text:
Home » News » Parenting » Parents Conflicted on Defining, Punishing Cyberbullying
Parents Conflicted on Defining, Punishing Cyberbullying
A new University of Michigan study finds that while many parents are concerned about cyberbullying, they may differ when it comes to actually defining it and determining appropriate punishments.
A social media prank intended to embarrass a classmate; spreading online rumors about peers; posting unflattering pictures of others — these may all be classified as cyberbullying. Or are they just normal digital teenage behavior? When does "mean" behavior by a teen cross the line to become cyberbullying? And, what should the consequences be?
Researchers polled a national sample of parents of teens aged 13-17, and asked the parents for their views on hypothetical situations.
The results may come as a surprise.
For example, a social media campaign to elect a student for homecoming court as a prank? Definitely cyberbullying, 63 percent say. Posting online rumors that a student had sex at school? The majority again, nearly two-thirds, say there's no question that's cyberbullying.
However, less than half of parents say sharing a photo altered to make a classmate appear fatter or posting online rumors that a student was caught cheating on a test were definitely cyberbullying. In nearly all cases, mothers were also more likely than fathers to label actions as cyberbullying.
"We know that parents are concerned about the harms of cyberbullying, but we wanted to learn if there was a consensus among parents about what actually constitutes cyberbullying," said lead researcher Sarah J. Clark, M.P.H.
"What we found is that parents differ a lot when it comes to defining cyberbullying."
Between 30-50 percent of parents are unsure whether the four hypothetical scenarios are cyberbullying, but less than five percent say they definitely are not.
Opinions about consequences were also mixed. Parents recommended the most severe punishments for posting online rumors about a student having sex in school. While 21 percent of parents felt referral to law enforcement was an appropriate punishment for a sex rumor, only five percent say spreading rumors about academic cheating should be reported to police.
"Not only are parents unsure about which actions should be considered cyberbullying. They also don't agree on penalties," Clark says. "Depending on the content of online rumors for example, parents recommended punishment ranging from making the student apologize to reporting the student to police."
"Growing recognition of the dangers of bullying has prompted calls for tougher laws and school sanctions, but our poll shows the huge challenge in establishing clear definitions and punishments for cyberbullying. Schools should consider these differing opinions, to avoid criminalizing teen behavior that is hard to define and enforce consistently."
Source: University of Michigan
Nauert PhD, R. (2018). Parents Conflicted on Defining, Punishing Cyberbullying. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 22, 2020, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2015/09/23/parents-conflicted-on-cyberbullying/92614.html
Last updated: 8 Aug 2018 (Originally: 23 Sep 2015)


text:
IP Dashboard Login
Trademark Searching
Competitive Monitoring
Managed Docketing
Solve your IP problems
Small Entity
04 Apr Small Entity
Posted at 20:22h in IP News & Strategy	by	Bryan Jerutis 0 Comments
Small entity status became law through Public Law 97-247, when the USPTO increased patent fees and allowed small businesses a discount. Congress authorized the Small Business Act (SBA) to define the small entity entitled to get the discount. In establishing reduced fees for persons, small business concerns, and nonprofit organizations, the Congressional consideration of the legislation which became Public Law 97-247 indicated an intent that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rely exclusively on a self-certification that a patent applicant qualifies as an independent inventor (now person), small business concern, or nonprofit organization. In addition, it was also stated during Congressional consideration of the legislation that no additional resources would be required to administer the system whereby fees would be reduced for small entities.
Under 35 U.S.C. 41(h)(1), fees charged under 35 U.S.C. 41(a), (b) and (d)(1) shall be reduced by 50 percent with respect to their application to any small business concern as defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act, and to any independent inventor or nonprofit organization as defined in regulations issued by the Director.
Effective March 19, 2013, the availability of the small entity discount was extended to certain other fees not contained in 35 U.S.C. 41(a), (b), or (d)(1), but which are included among fees "for filing, searching, examining, issuing, appealing, and maintaining patent applications and patents."[1] Effective January 1, 2014, the small entity discount also became available to "filing, searching, [and] examining" fees for international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Note that if applicant qualifies as a small entity under 37 CFR 1.27, applicant may also qualify for "Micro Entity Status" under 35 U.S.C. 123[2].
I. What is a small entity?
The following entities are qualified as "small entity" for the purpose of discounted USPTO fees. A small entity means any party (person, small business concern,or nonprofit organization) under paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(3) of § 1.27[3]:
1. Person[4]
Per 37 CFR 1.27(a)(1), a person means any inventor or other individual (e.g., an individual to whom an inventor has transferred some rights in the invention), who has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, and is under no obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights in the invention. An inventor or other individual who has transferred some rights, or is under an obligation to transfer some rights in the invention to one or more parties, can also qualify for small entity status if all the parties who have had rights in the invention transferred to them also qualify for small entity status either as a person, small business concern, or nonprofit organization[5].
2. Small Business Concern[6]
A small business concern under 37 CFR 1.27(a)(2) means any business concern:
i) Has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, and is under no obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights in the invention to any person, concern, or organization which would not qualify for small entity status as a person, small business or nonprofit organization.
ii) Meet the standards set forth in 13 CFR 121.801 through 121.805. Questions relating to standards for a small business concern may be directed to:
Small Business Administration, Office of Size Standards, 409 Third Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20416, (202)205-6618, E-mail: sizestandards@sba.gov
A concern eligible for reduced patent fees is one (13 CFR 121.802):
(a) Whose number of employees, including affiliates, does not exceed 500 persons; and
(b) Which has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed (and is under no obligation to do so) any rights in the invention to any person who made it and could not be classified as an independent inventor, or to any concern which would not qualify as a non-profit organization or a small business concern under this section[7].
Per the regulations of the SBA, total employees of a business include all of the "employees" who worked for your business or its "affiliates" at any time during the previous 12 months.
3. Nonprofit Organizations[8]
Per 37 CFR 1.27(a)(3), a nonprofit organization means any organization that has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, and is under no obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights in the invention to any person, concern, or organization which would not qualify as a person, small business concern, or a nonprofit organization, and is either:
a) a university or other institution of higher education located in any country (per 35 U.S.C. 201(i)[9], the term university or other institution of higher education means an educational institution which admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate; b) is legally authorized within the jurisdiction in which it operates to provide a program of education beyond secondary education, c) provides an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree or provides not less than a 2-year program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree, d) is a public or other nonprofit institution, and e) is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association, or if not so accredited, is an institution that has been granted preaccreditation status by such agency or association that has been recognized by the Secretary for the granting of preaccreditation status, and the Secretary has determined that there is satisfactory assurance that the institution will meet the accreditation standards of such an agency or association within a reasonable time. Institutions which are strictly research facilities, manufacturing facilities, service organizations, etc., are not intended to be included within the term "other institution of higher education" even though such institutions may perform an educational function or publish the results of their work.
Nonprofit organizations also include organizations of the type described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and which are exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(a). Organizations described in 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) include corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation (limited exceptions may apply under 26 U.S.C. 501(h)) and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
4. Rights Held By Government Organizations
Also, although the Federal government agencies do not qualify as nonprofit organizations for paying reduced fees under the rules, a license to a Federal agency resulting from a funding agreement with the agency pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 202(c)(4) will not preclude the proper claiming of small entity status. Furthermore, a license to the Government resulting from a rights determination under Executive Order 10096 does not constitute a license so as to prohibit claiming small entity status by a person under 37 CFR 1.27(a)(1).
5. Location of Small Entity[10]
Small entities may claim reduced fees regardless of the country in which they are located. There is no restriction requiring that the person, small business concern, or nonprofit organization be located in the United States. The same definitions apply to all applicants equally in accordance with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
6. Rights in the Invention and Transfer of Rights[11]
The "rights in the invention" under 37 CFR 1.27(a)(1), (a)(2)(i), and (a)(3)(i) are the rights in the United States. Rights in the invention include the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States. Therefore, for example, status as a small entity is lost by an inventor who has transferred or has an obligation to transfer a shop right to an employer who could not qualify as a small entity.
a. CONVEYANCE
Individual inventors (37 CFR 1.27(a)(1)), small business concerns (37 CFR 1.27(a)(2)), and nonprofit organizations (37 CFR 1.27(a)(3)) can make an assignment, grant, conveyance, or license of partial rights in the invention to another individual(s), small business concern, or nonprofit organization who could qualify as a person (37 CFR 1.27(a)(1)), small business concern, or nonprofit organization. Under the circumstances described, the individual inventor, small business concern, or nonprofit organization could still qualify for small entity status. However, if the individual inventor, small business concern, or nonprofit organization assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, or came under an obligation to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights to the invention to any individual, small business concern, or nonprofit organization which would not qualify as a small entity (37 CFR 1.27(a)), then the inventor, small business concern, or nonprofit organization would no longer qualify for small entity status.
With regard to transfer of rights in the invention, the rights in question are those in the United States to be covered by an application or patent. Transfer of rights to a Japanese patent, for example, would not affect small entity status if no rights in the United States to a corresponding patent were likewise transferred.
The payment of reduced fees under 35 U.S.C. 41 is limited to those situations in which all of the rights in the invention are owned by small entities, i.e., persons, small business concerns, or nonprofit organizations. To do otherwise would be clearly contrary to the intended purpose of the legislation which contains no indication that fees are to be reduced in circumstances where rights are owned by non-small entities. For example, a non-small entity is not permitted to transfer patent rights to a small business concern which would pay the reduced fees and grant a license to the entity.
If rights transferred to a non-small entity are later returned to a small entity so that all rights are held by small entities, reduced fees may be claimed. The term "license" in the definitions includes nonexclusive as well as exclusive licenses and royalty free as well as royalty generating licenses. A grant of a non-exclusive license to a non-small entity will disqualify applicant from claiming small entity status[12].
b. IMPLIED LICENSES
Implied licenses to use and resell patented articles purchased from a small entity, however, will not preclude the proper claiming of small entity status. Likewise, an order by an applicant to a firm to build a prototype machine or product for the applicant's own use is not considered to constitute a license for purposes of the definitions.
c. SECURITY INTEREST
A security interest does not involve an obligation to transfer rights in the invention for the purposes of 37 CFR 1.27(a)(1) through (a)(3) unless the security interest is defaulted upon. See 37 CFR 1.27(a)(5). For example, an applicant or patentee may take out a loan from a large entity banking institution and the loan may be secured with rights in a patent application or patent of the applicant or patentee, respectively. The granting of such a security interest to the banking institution is not a currently enforceable obligation to assign, grant, convey, or license any rights in the invention to the banking institution. Only if the loan is defaulted upon will the security interest permit a transfer of rights in the application or patent to the banking institution. Thus, where the banking institution is a large entity, the applicant or patentee would not be prohibited from claiming small entity status merely because the banking institution has been granted a security interest, but if the loan is defaulted upon, there would be a loss of entitlement to small entity status. Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.27(g), notification of the loss of entitlement due to default on the terms of the security interest would need to be filed in the application or patent prior to paying, or at the time of paying, the earliest of the issue fee or any maintenance fee due after the date on which small entity status is no longer appropriate[13].
37 C.F.R. 1.28 Refunds when small entity status is later established; how errors in small entity status are excused.
(a) Refunds based on later establishment of small entity status. A refund pursuant to § 1.26, based on establishment of small entity status, of a portion of fees timely paid in full prior to establishing status as a small entity may only be obtained if an assertion under § 1.27(c) and a request for a refund of the excess amount are filed within three months of the date of the timely payment of the full fee. The three-month time period is not extendable under § 1.136. Status as a small entity is waived for any fee by the failure to establish the status prior to paying, at the time of paying, or within three months of the date of payment of, the full fee.
(b) Date of payment.
(1) The three-month period for requesting a refund, pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, starts on the date that a full fee has been paid;
(2) The date when a deficiency payment is paid in full determines the amount of deficiency that is due, pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.
d. THE EXHAUSTION DOCTRINE
The exhaustion doctrine, also referred to as the first sale doctrine, is a U.S. common law patent doctrine that limits the extent to which patent holders can control an individual article of a patented product after an authorized sale. Under the doctrine, once an unrestricted, authorized sale of a patented article occurs, the patent holder's exclusive rights to control the use and sale of that article are exhausted, and the purchaser is free to use or resell that article without further restraint from patent law. However, under current law, the patent owner retains the right to exclude purchasers of the articles from making the patented invention anew, unless it is specifically authorized by the patentee.[14] The exhaustion doctrine is triggered only by a sale authorized by the patent holder.
e. SHOP RIGHTS
A shop right is a right (either grounded in principles of estoppel or in the form of an implied license) that permits an employer to use without charge certain inventions of his or her employees without liability for infringement, a right that is nontransferable and extends only to the manufacture and use of the invention. According to the USPTO, such a nonwritten, limited, implied license results in disqualification.
II. How to Claim the Status?
An assertion of Small Entity status may be made when filing the application by checking the "Applicant claims small entity status" box on the transmittal form, or by paying the small entity fee exactly.
Any status changes must be filed in a written assertion of new status. In order to establish small entity status for the purpose of paying a maintenance fee, a written assertion of entitlement to small entity status must be filed prior to or with the maintenance fee paid as a small entity. A written assertion is only required to be filed once and will remain effective until changed[15].
Once established, Small Entity status continues until (a) a continuing application (continuation, division, CIP), (b) a reissue application, (c) the issue fee, or (d) any maintenance fee is required. A new determination of the eligibility for small entity treatment, as set forth in the Patent Rules at 37 CFR 1.27(f) and (g) has to be performed:
(f) Assertion requires a determination of entitlement to pay small entity fees. Prior to submitting an assertion of entitlement to small entity status in an application, including a related, continuing, or reissue application, a determination of such entitlement should be made pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section. It should be determined that all parties holding rights in the invention qualify for small entity status. …
(g) (1) New determination of entitlement to small entity status is needed when issue and maintenance fees are due. Once status as a small entity has been established in an application or patent, fees as a small entity may thereafter be paid in that application or patent without regard to a change in status until the issue fee is due or any maintenance fee is due.
(2) Notification of loss of entitlement to small entity status is required when issue and maintenance fees are due. Notification of a loss of entitlement to small entity status must be filed in the application or patent prior to paying, or at the time of paying, the earliest of the issue fee or any maintenance fee due after the date on which status as a small entity as defined in paragraph (a) of this section is no longer appropriate. The notification that small entity status is no longer appropriate must be signed by a party identified in § 1.33(b). Payment of a fee in other than the small entity amount is not sufficient notification that small entity status is no longer appropriate.
III. Federal Cases
a) Ulead Systems
In a recent case, Ulead Systems, Inc. v. Lex Computer & Management Corp., the Federal Circuit held an erroneous payment of small entity fees might be excused as long as the patentee is not guilty of inequitable conduct[16]. The court explained, "inequitable conduct" would render a patent unenforceable "when there is 'evidence of affirmative misrepresentations of a material fact, failure to disclose material information, or submission of false material information, coupled with an intent to deceive.'"[17]
b) DH Technologies
In DH Technology, Inc. v. Synergystex International, Inc., the patentee paid small entity fees during a time it was undisputed that its total number of employees exceeded 500[18]. The Federal Circuit explained that the "regulations permit correction of honest mistakes, but prevent attempts to fraudulently pay the small entity issue fee while maintaining an enforceable patent."[19]. The court emphasized the reasoning of the district court that "where there is the slightest doubt about an applicant's entitlement to claim small entity status, the applicant would be foolish not to pay the full issue fee."[20]. This alone seemed to raise doubt regarding the defendant's intent; an issue the lower court did not address[21]. The court remanded the case back to the district court to "assess whether [the patentee] acted in "good faith," i.e. whether [the patentee] fraudulently established status as a small entity or fraudulently paid the small entity issue fee."[22]
c) Cardiac Pacemakers
In Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. v. St. Jude Medical, Inc., 381 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2004), the Federal Circuit addressed the erroneous payment of small entity fees in the context of a patent term extension. Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. ("CPI") paid erroneous small entity fees for some 10 years, but later corrected its error before the PTO. Under 35 U.S.C. §41(c)(1) the Director of the PTO has the authority to accept the payment of a maintenance fee after the 6-month grace period provided under the regulation governing payment of maintenance fees. Such a payment acts like an on-time payment in that the patent is treated as if it never expired[23].
Further, in Nilssen, the district court found 11 patents unenforceable due, inter alia, to erroneous small entity payments[24]. In Lemelson Medical, the district court viewed a false verification of small entity status as material and found that the patent owner had the requisite intent to deceive[25]. In DaimlerChrysler, the district court found that there was substantial evidence that the patent owner was neither wholly dependent on his lawyers nor ignorant of the law surrounding patent prosecution, and suggested that his patent attorneys were more than merely negligent, although "would not impose the penalty of unenforceability since failure to pay appropriate fees does not directly relate to patentability[26]."
Normally, the USPTO will not question a claim to status as a small entity. Small entity status may be scrutinized when a small entity asserts a patent against an infringer for which a small entity fee was paid. If a small entity status was claimed improperly, the patent may be deemed unenforceable, if the court also finds that the claim was made with intent to deceive the USPTO[27]. 37 CFR 1.27(h) indicates that any attempt to fraudulently establish status as a small entity or pay fees as a small entity will be considered as a fraud practiced or attempted on the Office. Applicants should not rely on any oral advice inadvertently given by an Office employee as to entitlement to small entity status. In addition, improperly and with intent to deceive establishing status as a small entity or paying fees as a small entity will be considered as a fraud practiced or attempted on the Office[28].
Alleged infringers or grasshoppers scrutinize the small entity status, seeking to place the small business on the defensive with significant amounts of capital lost to litigation-related expenses to justify the modest savings in patent fees[29].
Therefore, it may be a good idea to forego the small entity discount, eliminating the cost of determining small entity status as well as future litigation costs. The USPTO advises: "For some applicants it may be desirable to file as a non-small entity (by not filing a written assertion of small entity status and by submitting non-small entity fees) rather than undertaking the appropriate investigations which may be both difficult and time-consuming and which may be cost effective only where several applications are involved"[30].
The intent of 37 CFR 1.27 is that the person making the assertion of entitlement to small entity status is the person in a position to know the facts about whether or not status as a small entity can be properly established. That person, thus, has a duty to investigate the circumstances surrounding entitlement to small entity status to the fullest extent. It is important to note that small entity status must not be claimed unless the person or persons can unequivocally make the required self-certification[31].
To avoid any potential invalidation of patents and for peace of mind, at least some U.S. practitioners recommend payment of fees as a large entity. It is estimated that approximately at least one quarter of small business concerns may have chosen to pay large entity fees, resulting in an approximate overpayment to the USPTO on the order of $10 million per year during that time period[32].
[1] as authorized by Public Law 112-29, sec. 10(b), 125 Stat. 284 (September 16, 2011)(Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA)).[2] See Micro Entity Update; 37 CFR 1.29 and MPEP § 509.04; http://www.uspto.gov/aia_implementation/fees.jsp#heading-2, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[3]http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2002-title37-vol1/pdf/CFR-2002-title37-vol1-sec1-27.pdf, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[4]http://businessmultiware.com/discountprovider_en/apply_to_usa/documents/0500_509_02.htm, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[5]http://www.bitlaw.com/source/37cfr/1_27.html, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[7] 47 Fed. Reg. 43272-73 (Sept. 30, 1982); 13 C.F.R. §§ 121.3-.18 (1982). And, at 37 C.F.R. § 1.9(d) (1982), the USPTO regulations defined a small business concern by explicit reference to the SBA regulations. See 47 Fed. Reg. 40139 (Sept. 10, 1982). Public Law 97-247, however, expired on October 1, 1985, ostensibly ending the opportunity for small entities to pay reduced fees. See S. Rep. No. 99-305, at 13 (1986), reprinted in 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5884, 5896. Congress resurrected the opportunity by enacting Public Law 99-607 § 1(b)(2)—codified as 35 U.S.C. § 41(h). 35 U.S.C. § 41(h) continued to allow (and retroactively allowed) the USPTO to accept lower fees payments from small entities. Pub. L. 99-607, 100 Stat. 3470 (1986); Pub. L. 97-247, 96 Stat. 317; S. Rep. No. 99-305, at 13.
[9]http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/201, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[10]http://businessmultiware.com/discountprovider_en/apply_to_usa/documents/0500_509_02.htm, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[12] See Ulead Systems, Inc. v. Lex Computer & Management Corp., 351 F.3d 1139, 1142, 69 USPQ2d 1097, 1099 (Fed. Cir. 2003).
[13] See MPEP § 509.03, subsection VII. Removal of Status.
[14] See, e.g., Monsanto Co. v. Scruggs, 459 F.3d 1328, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (holding the patent exhaustion doctrine inapplicable in self-replicating seed case in part because the second generation of seeds were never sold). See also Aro Mfg. Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co., 365 U.S. 336 (1961); Morgan Envelope Co. v. Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Co., 152 U.S. 425 (1894); Cotton-Tie Co. v. Simmons, 106 U.S. 89 (1882); Husky Injection Molding Sys. v. R&D Tool & Eng'g Co., 291 F.3d 780 (Fed. Cir. 2002).
[15]http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2550.html, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[16] 351 F.3d 1139 (Fed. Cir. 2003).
[17] Id. (quoting Dayco Prods., Inc. v. Total Containment, Inc., 329 F.3d 1358, 1362 (Fed. Cir. 2003)). DH Technology, Inc. v. Synergystex International, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 1998).
[19] Id. at 1343
[23] Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. v. St. Jude Medical, Inc., 381 F.3d 1371 at 1386 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (citing 35 U.S.C.§41(c)(1) (2002)).
[24] Nilssen v. Osram Sylvania Inc., 440 F.Supp. 2d. 884 (N.D. Ill. 2006),
[25] Lemelson Medical, Educational & Research Foundation, Ltd. v. Intel Corp., 2002 WL 31323299 (D. Ariz. 2002)
[26] DaimlerChrysler AG v. Feuling Advanced Tech., Inc., 276 F.Supp. 2d 1054 (S.D. Cal. 2003)
[27] 37 C.F.R. § 1.27(h); Ulead Systems, Inc. v. Lex Computer & Management Corp., 351 F.3d 1139, 1146 (Fed. Cir. 2003); see also Nilssen v. Osram Sylvania, 504 F.3d 1223 (Fed. Cir. 2007).
[28]http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s509.html, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[29] See James Goepel, Small Businesses Aren't Always Small Entities at the USPTO, Intell. Prop. Today, May 2003, at 26.
[30] MPEP § 509.03 (8th ed., rev. 7, July 2008): http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s509.html, accessed on April 25, 2014.
[32] Sandell, Proposal to Remove Uncertainty from Claims of Small Entity Status before the USPTO by Correcting and Enhancing SBA and USPTO Regulations, Bloomberg Law Reports, January 19, 2010. http://www.finnegan.com/resources/articles/articlesdetail.aspx?news=b809646f-4dd1-4a3b-ab98-0746dd95812a, accessed on April 25, 2014.
IP News & Strategy
Copyright © 2021 Cardinal Intellectual Property, Inc. All rights reserved.
*Cardinal is not a law firm, does not practice law, and provides no legal opinions.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
October 15, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment
Lapakahi State Historical Park
Lapakahi ("single ridge") State Historical Park is the archaeological site of the remains of a traditional Hawaiian fishing community. It was believed to have been inhabited about 600-700-years ago (1300s.)
Lapakahi was a place of the maka'āinana, the fishermen and farmers. They worked to sustain the resources and support their families.
The rolling hills and gulches sheltered this cove from the strong Kohala wind. The sea was rich in food and the soil nurtured their crops. Black stone walls and thatched roofs soon appeared on the landscape.
As the village prospered, the families moved inland to grow their crops of kalo (taro) and 'uala (sweet potato). Families along the shore (makai) traded fish for kalo from the uplands (mauka).
Pa'akai ("salt from the sea" – for seasoning and preservative for food) was taken mauka while olonā plants were brought makai to make nets and fishing line. A trail curbed with stones connected mauka and makai and the people of Lapakahi travelled this trail exchanging the resources of the land and sea.
Parts of this former village have been partially restored but most of the rocky walls and remains are original. Today, this 265-acre State Park is the site of an ancient Hawaiian settlement located along the shoreline of the North Kohala coastline.
A self-guided tour takes visitors over marked trails (with a free guide brochure) and leads them through several acres of this historic village.
Highlighted sites include house sites and a canoe halau (long house); runs through a game area where visitors can try spear throwing, 'ulu maika (disc rolling) and konane (checkers); and leads to a fishing shrine and salt pans along the rocky shoreline.
Lava stone walls formed the lower portion of the homes and shelters built here. Wooden poles supported the pili grass roofs and walls. Trees, bushes, grass and rocks were all used as food sources or utensils for building, cooking or fishing.
In 1979, the nearshore waters were added to the Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD) system under DLNR. Within Koaiʻe Cove are two small beaches consisting of coral rubble (there is no sand beach). The cove provides the easiest access to the water.
The nearshore bottom is mostly boulders and lava fingers with some coral. The cove's northern portion has some good coral growth close to shore, but coral and fish are most abundant in the southern portion. Considerable marine life is also found around the outcropping of rocks to the right of the cove's center.
There is a remarkable diversity of fish species within the MLCD, as nearly all nearshore species typical of the North Kohala coast are represented. During the winter, humpback whales are frequently spotted just offshore.
Near the entrance to the park is an educational display of implements used by the ancient villagers. Pick up the guide brochure and take the self-guided tour through the marked trails at your convenience.
The Park is located on the northwestern coast of Hawaiʻi; Lapakahi is about 12 miles north of Kawaihae. Take Hwy 270 north from Kawaihae to Lapakahi State Historical Park. The park entrance is on the left side of the highway, and marked with a sign. Parking is available at the end of the road. (Lots of information here from DLNR.)
Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn
Follow Peter T Young on Blogger
Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Kohala, Lapakahi, North Kohala


ATLANTA (AP) - Quincy Jones says he has co-created the music version of Rosetta Stone.
The 79-year-old composer-producer launched a new music education application Tuesday called Playground Sessions, which teaches users how to play the piano. He said the app will help children and adults learn how to read music and understand the mechanics of piano playing.
There's "such a need for this," Jones said in an interview last week. "The concept is brand-new. I have been praying for this for a long time. It has a learning concept similar to Rosetta Stone. I'm blown away by this."
Playground Sessions is a musical app with real-time feedback and video tutorials from pianist David Sides. It features about 70 popular songs.


text:
HomeReportsHuman Rights Reports...Custom Report - 261d50a23f
Killings: Iraq Body Count, an independent NGO that records civilian deaths in the country, reported 848 civilians killed during the year due to internal conflict, a drop from 2,392 civilian deaths reported during the preceding year. An IHCHR commissioner attributed the drop in deaths to reduced protest activity during the year, as well as to COVID-19 lockdowns.
Despite its territorial defeat in 2017, ISIS remained a major perpetrator of abuses and atrocities. The remaining fighters operated out of sleeper cells and strike teams that carried out sniper attacks, ambushes, kidnappings, and assassinations against security forces and community leaders. These abuses were particularly evident in Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salah al-Din provinces. Salah al-Din provincial operations commander Saad Muhammed told local media on July 25 that an ISIS group attacked the house of a village leader, Khudair Abbas al-Samarrai, and killed him along with five of his immediate family members.
Abductions: There were frequent reports of enforced disappearances by or on behalf of government forces, including the ISF and PMF, as well as non-PMF militias and criminal groups.
A UNAMI report released in August on enforced disappearances in Anbar Province called for independent and effective investigations to establish the fate of approximately 1,000 civilian men and boys who disappeared during military operations against ISIS in Anbar during 2015-16. The report highlighted a list of 300 names, compiled by the IHCHR, of persons allegedly kidnapped from al-Sejar, al-Saqlawia, and al-Razzazah in 2016. Despite this list's being shared with Iraqi government officials, as of August the IHCHR had not received any information about these individuals, and the Iraqi government had not added the names to their databases of known missing persons.
The KRG Office for Rescuing Kidnapped Yezidis on September 2 stated that 2,880 (1,304 females and 1,576 males) of the 6,417 Yezidis kidnapped by ISIS in 2014 remained missing. The report indicated ISIS attacks on Yezidi communities had resulted in 310,000 Yezidi IDPs, forced more than 100,000 to flee Iraq, and left 2,745 children as orphans. The statement noted that in Sinjar 83 mass graves had been discovered, in addition to dozens of individual gravesites, and that 68 holy shrines and temples were destroyed. The report noted that referenced statistics did not reflect additional human casualties or the vast material losses in residential and agricultural land, residences, businesses, livestock, cars, and other property.
Other minority populations were also victims of gross human rights violations committed by ISIS forces. A Shabak member of parliament reported that 233 Shabak men women and children had been kidnapped by ISIS and their whereabouts remained unknown. Ali Hussein, of Iraqi Turkmen Front, reported approximately 1,200 Turkmen had been kidnapped, including 446 women. Hussein estimated that 800 of the 1,200 were killed, while the rest remained missing. The KRG Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs estimated the total number of Christians killed by ISIS at 303, with another 150 missing. According to the KRG Ministry of Peshmerga, more than 45 Peshmerga taken prisoner during the fighting with ISIS remained missing.
Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture: Reports from international human rights groups stated that government forces, including Federal Police, National Security Service, PMF, and Asayish, abused prisoners and detainees, particularly Sunni Arabs.
The Iraqi War Documentation Center (IWDC) released a statement in July stating that in June and July approximately 207 civilians were reportedly detained, mostly Sunnis accused of ISIS affiliation, by ISF and PMF units, from the Salah al-Din, Ninewa, Diyala, and Baghdad belt areas, including at least 10 women and three children. The IWDC added that one of these detainees, Ahmed Hadi al-Dulaimi, from Tarmiyah district north of Baghdad, died on July 6 while in PMF custody and that his body showed signs of torture.
Child Soldiers: There were no reports that the central government's Ministry of Defense conscripted or recruited children to serve in the security services. The government and Shia religious leaders expressly prohibited children younger than 18 from serving in combat.
In previous years ISIS was known to recruit and use children in combat and support functions. Due in part to ISIS' territorial defeat, little information was available on its use of children in the country during the year.
In June the UN Security Council published a report on children and armed conflict, in which the UN secretary-general commended the government for its continuing discussion with the United Nations on developing an action plan to prevent the recruitment and use of children by the Popular Mobilization Forces and noted that no new cases of recruitment and use by those forces were documented during the year.
See also the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/ .
Other Conflict-related Abuse: Conflict disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of persons throughout the country, particularly in Baghdad, Anbar, and Ninewa provinces.
Government forces, including the ISF and PMF, established or maintained roadblocks that reportedly impeded the flow of humanitarian assistance to communities in need, particularly in disputed territories such as Sinjar, Ninewa Province. Media outlets circulated a video of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on a UN World Food Program (WFP) vehicle in Ninewa on August 26. The Saraya Awliyaa al-Dam militia declared responsibility for the attack. A WFP worker was reportedly injured by the blast in Bartalla district between Erbil and Ninewa.
ISIS reportedly targeted religious celebrations and places of worship, civilian infrastructure, including several attacks on electricity and water infrastructure in Kirkuk and other provinces. ISIS leadership characterized the attacks as "continuous operations to drain through attrition the Iraqi army, Iraqi police, and Peshmerga."
On August 22, ISIS militants reportedly carried out an IED attack against a Shia holy site during an Ashura religious procession in Dujail, located in southern Salah al-Din Province. The resulting clashes between ISIS and government forces responding to the attack resulted in 13 fatalities and three injuries among Iraqi Federal Police and Saraya al-Salam militiamen, as well as seven civilians wounded.
On August 25, the Iraqi Security Media Cell reported that ISIS terrorists opened fire on a police station in the Daquq area of the Kirkuk highway with four reported deaths and four wounded.
In 2017 the UN Security Council, in cooperation with the government, established the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL (UNITAD) with a goal to bring justice and accountability to individuals who committed, or participated in, mass atrocities and serve as a deterrent to further gross violations of human rights. The investigative team–which was tasked with collecting, preserving, and storing evidence of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed by ISIS–formally began its work in 2018. In March 2019 UNITAD launched its first exhumation at the Yezidi village of Kocho, in Ninewa Province's Sinjar district. COVID and security issues delayed much of UNITAD's work during the year, but in October a new exhumation was launched at the Solagh Institute in Ninewa, where elderly Yezidi women deemed too old to be sold by ISIS into sexual slavery were executed and buried. In November, UNITAD also announced planned exhumations in Zagroytiya village just south of the Mosul airport, where dozens of Sunni male law enforcement personnel were killed, and Mosul's Badoush Prison, where hundreds of Shia inmates were executed.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix, an estimated 1.3 million persons remained internally displaced, with more than 250,000 residing in camps and an additional 44,000 in informal settlements, predominantly in Erbil, Duhok, and Ninewa provinces. According to IOM, more than 100,000 IDPs lived in critical shelters, including unsafe and abandoned buildings, religious buildings, and schools. Nearly five million persons returned to areas of origin across the country since liberation from ISIS.
The constitution and national policy on displacement address IDP rights, but few laws specifically do so. The government and international organizations, including UN agencies and local and international NGOs, provided protection and other assistance to IDPs. Humanitarian actors continued to provide support for formal IDP camps and implemented community-based services for IDPs residing outside of camps to limit strain on host community resources.
In some areas violence, insecurity, and long-standing political, tribal, and ethnosectarian tensions hampered progress on national reconciliation and political reform, complicating the protection environment for IDPs. Thousands of families faced secondary displacement due to economic and security concerns. Forced displacements strained the capacity of local authorities in areas with higher concentrations of IDPs. Families returning to their place of origin faced a lack of shelter, access to services, and livelihood opportunities. Displaced families, especially those with perceived ties to ISIS, were often unable to obtain or replace vital civil status documents, without which they were not able to work, go to school, or move about freely.
Government assistance focused on financial grants to returnees, but payments were sporadic and there was a large backlog in responding to applications. Faced with large movements of IDPs across the country, the government provided food, water, and financial assistance to some but not all IDPs, including in the IKR. Many IDPs lived in informal settlements without access to adequate water, sanitation, or other essential services.
All citizens were eligible to receive food under the Public Distribution System (PDS), but authorities implemented the PDS sporadically and irregularly, with limited access in areas that were among the last to be liberated. Authorities did not distribute all commodities each month, and not all IDPs could access the PDS in each province. Low oil prices reduced government revenues and further limited funds available for the PDS. There were reports of IDPs losing access and entitlement to PDS distributions and other services due to requirements that citizens could redeem PDS rations or other services only at their registered place of residence.
Local authorities often determined whether IDPs would have access to local services. KRG officials asserted that all IDPs and refugees in the Kurdistan Region benefited from access to public services and infrastructure (such as drinking water, electricity, education, health care, roads, and irrigation system) on an equal basis with the local population, which they stated was a reflection of the KRG's commitment to safeguard fundamental human rights and human dignity under pressing circumstances.
To support humanitarian standards and serve displaced populations, KRG officials reported they had allocated land for construction of camps; contributed to the construction of camps and connecting camps to power grids and local infrastructure; introduced civil administration in the camps and provided security services; reinforced technical and legal services to combat sexual and gender-based violence in and outside the camps; opened additional shifts at local schools to make schooling in Arabic available to displaced children (58 percent of refugees' children and 91 percent of IDPs children were enrolled in formal and informal education); facilitated reunification of children with their families; granted access for all IDPs and refugees to public health services, including mobilizing emergency mobile clinics and medical teams; introduced simplified procedures for free movement of humanitarian personnel; introduced exemption from customs duty and mechanisms to fast-track customs clearance for humanitarian supplies; and publicly called on local communities and all sections of society to welcome and assist IDPs as their guests.
The KRG was host to almost two million IDPs, including a large percentage of Christian, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, and other ethnic and religious groups from the Ninewa Plain. Despite the dire economic situation and security difficulties that occurred in the region, KRG officials reported they focused on preserving the rights of these minorities as a top priority.
Households with perceived ties to ISIS faced stigma and were at increased risk of being deprived of their basic rights. Government officials frequently denied security clearances for displaced households with perceived ISIS affiliation to return to areas of origin. Because of this perceived affiliation, these households faced problems obtaining civil documentation and had limited freedom of movement, including the ability to seek medical treatment, due to the risk of arrest or inability to reenter the camps where they resided. Humanitarian organizations reported that women heads of household in multiple IDP camps struggled to obtain permission to move and were subject to verbal and physical harassment, including rape, sexual assault, and exploitation, by government forces and camp residents.
IKR-based NGOs documented numerous cases of women, who, forced to marry ISIS fighters, subsequently became widows with children but lacked marriage and birth certificates required to obtain legal documentation for these children. These women and children were stigmatized because of their association with ISIS, leaving them at heightened risk of suicide, retaliation, and sexual exploitation. Although some communities issued edicts and took steps to absolve women of perceived guilt associated with their sexual exploitation by ISIS fighters, honor killings remained a risk. Communities generally did not accept children born to ISIS fighters. NGO partners reported that some Yezidi community representatives pressured women to abandon their children or place them in orphanages as a condition for being accepted back into the Yezidi community.
In October the minister of displacement and migration announced a new three-phase plan to close all of the country's IDP camps and immediately launched a series of sudden camp closures in Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Karbala, Kirkuk, and Ninewa provinces, affecting more than a thousand families. By late November the ministry had closed 11 displacement sites–eight formal IDP camps and three informal sites–across federal Iraq, affecting more than 25,000 IDPs. These closures were not coordinated with relevant local authorities or with humanitarian actors, not all IDPs were able or willing to return to their place of origin, and there were reports that up to 50 percent of IDPs could end up in secondary displacement as a consequence. IDP camp managers and NGOs reported government officials did not always give IDPs at closed camps the choice of where to proceed, resulting in involuntary, unsafe, and undignified returns and movements.
There were numerous reports that IDPs, particularly those suspected of ISIS affiliation, faced hostility from local government officials and populations, as well as expulsion when they attempted to return to areas of origin. In liberated areas of Anbar, Duhok, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salah al-Din provinces, humanitarian agencies reported movement restrictions for families with relatives suspected of ISIS affiliation. An Interior Ministry official estimated the number of those with perceived ISIS affiliation at 250,000. Tribal leaders and humanitarian actors reported that fabricated accusations of ISIS affiliation led to the stigmatization of IDPs, particularly those living in camps, who were being isolated and whose movements in and out of camps were increasingly restricted. Following IDP camp closures starting in October, many IDPs with perceived ISIS affiliation reported being rejected by local communities in areas of return, forcing them either to return to their former camps or to proceed elsewhere. Tribal pacts called for punishing false accusations of ISIS affiliation, but they also prohibited legal defense for those affiliated with ISIS. IDPs were also often the targets of stigmatization or discrimination because of familial rivalries or economic reasons, rather than affiliation with ISIS.
Many Christian IDPs refused to return to the town of Tal Kayf, citing fear of the PMF 50th Brigade that occupied it and the presence of the Tesferat detention center and court, which the International Committee of the Red Cross reported could hold women and minors suspected of being ISIS family members. Prior to 2002, there were between 800,000 and 1.4 million Christians in the region, but that figure had reportedly fallen to below 150,000. Only a very small number of the country's population of 400,000 to 500,000 Yezidis had returned to their homes. Many chose to stay in camps, saying a lack of a reconstruction plans or public services, as well as insecurity, had discouraged them from returning home. In June, however, Yezidis began returning to the Sinjar district in Ninewa Province for a variety of reasons, including fear of COVID-19 in camp settings, and as of late October more than 30,000 had returned.
In October the Iraqi government and the KRG signed a comprehensive agreement that called for a new mayor and administrative committees to oversee Sinjar district, a local security force consisting of Yezidis, removal of PKK and PMF militias, and expanded reconstruction efforts to support voluntary returns of Yezidis still displaced in the IKR and abroad.
Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes rape and sexual assault of women, men, and children, but not specifically spousal rape, and permits a sentence not exceeding 15 years, or life imprisonment if the victim dies. The rape provisions of the law do not define, clarify, or otherwise describe "consent," leaving the term up to judicial interpretation. The law requires authorities to drop a rape case if the perpetrator marries the victim, with a provision protecting against divorce within the first three years of marriage. The victim's family sometimes agreed to this arrangement to avoid the social stigma attached to rape. There were no reliable estimates of the incidence of rape or information on the effectiveness of government enforcement of the law.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, UNAMI reported a significant increase in the reports of rape, domestic violence, spousal abuse, immolation and self-immolation, self-inflicted injuries due to spousal abuse, sexual harassment of minors, and suicide due to increased household tensions because of COVID lockdowns, as well as economic hardship due to the country's declining economy.
Although the constitution prohibits "all forms of violence and abuse in the family," the law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence but stipulates that men may discipline their wives and children "within certain limits prescribed by law or by custom." The law provides reduced sentences for violence or killing if the perpetrator had "honorable motives" or if the perpetrator caught his wife or female relative in the act of adultery or sex outside of marriage. Domestic violence remained a pervasive problem.
Harassment of legal personnel who sought to pursue domestic violence cases under laws criminalizing assault, as well as a lack of trained police and judicial personnel, further hampered efforts to prosecute perpetrators.
The government and KRG also struggled to address the physical and mental trauma endured by women who lived under ISIS rule. Al-Monitor wrote in May that 10 percent of Yezidis living in the Sharya IDP camp were considering suicide. A mental health activity manager for Doctors without Borders told Voice of America in October that between April and August, her organization received 30 reports of individuals who attempted suicide.
The Ministry of Interior maintained 16 family protection units under police authority, located in separate buildings at police stations around the country, designed to resolve domestic disputes and establish safe refuges for victims of sexual or gender-based violence. These units reportedly tended to prioritize family reconciliation over victim protection and lacked the capacity to support victims. NGOs stated that victims of domestic violence feared approaching the family protection units because they suspected that police would inform their families of their testimony. Some tribal leaders in the south reportedly banned their members from seeking redress through police family protection units, claiming domestic abuse was a family matter. The family protection units in most locations did not operate shelters.
KRG law criminalizes domestic violence, including physical and psychological abuse, threats of violence, and spousal rape. The KRG implemented the provisions of the law and maintained a special police force to investigate cases of gender-based violence and a family reconciliation committee within the judicial system, but local NGOs reported these programs were not effective at combating gender-based violence.
In the IKR, two privately operated shelters and four KRG Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs-operated shelters provided some protection and assistance for female victims of gender-based violence and human trafficking. Space was limited, and NGOs reported psychological and therapeutic services were poor. NGOs played a key role in providing services, including legal aid, to victims of domestic violence, who often received no assistance from the government. Instead of using legal remedies, authorities frequently mediated between women and their families so that the women could return to their homes. Other than marrying or returning to their families, which often resulted in further victimization by the family or community, there were few options for women accommodated at shelters.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): NGOs and the KRG reported the practice of FGM/C persisted in the IKR, particularly in rural areas of Erbil, Sulaymaniya, and Kirkuk provinces, despite a ban on the practice in IKR law. Rates of FGM/C, however, reportedly continued to decline. NGOs attributed the reduction in FGM/C to the criminalization of the practice and sustained public outreach activities by civil society groups. FGM/C was not common outside the IKR.
Other Harmful Traditional Practices: The law permitted "honor" as a lawful defense in violence against women, and so-called honor killings remained a serious problem throughout the country. A provision of the law limits a sentence for conviction of murder to a maximum of three years in prison if a man is on trial for killing his wife or a female dependent due to suspicion that the victim was committing adultery or engaged in sex outside of marriage. UNAMI reported that several hundred women died each year from honor killings. Some families reportedly arranged honor killings to appear as suicides.
In September, two young women were found dead near the town of Chamechamal, Sulaymaniya, after allegedly being killed by their father. NGOs and activists issued a statement urging IKR authorities to pursue justice for the victims who were thought to be murdered due to their father's disapproval of their dating outside of marriage.
The KRG Ministry of Interior's Directorate General of Combating Violence against Women confirmed three cases of honor killing among 26 female homicide victims in the IKR as of September. A UN source, however, observed the number of actual honor killings was likely much higher.
There were reports that women and girls were sexually exploited through so-called temporary, or pleasure, marriages, under which a man gives the family of the girl or woman dowry money in exchange for permission to "marry" her for a specified period. Young women, widowed or orphaned by ISIS offensives, were especially vulnerable to this type of exploitation. In similar cases NGOs reported some families opted to marry off their underage daughters in exchange for dowry money, believing the marriage was genuine, only to have the girl returned to them months later, sometimes pregnant.
Government officials and international and local NGOs also reported that the traditional practice of nahwa, where a cousin, uncle, or other male relative of any woman may forbid or terminate her marriage to someone outside the family, remained a problem, particularly in southern provinces. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani called for an end to nahwas and fasliya (where women are traded to settle tribal disputes), but these traditions continued, especially in areas where tribal influence outweighed government institutions.
Sexual Harassment: The law prohibits sexual harassment, including in the workplace. Penalties for sexual harassment include fines of up to only 30 dinars (2.5 cents), imprisonment, or both, not to exceed three months for a first-time offender. The law provides relief from penalties if unmarried participants marry. No information was available regarding the effectiveness of government enforcement, but penalties were very low. In most areas there were few or no publicly provided women's shelters, information, support hotlines, and little or no sensitivity training for police. Refugees and IDPs reported regular sexual harassment, both in camps and cities.
Women political candidates suffered harassment online and on social media, including posting of fake, nude, or salacious photographs and videos meant to harm their campaigns.
Reproductive Rights: Couples have the right to decide the number, timing, and spacing of their children, as well as have access to information on reproductive health, free from violence. Various methods of contraception were widely available, including in the IKR; however, women in urban areas generally had greater access than those in rural parts of the country. A married woman could not be prescribed or use contraception without the consent of her husband. Unmarried single women were also unable to obtain birth control. Divorced or widowed women, however, did not have this same restriction. Abortion is prohibited; however, a 2020 law in the IKR allows for abortion if the pregnancy endangers the mother's life. In addition to consent from the mother and her husband, a committee with at least five physician must determine if the pregnancy poses a serious threat to her life.
Due to general insecurity in the country and attendant economic difficulties, many women received inadequate medical care. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that in some governorates the work of reproductive health and pregnancy care units, as well as health awareness campaigns, had ceased almost entirely because of COVID-19's impact on the health-care system.
In the IKR the KRG Ministry of Health reported that survivors of sexual violence received treatment from provincial health departments and emergency rooms. Judges, however, rarely considered forensic evidence that was collected. The government stated it provided full services for survivors of sexual violence and rape in all governorates, as the law requires that survivors receive full health care and treatment. Emergency contraceptives were available as part of the clinical management of rape through government services and in private clinics, although advocates who worked with survivors reported many barriers to women accessing those contraceptives, as well as significant gaps in service delivery.
Coercion in Population Control: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.
Discrimination: The Council of Ministers' Iraqi Women Empowerment Directorate is the lead government body on women's issues. Although the constitution provides for equality between men and women, the law does not provide for the same legal status and rights for women as for men. Criminal, family, religious, personal status, labor, and inheritance laws discriminate against women. Women experienced discrimination in such areas as marriage, divorce, child custody, employment, pay, owning or managing businesses or property, education, the judicial process, and housing.
For example, in a court of law, a woman's testimony is worth half that of a man in some cases and is equal in other cases. The law generally permits women to initiate divorce proceedings against their spouses, but the law does not entitle a divorced woman to alimony other than child support or two years' financial maintenance in some cases; in other cases the woman must return all or part of her dowry or otherwise pay a sum of money to the husband. Under the law the father is the guardian of the children, but a divorced mother may be granted custody of her children until age 10, extendable by a court up to age 15, at which time the children may choose with which parent they wish to live.
All recognized religious groups have their own personal status courts responsible for handling marriage, divorce, and inheritance issues. Discrimination toward women on personal status issues varies depending on the religious group. The government's interpretation of sharia is the basis of inheritance law for all citizens except recognized religious minorities. In all communities male heirs must provide financial support to female relatives who inherit less. If they do not, women have the right to sue.
The law provides women and men equal rights in owning or managing land or other property, but cultural and religious norms impeded women's property rights, especially in rural areas.
Law and custom generally do not respect freedom of movement for women. For example, the law prevents a woman from applying for a passport without the consent of her male guardian or a legal representative (see section 2.d.). Women could not obtain the Civil Status Identification Document, required for access to public services, food assistance, health care, employment, education, and housing, without the consent of a male relative.
NGOs also reported cases in which courts changed the registration of Yezidi women to Muslim against their will because of their forced marriage to ISIS fighters.
The KRG provided some additional legal protections to women, maintaining a High Council of Women's Affairs and a Women's Rights Monitoring Board to enforce the law and prevent and respond to discrimination, but such protections were applied inconsistently. Other portions of KRG law continued to mirror federal law, and women faced discrimination. KRG law allows women to set as a prenuptial condition the right to divorce her husband beyond the limited circumstances allowed by Iraqi law and provides a divorced wife up to five years' alimony beyond child care.
Birth Registration: The constitution states that anyone born to at least one citizen parent is a citizen. Failure to register births resulted in the denial of public services such as education, food, and health care. Single women and widows often had problems registering their children, although in most cases authorities provided birth certificates after registration of the birth through the Ministries of Health and Interior; such registration was reportedly a lengthy and at times complicated process. The government was generally committed to children's rights and welfare, although it denied benefits to noncitizen children. Humanitarian organizations reported a widespread problem of children born to members of ISIS or in ISIS-held territory failing to receive a government-issued birth certificate. An estimated 45,000 displaced children living in camps lacked civil documentation, including birth certificates, and the issue also affected many IDPs living outside of IDP camps.
Education: Primary education is compulsory for citizen children for the first six years of schooling and until age 15 in the IKR; it is provided without cost to citizens. Equal access to education for girls remained a problem, particularly in rural and insecure areas. Recent, reliable statistics on enrollment, attendance, or completion were not available.
Schools continued to be closed from February onward, putting more than 10 million students out of school. UNICEF supported the Ministry of Education to broadcast lessons through education television and digital platforms. Children's access to alternative learning platforms via the internet and television, however, was hindered by limited connectivity and availability of digital devices, as well as lack of electricity. Moreover, the Ministry for Directorates of Education had not issued directives for guiding the delivery of distance learning.
Child Abuse: Although the constitution prohibits "all forms of violence and abuse in the family," the law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence but stipulates that men may discipline their wives and children "within certain limits prescribed by law or by custom." The law provides protections for children who were victims of domestic violence or were in shelters, state houses, and orphanages, including access to health care and education. Violence against children reportedly remained a significant problem, but up-to-date, reliable statistics on the extent of the problem were not available. Local NGOs reported the government made little progress in implementing its 2017 National Child Protection Policy.
UNICEF reported that during the year, at least 1.64 million children, half of them girls, were estimated to need at least one type of protective service. UNICEF and its implementing partners continued to deliver psychosocial support; case management and specialized protection services for children, including birth registration; civil documentation and legal assistance; and capacity development of national partners. UNICEF also worked with Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and NGO partners in establishing referral mechanism and alternative care arrangements for children affected by COVID-19. They purchased and distributed personal protective equipment kits for 2,511 children in detention centers and children's homes, while continuing to advocate for the release of children from prison. A total of 440 children were released from detention since the start of the pandemic. The Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting verified 24 grave violations, affecting 23 children, compared with 16 verified grave violations affecting 16 children in the previous quarter.
KRG law criminalizes domestic violence, including physical and psychological abuse and threats of violence. The KRG implemented the provisions of the law, but local NGOs reported these programs were not effective at combating child abuse. The KRG's Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs, Education, and Culture and Youth operated a toll-free hotline to report violations against, or seek advice regarding, children's rights. Multiple reports of child abuse surfaced during the year. Activists reported sexual abuse and assault by relatives was widespread and that some victims did not report crimes due to fear of retribution by family members.
Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age of marriage is 18, but the law allows a judge to permit children as young as 15 to marry if fitness and physical capacity are established and the guardian does not present a reasonable objection. The law criminalizes forced marriage but does not automatically void forced marriages that have been consummated. The government reportedly made few efforts to enforce the law. Traditional early and forced marriages of girls, including temporary marriages, occurred throughout the country. UNHCR reported the continued prevalence of early marriage due to conflict and economic instability, as many families arranged for girls to marry cousins or into polygamous households. Others gave their daughters as child brides to armed groups as a means to ensure their safety, access to public services in occupied territories, or livelihood opportunities for the entire family.
In the IKR the legal minimum age of marriage is 18, but KRG law allows a judge to permit a child as young as 16 to marry if the individual is entering into the marriage voluntarily and has received permission from a legal guardian. KRG law criminalizes forced marriage and suspends, but it does not automatically void, forced marriages that have been consummated. According to the KRG High Council of Women's Affairs, refugees and IDPs in the IKR engaged in child marriage and polygamy at a higher rate than IKR residents. Some Kurdish men crossed over into federal Iraqi territory to acquire a child bride since those laws are not as strict.
The KRG assigned police and officials from the office to combat domestic violence to deter parents from forcing their children into marriages and to conduct awareness campaigns to combat sexual violence.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibits commercial sexual exploitation, sale, offering or procuring for prostitution, and practices related to child pornography. Child prostitution was a problem, as were temporary marriages, particularly among the IDP population. Because the age of legal criminal responsibility is nine in the areas administered by the central government and 11 in the IKR, authorities often treated sexually exploited children as criminals instead of victims. Penalties for commercial exploitation of children range from fines and imprisonment to the death penalty. No information was available regarding the effectiveness of government enforcement.
Displaced Children: Insecurity and active conflict between government forces and ISIS caused the continued displacement of large numbers of children. Abuses by government forces, particularly certain PMF groups, contributed to displacement. Due to the conflict in Syria, children and single mothers from Syria took refuge in the IKR. UNICEF reported that almost one-half of IDPs were children.
International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State's Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html .


Although African art history goes back 26000 years, the better known artwork to most people started in the nineteenth century. African artist and their work caught the eye of the Western artists, scholars, and collectors during this period because Europeans started collecting many of the artworks from the areas of the world that they desired to colonize. The most famous African art in Europe and the United States today are linked to the campaigns of imperial nations that defeated most regions in Africa.
For example, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City collected more than 49 metric tons of materials (not only artworks, but also flora and fauna specimens) in the beginning of the twentieth century.
Although the United States did not colonize Africa, this sort of large scale plundering shows colonial belief that viewed the cultural and natural resources of Africa as gullible.
Colonial attitudes also described and analyzed African art.
Of course a lot of the racism and misunderstanding of the colonial era has been replaced by more educated attitudes. Intellectuals working in Africa, Europe and the United States are still trying very hard to purify and estimate the study of African art because it was so strongly influenced by the colonial moment.