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Chris Morten

@cmorten.bsky.social
2.7K followers 564 following 381 posts

Associate professor of law at @nyulaw.bsky.social‬. Director of the Science, Health & Information Clinic (SHIC). He/him. chrismorten.com

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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
RSVP and more details here: www.eventbrite.com/e/pharma-mon...
eventbrite.com
Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines
Tahir Amin discusses his new book on how to change the pharmaceutical industry for the better.
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Event at @nyulaw.bsky.social @nyuengelberg.org with @tahiramin.bsky.social & @reshmagar.bsky.social! Monday, October 19, 6 pm! We'll discuss Tahir's new book, Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines, co-authored with Rohit Malpani. Free! Open to all! Join us!
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LPE Blog @lpeblog.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today, Marc Shkurovich explains why every US politician running on single-payer or universal healthcare should also be talking about public pharma.
lpeproject.org
The Time for Public Pharma is Now
To make medicines more affordable, policymakers are increasingly turning to price controls and out-of-pocket caps. These measures, while lowering costs, leave decisions about which drugs to…
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Tahir Amin @tahiramin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I’ll be discussing my co-authored book Pharma Monopoly on Oct 19 at NYU with @cmorten.bsky.social and @reshmagar.bsky.social. The event is free and open to all with RSVP. Please join us! www.eventbrite.com/e/pharma-mon...
eventbrite.com
Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines
Tahir Amin discusses his new book on how to change the pharmaceutical industry for the better.
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Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge @imakglobal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
NYC! Our CEO @tahiramin.bsky.social will be discussing his new book, Pharma Monopoly, with NYU Associate Professor of Law @cmorten.bsky.social and Yale Professor of Medicine @reshmagar.bsky.social on October 19. RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/pharma-mon...
eventbrite.com
Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines
Tahir Amin discusses his new book on how to change the pharmaceutical industry for the better.
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NYU Engelberg Center @nyuengelberg.org · 28/09/2026
Feel that tingling? That's because the first of these exciting pharma law events is TODAY! "Public Pharma, Public Power: Taking Back Control of the Medicine Supply" At @thenewschool.bsky.social kicks off at 5:30. It is not too late to register: event.newschool.edu/publicpharma...
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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
yes my bull went rogue in your china shop but I think we can all agree there’s no liability here it’s an agentic being
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
More information and RSVP to the Oct 19 event here: eventbrite.com/e/pharma-mon... Hope to see many of you at both these events! 4/4
eventbrite.com
Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines
Tahir Amin discusses his new book on how to change the pharmaceutical industry for the better.
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Mon, Oct 19, I'll moderate a discussion w @tahiramin.bsky.social of his new book w Rohit Malpani! "Pharma Monopoly: The Battle for the Future of Medicines" That one at @nyulaw.bsky.social, hosted by @nyuengelberg.org. She's not yet on the poster, but @reshmagar.bsky.social will join our convo! 3/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
More information and RSVP for the Sep 28 event here: event.newschool.edu/publicpharma... 2/
event.newschool.edu
Public Pharma, Public Power: Taking Back Control of the Medicine Supply
Access to affordable medicine is a human right. Yet across the United States, drug prices remain out of reach for millions,  with the heaviest burdens falling on Black, Latino, Indigenous, and other c...
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
2 exciting pharma law events coming up! First up, Mon, Sep 28: "Public Pharma, Public Power: Taking Back Control of the Medicine Supply" At @thenewschool.bsky.social, w speakers from T1International & the Health & Political Economy Project at the Institute for Race, Power & Political Economy. 1/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I'm excited to be part of this conference at @georgetownlaw.bsky.social next week! On the future of big tech regulation. Please join us if you're in DC! www.law.georgetown.edu/tech-institu...
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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 10/08/2026
thinking about what one trillion dollars of investment in clean energy would look like and getting so mad i need to lie down with the lights off
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
...meaning SCOTUS may weigh in on what it takes to take a trade secret, for the first time in 40+ years. Because so much can be painted as a trade secret, and because regulation requires gathering, using & disseminating technical & financial info, these appeals matter enormously. Stay tuned! 20/20
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
This case will remain one to watch, as will a very similar legal challenge that PhRMA (the pharma lobby) is pressing against Oregon's drug price transparency law. PhRMA has a cert petition pending, and SCOTUS just called for the views of the Solicitor General... 19 www.scotusblog.com/cases/phrma-...
scotusblog.com
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. O’Day (25-1018)
Supreme Court case (25-1018) — tracked on SCOTUSblog.
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
... Kathy Strandburg, @dtraficonte.bsky.social, Sean Tu, Deepa Varadarajan, and Liza Vertinsky. Grateful to them all! 18/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Our brief was shaped and joined by a terrific group of IP scholars: Mike Carrier, Bernard Chao, @jcontreras.bsky.social, Laura Dolbow, Rochelle Dreyfuss, Charles Duan, Kat Geddes, Yaniv Heled, Cynthia Ho, @akesselheim.bsky.social, Shweta Kumar, Tim Murphy, Sharon Sandeen, Josh Sarnoff, ... 17/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
For more, please see our brief! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... 16/
papers.ssrn.com
Amici Curiae Brief of Intellectual Property Scholars in Support of Appellee in <i>xAI v. Bonta</i>, No. 26-1591 (9th Cir.)
Amici curiae are scholars of intellectual property. Amici have no personal interest in the outcome of this litigation but share a professional interest in seein
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
In the final section of our Argument, we warn the Ninth Circuit that adopting xAI's view of takings law could have harmful consequences for transparency & regulatory law broadly, and consequently for public health & safety. Cautious state regulators may simply stop regulating and communicating. 15/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
State governments and other government actors can promise to keep private trade secrets secret and, if they later breach that promise, create takings liability. But absent such a promise, government actors may disturb trade secrets without necessarily "taking" them—so Monsanto held! 14/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Our brief also presents a bit of IP theory: Contra xAI, trade secrets are fundamentally different from real estate and other tangible property. Inter alia, they are not generally "good against the world" but instead good only against misappropriators—and lawful regulation ≠ misappropriation. 13/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The Ninth Circuit may simply affirm on the basis that xAI hasn't proven the existence of any trade secrets in the high-level summaries disclosed by California's Act—a fine basis on which to affirm! But we wanted to remind the Ninth Circuit what Monsanto actually held and help it avoid missteps. 12/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
xAI's view of takings law is inconsistent with the key precedent—the Supreme Court's 1984 decision in Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto, which held that a regulatory takings test should apply—and would wreak havoc on tech transparency and regulation. Thus we felt moved to assist the Ninth Circuit! 11/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
In its appeal, xAI disputes not just whether the Act disturbs trade secrets but what the proper legal test is. This is, to me, the really dangerous bit—xAI argues that a per se test should apply, such that any regulation that interferes with a trade secret automatically effects a taking. 10/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
California's Training Data Transparency Act was carefully written to require only high-level summaries of genAI developer's training data. The district court correctly held that xAI hasn't shown that any information affected contains actual trade secrets. 9/ storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction – #35 in X.AI LLC v. Rob Bonta (C.D. Cal., 2:25-cv-12295) – CourtListener.com
MINUTES (IN CHAMBERS) by Judge Jesus G. Bernal: Order: (1) DENYING Plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. No. 22) 22 . SEE DOCUMENT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. (twdb) (Entered: 03/05/2026)
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Just this past fall, clinic students & I filed an amicus brief with professors of law, medicine & public health, defending the FDA from a challenge by Vanda Pharmaceuticals, alleging the agency "took" trade secrets when it approved competitors' products. 8/ storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
#25 in Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. United States (Fed. Cir., 25-1434) – CourtListener.com
MODIFIED ENTRY: AMICUS BRIEF FILED by Professors of Law, Medicine, and Public Health. Service: 10/06/2025 by email. [1119293]--[Edited 10/09/2025 by GWK - Reason: compliance review complete] [Christop...
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
I've documented the phenomenon of companies challenging—and sometimes thwarting—transparency mandates and regulatory action as takings of trade secret. Often these exaggerate the relevant takings doctrine and never prove the existence of a bona fide trade secret. 7/ papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Publicizing Corporate Secrets
Federal regulatory agencies in the United States hold a treasure trove of valuable information essential to a functional society. Yet little of this immense and
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Science, Health & Information Clinic colleagues Kendra Neumann (NYU JD ’27), Patrick K. Lin (deputy director and co-teacher of the clinic), and I decided to focus on the takings issue. I've been alarmed by increasingly aggressive weaponization of takings claims against tech regulation. 6/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Both the 1A and takings challenges are critically important. A coalition of 1A experts, including @knightcolumbia.org, Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology, and @revealnews.org filed briefs explaining why California's transparency mandate comports with 1A. 5/ www.caidp.org/cases/traini...
caidp.org
Training Data Transparency (AB 2013)
CAIDP, IASEAI, and AI experts file amicus brief in support of California Training Data Transparency law (AB 2013) (July 21, 2026) [Press Release]
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
xAI sought a preliminary injunction, which the district court denied. xAI now appeals to the Ninth Circuit. 4/ www.courtlistener.com/docket/72518...
courtlistener.com
X.AI LLC v. Bonta, 26-1591 - CourtListener.com
Docket for X.AI LLC v. Bonta, 26-1591 — Brought to you by Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating high quality open legal information.
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
OpenAI and Anthropic have begun, haltingly, complying with the Act, while xAI has sued to enjoin the Act. xAI argues both that the transparency mandate works compelled speech prohibited by the First Amendment and that it takes trade secrets protected by the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. 3/
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
xAI (developer of Grok, everyone's favorite AI tool) is challenging AB2013, California's Training Data Transparency Act. The Act requires GenAI developers to reveal some information about where they gather training data. www.caidp.org/cases/traini... 2/
caidp.org
Training Data Transparency (AB 2013)
CAIDP, IASEAI, and AI experts file amicus brief in support of California Training Data Transparency law (AB 2013) (July 21, 2026) [Press Release]
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
New from me & the Science, Health & Information Clinic at @nyulaw.bsky.social: Amicus brief of Intellectual Property Scholars in xAI v. Bonta, No. 26-1591 (9th Cir.) A major appeal with consequences not just for AI transparency but all of tech & regulation Quick 🧵! 1/ papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Amici Curiae Brief of Intellectual Property Scholars in Support of Appellee in <i>xAI v. Bonta</i>, No. 26-1591 (9th Cir.)
Amici curiae are scholars of intellectual property. Amici have no personal interest in the outcome of this litigation but share a professional interest in seein
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Hannah BW @hbwhbwhbw.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
both the clientele and our cashier at zabar’s complimented my hat. thanks @salome.bsky.social and @cmorten.bsky.social
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 10/06/2026
Just announced: OpenAI plans to lease a 9.2 gigawatt 100% fossil-fuelled data centre on Ohio. Its emissions will be between 20 - 37 MTCO2-e - somewhere between the total grid emissions of France -> Netherlands As much GHGs as 9.5 average coal plants. Will raise US total emissions by 0.5%
OpenAI in talks to lease 10GW data center from SB Energy in Ohio
Data center project on federal land in the state

June 10, 2026 By Georgia Butler  Have your say
OpenAI is in discussions regarding leasing a proposed 10GW data center being developed by SB Energy in Ohio.

The data center project in question is on federal land - owned by the US Department of Energy - at the Portsmouth Site in Pike County, Ohio.40
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46
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49
Israel
Netherlands
Qatar
Czechia
Singapore
Oman
Morocco
Chile
Serbia
France
40.45
34.22
32.67
30.31
29.9
28.77
26.54
25.62
25.48
23.6210M
gas-fueled cars driven
for one year
185B
84B
kilometers driven by an
average gas-fueled car
27M
round-trip flights
from JFK to LAX for
a single business
class passenger
51M
round-trip flights
from JFK to LAX for
a single economy
class passenger
Golden Gate Bridges
of steel produced
370M
kilograms of beef
cups of average
strength coffee
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SCOTUSblog @scotusblog.com · 04/06/2026
The first opinion of the morning is in Hikma Pharmaceuticals v. Amarin Pharma. A unanimous court holds that Amarin, a drug maker, has failed to state a claim for active infringement of its patent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
supremecourt.gov
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
A horrifying new Ebola outbreak is underway. There's no approved vaccine for the new strain causing the outbreak. @sariahmed.bsky.social @mattherder.bsky.social Janice Graham & I published a paper last year on the history of J&J's Ebola vaccine—and why it divested in 2023 from new vaccine research.
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karim @sariahmed.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Our work on the political economy of adenoviral vectors is among few papers connecting the financialization of drug development to the scientific history of ebola. Important context for thinking critically about which players are on the scene responding to the current outbreak. @cmorten.bsky.social
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Community forum on Thursday morning now with eight (8!) candidates for NY12 now confirmed! Join @prep4allnow.bsky.social, @nyuengelberg.org & me for a discussion of the future of HIV care & prevention! Free and open to all! At @lgbtcenternyc.bsky.social!
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
The event will take place in person at The LGBT Community Center (@lgbtcenternyc.bsky.social)! Registration link: www.eventbrite.com/e/community-...
eventbrite.com
Community Forum on HIV Care & Prevention
Exploring options for expanding PrEP access and strengthening prevention infrastructure.
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Upcoming event with @nyuengelberg.org! Community Forum on HIV Care & Prevention with candidates for NY12! Join me, @prep4allnow.bsky.social's Jeremiah Johnson & candidates for a conversation on protecting and expanding PrEP access and strengthening HIV infrastructure. Thursday May 14 10 am-noon!
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Stay tuned for updates!
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Link to news coverage from @statnews.com @pharmalot.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20...
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Link to @prep4allnow.bsky.social's press release: prep4all.org/prep4all-fil...
prep4all.org
PREP4ALL FILES FEDERAL LAWSUIT DEMANDING RELEASE OF SECRET HIV PREVENTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN U.S. GOVERNMENT AND GILEAD
For media inquiries, contact Michael Chancley, Communications and Mobilization Manager at michael@prep4all.org. WASHINGTON, D.C. – TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2026 – PrEP4All…
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Link to our complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Chris Morten @cmorten.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
🚨 New from the Science, Health & Information Clinic at @nyulaw.bsky.social! 🚨 New FOIA suit on behalf of @prep4allnow.bsky.social! We uncovered the existence of a previously secret M-CRADA between Gilead & NIH, which could govern lenacapavir R&D. We're suing to get it!
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LPE Blog @lpeblog.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Today, Patrick Lin explains how surveillance pricing is making it easier for corporations to exploit consumers, how states are starting to push back against these practices, and why those efforts are running into First Amendment challenges.
lpeproject.org
Surveillance Pricing: Exploiting Information Asymmetries
For over a century, fixed prices have made markets more transparent. Surveillance pricing threatens to reverse that progress by allowing corporations to secretly tailor prices using personal data.
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Luke Herrine @lookheron.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
OK the fact that this was published at @lpeblog.bsky.social clarifies that I need to finally finish that article on why theoretical foundations of price discrim arguments are all messed up. Consumer surplus and info asymmetry are just free floating concepts here! lpeproject.org/blog/surveil...
lpeproject.org
Surveillance Pricing: Exploiting Information Asymmetries
For over a century, fixed prices have made markets more transparent. Surveillance pricing threatens to reverse that progress by allowing corporations to secretly tailor prices using personal data.
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Emanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
after much deliberation and giving AI the benefit of the doubt, Wikipedia editors have had enough of AI slop. New policy bans LLM generated content, periodt www.404media.co/wikipedia-ba...
404media.co
Wikipedia Bans AI-Generated Content
“In recent months, more and more administrative reports centered on LLM-related issues, and editors were being overwhelmed.”
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Melissa Barber @mbarber.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Today, MSF is going public with something we've been fighting behind closed doors for months: Gilead will not sell us their new HIV drug, lenacapavir. The sticking point isn't even price, they just refuse to sell. Open letter linked + explainer 🧵1/ www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gilea...
doctorswithoutborders.org
Gilead refuses to sell groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to MSF
Blocking humanitarian organizations from accessing a medical breakthrough puts vulnerable people across the world in danger.
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