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Sotheby’s Reports $71.2m Loss & “Substantial Doubt” About Continuing; Major June Sales Planned

Sotheby’s new leaders, who took the publicly traded company private, are understandably eager to reopen their New York saleroom for post-pandemic business. Having disclosed a $71.2-million net loss in its 2019 Annual Report (compared to net income of $108.6 million the previous year), the company could use a life-sustaining income infusion. – Lee Rosenbaum

US Patent Office Rules Artificial Intelligence Can’t Be Listed As Inventor

Among the USPTO’s arguments is the fact that US patent law repeatedly refers to inventors using humanlike terms such as “whoever” and pronouns like “himself” and “herself.” The group behind the applications had argued that the law’s references to an inventor as an “individual” could be applied to a machine, but the USPTO said this interpretation was too broad. – Verge

Roger Horchow, 91 – Mail Order Pioneer And Broadway Producer

Horchow was the first retailer to sell high-end goods by mail-order catalog — without first opening a bricks-and-mortar store on the street to establish its reputation with buyers. He was so successful, he sold his mail-order outfit to the store that had hired him and inspired him: Neiman Marcus. Then he went on to win a Tony Award producing his very first show, which became a world-wide success. And this was when only one out of every 22 Broadway shows ever made its money back. – Art & Seek (KERA)

Stunt Performers Still Have Few Protections Against Accidents And Little Recourse

Olivia Jackson was gravely injured on a Resident Evil set in South Africa in 2015. But who should pay?. “Jackson’s ordeal highlights the vulnerabilities of performers on sets, especially on international productions, where it can be challenging to recover damages for injuries. Although film and TV-related fatalities have declined since the 1980s and 1990s, the number of catastrophic injuries has increased in recent years as production has expanded globally.” – Los Angeles Times

The Writers Van Gogh Liked To Read Included Charles Dickens And Harriet Beecher Stowe

In the category of things some of us hadn’t thought enough about before this moment: “Vincent was an avid and multilingual reader, a man who could not do without books. In his brief life he devoured hundreds of them in four languages, spanning centuries of art and literature. Throughout his life, his reading habits reflected his various personae—art dealer, preacher, painter—and were informed by his desire to learn, discuss, and find his own way to be of service to humanity.” – LitHub

The Theatre Company In England Coordinating Emergency Food Deliveries And More

The theatre company Slung Low is used to thinking creatively, says its artistic director. This is just a bit different: “Constantly I’m on the phone doing deals. The other day, I swapped a load of tote bags that I got from the university for some face masks, which I split in half and swapped the other half for a lot of cream. It’s constant creative thinking, constant problem solving.” – BBC