Posting quotes on social media

In her article "The Real Danger of Going on 'Shark Tank': Copycats" for the Wall Street Journal last weekend, writer Ruth Simon documents the consequences of going public with your product idea. If it's promising, it will be imitated quickly... and even if it isn't, others may accuse you of being a thief. As an example, Simon relays the ordeal of Lori Cheek, an entrepreneur who appeared on the show in 2014. Her dating business still doesn't have any revenue. "But it has accumulated more than $60,000 in legal bills, after a viewer of the show accused Ms. Cheek of stealing his idea." Ouch. Here's the reality: If you have a great new product, it will get copied. Even if you have a patent, trademark, and/or copyright protection. In my opinion, it's literally impossible to protect anything these days. Reverse engineering is as doable as ever. If counterfeiters don't steal from you outright, a close alternative may pop up on the market. And make no mistake. It's not just … [Read more...] about So, You’ve Been Knocked Off. Congratulations!

Last August, sorority rush at the University of Alabama exploded on TikTok with Greek letters, glitter, and teenage girls explaining their #OOTD, or outfit of the day. The videos generated millions of views as people watched new college students share carefully curated ensembles for each round of the recruitment process--name-dropping well-known brands like Shein, Target, Kendra Scott, Kate Spade, and Steve Madden. But one unfamiliar name kept getting mentioned: the Pants Store. Founded as a wholesale warehouse for pants in 1950 in Leeds, Alabama, the Pants Store is a third-generation family business run by Michael Gee, whose grandfather started the company out of the trunk of his car. Not being a TikTok user, Gee had no idea his business had gone viral on the platform last year. It was his then-14-year-old daughter who told him. In just one week, online sales soared by more than 600 percent year-over-year. Orders from out of state--particularly from other college … [Read more...] about How this Family-Owned Retailer Capitalized on RushTok

(CNN) With nearly 9,000 confirmed monkeypox cases nationwide, there is growing concern that US college and university campuses could become monkeypox "hotspots" this fall. Educators are working to reduce the public health risk while some students worry about how their campus experiences might be affected by the virus -- a virus that the nation is still trying to control and that was recently declared a national public health emergency . JUST WATCHED CNN goes inside clinic treating monkeypox as outbreak grows Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH CNN goes inside clinic treating monkeypox as outbreak grows 05:32 "As we head into the fall, I'm concerned about outbreaks on college campuses as they are often a place where individuals engage in higher risk sexual activity and are in close contact with many different people," Dr. Rachel Cox, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the Mass … [Read more...] about To prepare for possible monkeypox spread, colleges focus on educating students

BIDEN DEEPLY UNPOPULAR WITH VOTERS… WSJ: Biden, Democrats Lose Ground on Key Issues, WSJ Poll Finds WASHINGTON—President Biden and his fellow Democrats have lost ground to Republicans on several of the issues most important to voters, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, a troubling sign for the party seeking to extend its controlling majority of Congress for another two years. The new survey showed that 57% of voters remained unhappy with Mr. Biden’s job performance, despite favorable marks for the president’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a recent State of the Union speech, which provided him an opportunity to directly speak to millions of Americans. Just 42% said they approved of Mr. Biden’s performance in office, which was virtually unchanged from the previous Journal poll in mid-November. Meanwhile, Democratic advantages narrowed over Republicans on issues related to improving education and the Covid-19 response. A 16-percentage-point Democratic edge … [Read more...] about Editor Daily Rundown: Joe Biden Deeply Unpopular With Voters

Gene Seymour is a critic who has written about music, movies and culture for The New York Times, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter @GeneSeymour . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) Nobody trusts my ability to forecast the future, least of all me. Nevertheless, I feel fairly safe in predicting that WNBA star Brittney Griner will not serve all nine years of her sentence by a Russian court for drug possession and smuggling. Gene Seymour It's not that much of a stretch to imagine this coming true, especially when recapping the basis for that charge: two vape cartridges of hashish oil found in Griner's luggage at a Moscow airport in February. Nine years? For two cartridges? The maximum sentence is 10 years , and at least Griner didn't get that. Those with long enough memories can't help but think of the incredulous … [Read more...] about Opinion: What happens next to Brittney Griner is beyond our control

(CNN Business) Snapchat on Tuesday introduced its first parental control center, nearly 10 months after an executive from the company told Congress it was developing tools aimed at helping parents keep their teens safe. The new tool, called Family Center, promises to give parents more insight into who their teenagers are communicating with on the messaging app — without divulging the content of those conversations. Parents must create their own Snapchat account, and teens have to opt-in and give permission for them to use the feature. Their teenage children died by suicide. Now these families want to hold social media companies accountable "Family Center is designed to reflect the way that parents engage with their teens in the real world, where parents usually know who their teens are friends with and when they are hanging out — but don't eavesdrop on their private conversations," the company said in a blog post. After disclosures … [Read more...] about Snapchat rolls out option to let parents see who their teens are messaging

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Latin America is going bad – very bad. Many of the region's large economies have lurched toward leftist populism in recent years. With the election of former guerrilla leader Gustavo Petro to the presidency, Colombia seems to be another victim of the trend. But for such leftists, the big prize is still to be captured: Brazil. With almost half of South America's economy and population and bordering ten countries, what happens in Brazil is always relevant for the Americas and the world. The country's upcoming presidential election is a case in point. The two leading candidates, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro, both have plenty of detractors. Local and foreign media cover their campaigns and road to the election. There is seldom coverage of those who work outside the political party system to try to influence Brazil's future. I want to highlight some of them here. I will only focus on non-religious organizations … [Read more...] about Promoting The Free Economy In Brazil

If you're afraid someone is going to steal your idea, you're not alone. This is a very common fear. Will a patent help? No, not really. Not in the way you've been led to believe, anyway. Here's the truth. Protecting your idea completely -- meaning excluding all imitators -- is going to be difficult at best. If your idea becomes a successful product, the copycats won't be far behind . There will be infringers and knockoffs. This is simply a fact of life. As a person who is coming up with new ideas, I know this is not what you want to hear. It's a little bit discouraging even. But you shouldn't let this reality stop you, because there is good news. Today, success in the marketplace is all about selling first and fast, and the quickest way to transform an idea into a widely distributed product is by partnering with a company already in business. That's why licensing your invention to a company that has great relationships with major retailers is the best form of protection you can … [Read more...] about The Best Form of Protection For Your Invention Idea

Adria Laborda (Agence France-Presse) (The Jakarta Post) PREMIUM Barcelona, Spain   ● Wed, August 10 2022 With Europe gripped by successive heat waves, climate-change deniers are spreading skepticism by publishing data on social media on extreme temperatures allegedly recorded decades ago to imply scientists are exaggerating global warming. But experts say the figures cited from the past are often incorrect or taken out of context -- and even if accurate do not change the fact that heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense. The posts typically include heat records from almanacs or newspaper reports from the past, arguing that they are similar to the record highs set during this year's heat waves in Europe. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription … [Read more...] about Climate deniers use past heat records to sow doubt online

Absconding politician Shrikant Tyagi was arrested Tuesday from Meerut, officials said, days after he was seen in a social media video abusing and assaulting a woman for objecting to his alleged illegal constructions at a housing society here. Tyagi was at large since Friday evening, and the Noida Police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on his arrest. Additional Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police (law and order) Prashant Kumar said in Lucknow Tyagi has been arrested. On the controversy surrounding security given to Tyagi by the Uttar Pradesh police, Kumar said he had no such protection after February 2020. A senior Noida police officer told PTI, "Tyagi's three associates were also held along with him." Before the arrests, Tyagi's wife was once again detained for questioning Tuesday morning in the case lodged at the Phase 2 police station here, according to officials. Tyagi, who was at large since Friday evening, had Monday moved a court in the Gautam Buddh Nagar … [Read more...] about Politician who abused, assaulted Noida woman arrested