-in-Chief for Computer Law Reporter, one of the first legal publications (in the 1980s) to focus exclusively on law and computer technologies. This article should not be considered legal advice. The presentation of facts and the opinions expressed in this article are attributable solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any persons, organizations or entities with which he is affiliated or whom he represents. The author would also like to thank J.P. Auffret, Director of CARE, for his continuing support and for his expertise in the frontier areas of Artificial Intelligence.

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News

Directions to the Mason Cybersecurity Innovation Forum

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George Mason Cybersecurity Innovation Forum
Wednesday, December 7th, 2022
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

LOCATION

Mason FUSE Pilot Space
Vernon Smith Hall - Plaza Level
3434 Washington Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia

The Mason FUSE Pilot Space is at the front of Vernon Smith Hall (3434 Washington Boulevard).
If you’re entering from Washington Boulevard, go up the stairs, enter the building and the space is just on the right.

Vernon Smith Hall

PARKING

Please find below three options (with maps).

Van Metre Parking Garage

Park in the Van Metre Parking garage (usual parking garage, enter via N Kirkwood Road – The entrance is located on Founders Way North, located behind Van Metre Hall off Kirkwood Road. To access the Van Metre Hall garage, use the alley behind Van Metre Hall, turning off Kirkwood Drive behind Hazel Hall), exit the elevators by Au Bon Pain (main floor), and then make your way to the other building *Vernon Smith* to the parking garage using the “bridge”. Go to the elevator bank in that building’s parking garage, go to P (plaza or lobby level)

The FUSE Pilot Space is a short staircase up from the street level of 3434 Washington Boulevard.

Vernon Smith Parking Garage

From Washington Boulevard, enter via Founders Way and go to P level.  Founders Way is just after Giant supermarket.

St. Charles Catholic Church

Street parking on Fairfax Dr near St. Charles Catholic Church

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Important Internet security service now housed in the Mason College of Engineering and Computing

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This fall, George Mason University will become the new home of one of the Internet’s venerable monitoring and measurement services: the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) Deployment Maps. This service plays a prominent role in chronicling the evolution of a critical part of Internet security and has been under the stewardship of the Internet Society (ISOC) since 2014. The maps were originally developed by Shinkuro, Inc. with sponsorship by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The transition to Mason is being facilitated with sponsorship from the Internet Society, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and Verisign, Inc.

Eric Osterweil, Assistant Professor in the Mason Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Computing, has been instrumental in bringing the deployment maps to Mason, reaching an agreement to host it at Mason’s Center for Assurance Research and Engineering (CARE, directed by J.P. Auffret) and the Measurable Security Lab (MSL) in the Computer Science department. “We are excited to provide a new home for this important activity,” Osterweil says. “People all over the world access the deployment maps and will now associate them with Mason.”

The deployment maps service tracks how DNSSEC has been deployed worldwide for top-level domains and has been a staple of the Internet security community for years. With almost 17 years of deployment, the maps database is fertile ground for conducting basic research and connecting students with real operational cybersecurity issues. Osterweil notes that the security DNSSEC provides to Internet users is incredibly essential, even if in the background. “The average person will never know about DNSSEC. It’s a lot like saying, ‘What’s the formula of the asphalt I drive on?’ It’s really important, but not important that I have any idea about it.”

DNS is the Internet’s de facto name-mapping system, translating domain names (like gmu.edu) into IP addresses and other identifiers. However, data from the DNS is not inherently secure, as “the IP address of a DNS response can be easily forged, or spoofed,” according to ICANN. DNSSEC enhances DNS with authentication protections, using public-key cryptography, so users can be confident that website visits and emails connect them to entities they want to reach. DNSSEC prevents attacks like cache poisoning and domain redirection, which can result in fraud, malware distribution, and theft of personal, confidential information.

“Internet administrators and researchers anywhere in the world receive weekly email summaries of the current DNSSEC deployment. New services will be added when the system is fully transitioned to George Mason,” says Osterweil. The maps are used by the Internet operations, standards, and policy communities as a resource for the current (and past) state of deployment. “We really want to take the deployment maps service and evolve it into an observatory for this critical infrastructure.” As part of the transition to Mason, Osterweil is establishing an external advisory board, composed of industry stalwarts and chaired by Stephen Crocker (an inductee into the Internet Hall of Fame, author/editor of RFC 1, and founding chair of the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee, SSAC), to help steer and evolve the service. With their cooperation, the deployment maps will be evolved and integrated into a new holistic Internet Namespace Security Observatory in CARE at Mason.

“We are glad that George Mason University is taking on this important work,” said Dan York, director of online content at the Internet Society. “The maps have been a useful way to track the state of DNSSEC deployment over many years. We look forward to seeing how GMU evolves and improves the maps further.”

Osterweil is in talks with multiple industry partners and traditional sources to help support research using the Deployment Maps. Further, he is planning to leverage the service for its research value and use it to enhance teaching, as well as a hands-on experience for student researchers.  “Analyses of historical datasets of critical infrastructure like DNSSEC are critical in understanding large-scale events and behaviors.  The Internet Namespace Security Observatory will synthesize measurable properties of Internet naming systems (such as DNS, DNSSEC, DANE records, etc.) and provide measurable telemetry to evaluate how well dependent systems, protocols, and users are able to validate security protections.”

Osterweil and colleagues announced the transition of the maps publicly at the ICANN’s 74 meeting in The Hague, Netherlands in June.

Founded in 1992 by Internet pioneers, the Internet Society is a global non-profit organization working to ensure the Internet remains a force for good for everyone. Through its community of members, special interest groups, and 130+ chapters around the world, the organization promotes Internet policies, standards, and protocols that keep the Internet open, globally-connected, and secure.

The College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University is a fast-growing force for innovation in technology and education. The college boasts over 10,000 students in two schools, 37 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, including several first-in-the-nation offerings. As part of a nationally ranked research university, its research teams earned more than $61 million in sponsored research awards in the last 12 months. Located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor, the college stands out for its focus on emerging areas including big data, cybersecurity, healthcare technology, robotics and autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning, signals and communications, and sustainable infrastructure.

ICANN’s mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or another device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation with a community of participants from all over the world.

Verisign, a global provider of domain name registry services and Internet infrastructure, enables Internet navigation for many of the world’s most recognized domain names. Verisign enables the security, stability, and resiliency of key Internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of the 13 global Internet root servers, and providing registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net top-level domains, which support the majority of global e-commerce. To learn more about what it means to be Powered by Verisign, please visit verisign.com.

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News

Mason – NSF Virginia Local and State Government Cybersecurity Partnering Workshop, Richmond VA, July 26th

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Central African Republic News What's New

CAR Technology Entrepreneurship & ICT Leadership Accelerator Lecture Series

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West Virginia Local and State Government Cybersecurity Workshop 2022-04-26

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Central African Republic Technology Entrepreneurship Accelerator

Marché Banguissois

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Start-up aimed at facilitating all industrial, commercial, financial, agricultural, movable and immovable operations. 

Launched on Facebook in February 2021, the Banguissois market page was created with the aim of bringing together and centralizing all economic operators from all sectors in the Central African market. But also to map all the economic agents on the Central African market and connect them to the local and international market. Thus, allow foreign investors to have access to reliable companies in the Central African Republic. It is registered with the Chamber of Commerce.  

His team: Bachir MOUSSA BAWA entrepreneur, graduate in logistics at the International Polytechnic University of Benin. Contribution 50% (innovation and organization), Aboubakar Nabil Ben BACHIR resident in Montreal, Canada graduated in Technology at the University of Montreal (30% programming contribution) and Melissa Christelle KAMOT BOYAKA N’TCHA 20% (contribution in marketing and communication), graduate in management and resident in Benin. Marché Banguissois is on LinkedIn and Facebook. 

It wants to establish itself as a leader in the field of the digitalization of goods and services, following the various socio-political crises causing real delays on all levels, the digital sector is struggling to gain momentum. 

Industry (branch / sector of activity): software design and e-commerce/ financial technology. 

Products and services: e-commerce -Digitalization of goods and services. Facilitate all financial, commercial, agricultural and industrial operations online or in physics. 

Types of customers (businesses or consumers, etc.) 

Businesses/State/consumers. 

Major objectives for the coming year: identify more than 1000 economic agents and attract more than 200,000 users. Set up a digital consulting service for small and medium-sized enterprises that will focus on the following activities: 

Improved visibility on social media (creation and management of their pages and content). 

Creation of showcase and personalized websites for institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises… Support in the digitalization process. 

The challenges you face. 

A room to install a team and work equipment, accommodation…  

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Central African Republic Technology Entrepreneurship Accelerator

Satcom Consulting

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Service and consulting company in New Information and Communication Technologies. Founded in 2020 by Salim BADAMASSY, information systems engineer, Satcom Consulting is supported by a team of experienced engineers and technicians and makes its know-how available to its customers and ensures quality technical achievements. Our mission is to support our clients including telecommunications companies, banks, insurance, public administrations, local authorities and NGOs etc … by offering them customized solutions and services that meet their needs. 

OUR SERVICES

Consulting Service management:  

  • Alignment of your IT solutions with the needs of your business  
  • IT governance process  
  • Implementation of ITIL best practices CONSULTING in ICT strategy  
  • Audit of your tools and advice in terms of improvement  
  • Realization of your specifications Critical and high availability architectures  
  • Disaster Recovery Solutions  
  • Business Continuity Process Managed / Support Satcom Consulting offers various assistance packages in order to accompany you day after day in the management of your IT infrastructure. . Project management  
  • Support of the entire project  
  • Implementation, testing and documentation of the solution  
  • Design of solutions based on advanced technologies 
  • Implementation of a scalable infrastructure  
  • Maintenance to ensure the continuity of the IT Reseller service Improve your productivity with adapted and reliable hardware and software. 

OBJECTIVES

To win more maintenance contracts so more customers  

The challenges we face are: how to ensure its financing? And how to find customers.

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Central African Republic Technology Entrepreneurship Accelerator

Ong MAMBOKO

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The digital incubator was created in 2015 to offer digital solutions to the Central African population, the government and development partners. It is a physical place to support the creation and development of digital solutions by young people to ultimately provide a concrete response to the difficulties of the Central African populations affected by the crisis. To support this dynamic, we have set up a favorable ecosystem that allows exchanges on social issues but also on the development of digital technology and existing opportunities. – HISTORY OF THE COMPANY AND FOUNDERS THE NGO Mamboko Na Mamboko which means “hand in hand” was founded in 2007 by Mr. Aristide GANABO the president and Martial GANABO the National Coordinator, its headquarters is based in Bangui. It is a dismemberment of the association Mamboko na Mamboko France created in Bordeaux in 2005. Its objective is to contribute to the moral, educational, social, economic and cultural development of young people and women. – INDUSTRY (branch / sector of activity) Digital incubator, Digital project and training, – PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Application creation – TYPES OF CUSTOMERS (Companies or consumers, etc.).  

MAJOR OBJECTIVES FOR THE COMING YEAR: Creating digital applications that will be solutions to physical problems  

– THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE: Cost of Qualified Resource APIs 

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Central African Republic Technology Entrepreneurship Accelerator

ISTECH

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 iSTech’s Company description  

 iSTech stands for intelligent Products or services manufacturer / provider, relaying on Science & Technological principles, is a company created in 2017 in Central Africa Republic. The Fiscal Identification Number (NIF) is P355S00123. The company is owned by Mr MAPOUKA Saint-Cyr; its mission is to privide better products & services for relevent problems. iSTech’s vision consist of doing the right thing the right way. 
 

 

 

Products & Services list. 

 BSol (Business Solution) : A Powerfull POS (Point of Sales) system. Any business institution can laverage on it to become very powerfull in serving customer, controlling stock fleet, management capability…  

 

Academ (Academic Solution) : A computing engineering product, which is a set of hardware and software items, that aims to empower a school institution by automating its all its daily task in a rate of 80% to 92%. It uses the most inovative technology such as barcode data manipulation, batch process, SMS Com. 

 

Fast#ID : A  SAAS (Software as a Service) which purpose is to produce any identification cards in a standard format (PVC format, …) in batch, by using the most innovative data collection technologies such as Commcare, Kobo Collect, iForm, …Production of thousand of #ID cards (Aids beneficiaries, students #ID cards, …) in a laps of times is no more an issue with eReg1. 
Type of customer  Company (Mini super-market, Private School, …), Non Govermental Organization, Governement institutions, and individuals. 
Main objectives for 2022. 
  • Increase the number of BSol’s product customer from 1 (Actual) to at least 15. 
  • Increase the number of Academ’s product customer from 0 (Actual) to at least 3. 
  • Increase the number of Fast#ID’s service customer from 2 (Actual) to at least 20. 
  • Release the beta1.x version of a new Software As A service called Gara.  
Challenges. 
  • There almost no possibility to get loans from local Bank in Central Africa Republic, in order to finance the business plan over 3 years. 
  • Impossible to find a local vendor which can provide the right hardware computing tools such as barcode reader device, mini server, POS printers, cash redrawer,  tag printer, … and not only that, the delivery channel of goods from abroad is not secured. In order to fix this, the alternative could be to travel abroad.