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Canon wins lawsuit against eBay sellers accused of peddling counterfeit batteries

18 Jan

Canon USA has announced a successful lawsuit against two eBay sellers who were allegedly peddling counterfeit ‘Canon’ batteries. The camera company had filed a complaint against the defendants in October 2019, claiming the sellers were using its trademarks and that doing so could ‘mislead the public as to the source and authenticity’ of the products, potentially to their peril.

The legal victory took place on December 12, 2019, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. According to Canon, the defendants in the case were barred from ‘infringing and counterfeiting the valuable Canon trademarks.’ The sellers will also be required to pay Canon a ‘significant amount of money,’ according to the camera company.

Below is a copy of the court documents, obtained by PetaPixel:

Counterfeit batteries put both the operator and their camera at risk, Canon explains on its website. These products may be poorly made and prone to overheating; they may also offer lackluster performance when compared to the real thing, resulting in frequent recharging and shorter lifetimes. Signs of a counterfeit battery include lack of an anti-hologram sticker on the bottom, modifications to the company’s logo and an inability to communicate with the camera.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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B&H Photo accused of dodging millions in taxes in newly filed lawsuit

16 Nov

A newly filed lawsuit by the State of New York accuses electronics retailer B&H Foto & Electronics Corp of alleged tax fraud. The lawsuit, which was recently published on the New York Attorney General’s website, claims that B&H ‘intentionally underpaid sales tax on millions of dollars in receipts from its sales of cameras and other consumer electronics.’

The lawsuit claims that B&H failed to pay approximately $ 7 million in sales taxes on reimbursements it received from manufacturers on products sold with instant rebates to consumers. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that when a customer would purchase an item with an instant rebate through B&H, and the manufacturer of the camera gear would subsequently reimburse B&H for the difference, B&H didn’t pay taxes on that reimbursement money, which would be considered income. This ‘arrangement,’ the lawsuit alleges, took place for 13 years and was brought to the state’s attention by a whistleblower.

The lawsuit likewise claims:

B&H knew that it should have been paying the tax. B&H has repeatedly and explicitly acknowledged—internally, to outside vendors, and to a competitor—that under New York tax law, it owed sales tax on these reimbursements … And, even after B&H learned that the State was investigating it for failing to pay the sales taxes due on these reimbursements, B&H continued to underreport its sales taxes while simultaneously admitting to others that it knew the sales tax was, indeed, due.

The lawsuit goes into great detailed about alleged communications within B&H that reportedly prove the company knew that it was supposed to pay taxes on instant rebate reimbursements. In a statement to The Verge, however, B&H said that it ‘has done nothing wrong,’ and that the New York AG has ‘decided to attack’ a local company while ‘leaving the national online and retail behemoths unchallenged.’

New York is seeking repayment of the back taxes, interest, penalties, and damages related to the alleged tax fraud.

We have contacted B&H with a request to comment on the lawsuit and allegations; we will update this article accordingly if we receive a response.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Instagram removes ad partner accused of harvesting huge trove of data on users

13 Aug

More than a year after Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook-owned Instagram has banned one of its vetted advertising partners, HYP3R, after it was allegedly caught scraping a huge amount of data on users. The claim comes from Business Insider, which published a report last week alleging that HYP3R was saving Instagram Stories and harvesting posts from public location pages to track users.

HYP3R is a location-based marketing platform, according to the firm’s website. Business Insider claims it spoke to ‘multiple former’ HYP3R employees on the company’s practices in addition to reviewing public documents and marketing materials. Though the amount of data the company allegedly scraped from Instagram remains unclear, sources told BI that ‘more than 90%’ of the company’s data on ’hundreds of millions of the highest value consumers in the world’ came from the social media platform.

Among other things, the marketing company was accused of building a tool that enabled it to download and save Instagram Stories related to locations of interest.

An Instagram security issue that allowed users to view public location page posts without logging in made HYP3R’s alleged data harvesting possible, the report claims. Among other things, the marketing company was accused of building a tool that enabled it to download and save Instagram Stories related to locations of interest.

As a consequence of this alleged action, BI claims that HYP3R was able to ‘build up detailed profiles of huge numbers of people’s movements, their habits, and the businesses they frequent over time.’

Instagram reportedly sent HYP3R a cease-and-desist letter after learning about the marketing firm’s alleged actions, telling BI in a statement that the ‘actions were not sanctioned and violate our policies.’ In addition to removing the advertiser from its platform, Instagram said, ‘We’ve also made a product change that should help prevent other companies from scraping public location pages in this way.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Man accused of flying drone over NFL football games charged

02 Jun

On Wednesday, authorities announced that a man had been officially charged on May 14th with violating two separate Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) areas during NFL football matches. Sacramento resident Tracy Michael Mapes, 56, is accused of flying his drone over a San Francisco 49ers game at Levi’s Stadium and dropping anti-media leaflets into the crowd on November 26, 2017. He is also accused of the same violation during a Raiders game at Oakland Stadium later that day.

Knowingly violating a TFR can result in serious legal and financial consequences. In this case, Mapes could face up to a year in prison and a $ 100,000 fine if convicted. TFRs are used by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to restrict aircraft operations within designated areas. The restrictions help facilitate national security measures. Natural disasters, presidential and other high-ranking official visits, and professional sporting events that are typically congested with people warrant TFRs.

Mapes has not publicly commented on the matter. According to police, his drone released leaflets containing content about free speech and personal views on television being corrupt. Most of the leaflets didn’t make it into the stadium or crowd at the 49ers game, due to high winds and rain. No one was injured.

Surveillance cameras were able to identify the operator and record his license plate number as he drove away from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Detectives alerted their counterparts in Oakland ahead of the Raiders game. Mapes released leaflets into Oakland Coliseum and, once again, no one was affected. Officers located his vehicle as he was leaving, cited him with misdemeanor charges, and released him.

Checking a service such as SkyVector is highly recommended before embarking on a drone flight. Flying in any TFR can result in severe consequences.

TFRs begin several hours before the start of a professional game or other major event and continue for hours after it concludes. It is important for remote pilots to check Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) or SkyVector before embarking on a flight. Some prefer to use an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) application such as Kittyhawk, Skyward, or AirMap.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Nikon Asia accused of sexism over D850 promotion that featured 32 men and 0 women

15 Sep

32 photographers featured… all of the men.

Nikon Asia is taking some serious heat today after a Nikon D850 promotion featuring 32 photographers caught the eye of the blog Fstoppers. The issue with this so-called “awe-inspiring” promotion? It featured 32 men, and 0 women, a realization that has led to wide-spread criticism of the promotion and of Nikon as a whole.

The original article didn’t hold back, claiming that “Nikon thinks [the D850] is too much for women to handle,” since the company didn’t select a single woman photographer for this particular promotion. Responses online were equally harsh, with some users asking Nikon when the female version of the D850 would come out… and if it would be pink:

“Or is the D850 in fact for men only and @Nikon plans to release a pink and sparkly D850w for women to use?” @vinson83 @fstoppers #diversity https://t.co/u7xy2cIaBe

— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) September 14, 2017

Others implied they would be taking their business elsewhere:

Hey @CanonUKandIE let’s talk. Clearly women aren’t good enough for Nikon ???? https://t.co/La1tE734PT

— Jennifer McCord (@jrcmccord) September 13, 2017

The controversy has gotten so much attention online, in fact, that CNN Money picked up the story.

For its part Nikon Asia did respond on Twitter, thanking users for “challenging us to do more” to support its female photographers. According to that statement, Nikon Asia did invite women to be part of the promotion (no word on how many) but none were able to participate. Here is the full statement:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We really appreciate the support from our photography community. pic.twitter.com/e78qp4Q08a

— Nikon Asia (@NikonAsia) September 13, 2017

All in all, it’s been a very bad 24 hours for Nikon. But inflammatory as the original story is and obviously unacceptable as this all-male promotion was, it’s worth pointing out that this doesn’t seem to reflect Nikon’s philosophy as a brand, and particularly not Nikon USA.

The D850 has been promoted like mad, and one of the main photographers spreading the word around the United States is Dixie Dixon. When we reached out to Nikon for comment on this story, the company was adamant about its support for all photographers, sending us the following statement just a few minutes ago:

At Nikon, we champion all passionate photographers. Women are an integral part of the photography community and we are dedicated to celebrating any talented storyteller and their work. We appreciate you raising this concern and we will continue to support the immense creative talent of female photographers in the US and globally.

Nikon—and more specifically Nikon Asia—certainly made a big mistake with this promotion. And given the attention this story has gotten (and will continue to get) it’s safe to say they’ll never host an all-male event or promotion again, nor should they. But to say “Nikon thinks [the D850] is too much for women to handle” is a stomach-churning extrapolation to make… albeit a very click-y one.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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‘Death Ray’ Skyscraper Stands Accused of Blowing People Over

28 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

walkie talkie construction progress

Already infamous for its curved facade that ignited fires in adjacent buildings and melted nearby cars basking in its reflected sunlight, the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in London is now being blamed for toppling signs, overturning food carts and even knocking passers-by off their feet. Dubbed ‘Walkie Scorchie’ as well as the ‘Death Ray’ during its last public debacle, critics may need a new name for this building more suited to its fresh source of infamy.

wind tunnel heat

Local business owners, employees and residents have reported a dramatic increase in downdraughts since the completion of the 36-story downtown structure, suggesting its completion coincides with an upsurge of urban wind tunnel effects on surrounding streets.

skyscraper london downtown

A worker at a local retail outlet told The Times: “It has only really been windy since the Walkie Talkie has been here. When they were building it and there were the building works going on, it was fine. But ever since they’ve completed it, the wind really picked up.”

Walkie Talkie rips

A temporary screen erected at street level, eventually replaced with permanent shades hung from its concave side, solved the previous heat-generating problems tied to light reflection; it is unclear if something analogous can be done to address current wind-related concerns. For now, local food trolleys have been instructed to carry warning signs indicating they could tumble over and crush customers or pedestrians, a very incomplete and unsatisfactory solution for all potentially impacted parties.

urban curved building

Meanwhile, officials suggest there will be stricter reviews for new construction. According to Gwyn Richards, the City of London Corporation’s head of design, “The wind outcome at street level experienced post-construction on a number of projects differs somewhat to the conditions we were expecting from the one outlined in the planning application wind assessments. This is why we are asking for an independent verification of the wind studies on a number of new schemes to ensure as rigorous and resilient an approach as possible.” (images via Matt Brown and Duncan H).