Idea Lawyer Blog

TEST Build Your LEGO MASTERPIECE

And the url (reachable via a link in the above article) for the Mac
download. The program's apparently from Lego itself, and v. 2.0 just
released a few days ago:

LDD

The Nose Knows!
Patented Scent!?

A light hearted article in the Boston Globe about Shame virally spread on the Internet as a creative punishment for intellectual property theft. Sadly, even though the article is aimed at new attorneys and law students, it could be a bit more definite about US history. It is a nice bit of US law to note the US Consitution was the first to provide any protection - limited monopolies- for intellectual property. I suppose a link or two would make me happy, instead of a sort of glib skimming around of celebrity IP problems, like Madonna leaving Warner.
Thanks to some Bookgroup Another Saturday afternoon on the Internet (with Access to some terrific libraries) in 2004, here is a nice arrangement of the correspondance between Jefferson and Madison. Madison penned the Constitution while Jefferson was in France.
Jefferson to Madison dated July 31, 1788 (before the Constitution was fully Ratified and during the drafting of the Bill of Rights)
"I sincerely rejoice at the acceptance of our new constitution by nine states. It is a good canvas, on which some strokes only want re-touching. What these are, I think are sufficiently manifested by the general voice from North to South, which calls for a bill of rights. It seems pretty generally understood that this should go to juries, habeas corpus, standing armies, printing, religion and monopolies. I conceive there may be difficulty in finding general modification of these suited to the habits of all the states. But if such cannot be found then it is better to establish trials by jury, the right of Habeas corpus, freedom of the press and freedom of religion in all cases, and to abolish standing armies in time of peace, and monopolies, in all cases, than not to do it in any... The saying there shall be no monopolies lessens the incitements to ingenuity, which is spurred on by the hope of a monopoly for a limited time, as of 14 years; but the benefit even of limited monopolies is too doubtful to be opposed to that of their general suppression."

Madison's response to Jefferson dated October 17, 1788 :

"With regard to monopolies they are justly classed among the greatest nuisances in government. But is it clear that as encouragements to literary works and ingenious discoveries, they are not too valuable to be wholly renounced? Would it not suffice to reserve in all cases a right to the public to abolish the privilege at a price to be specified in the grant of it? Is there not also infinitely less danger of this abuse in our governments than in most others? Monopolies are sacrifices of the many to the few. Where the power is in the few it is natural for them to sacrifice the many to their own partialities and corruptions. Where the power, as with us, is in the many not in the few, the danger can not be very great that the few will be thus favored. It is much more to be dreaded that the few will be unnecessarily sacrificed to the many."

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Isaac McPherson, Monticello, August 13, 1813: even land requires governmental monopoly protection to secure to the land owner.

"It is agreed by those who have seriously considered the subject, that no individual has, of natural right, a separate property in an acre of land, for instance. By an universal law, indeed, whatever, whether fixed or movable, belongs to all men equally and in common, is the property for the moment of him who occupies it; but when he relinquishes the occupation, the property goes with it. Stable ownership is the gift of social law, and is given late in the progress of society."

California and Stanford spawn endless fun...just finished my 14 day free trial with Lumosity..check it out to see what keeps your brain pink and fresh...my personal observations:
a) the pressure of scoring detracts from the incentive to "just play"....
b) "birdwatching" is my favorite game, though my lowest BPI (don't worry, the DMV already knowns about my night driving ) and I learned about the critical aspects of depth perception years ago when I tried Track Racing .
c) the lasting impression from the cognitive speed type games is the power one can bring to bear to attend to some stimuli and suppress distractions....if you try the matching games, you may want to scream at the silly check mark showing a correct answer (which, I can only surmise, functions not as reinforcement but as an interrupt your concentration). It takes effort to select what you want to pay attention to.
How does this translate into the "real world" (the non game space :): again, to borrow from cycling, where you look is where you go, we used to say when trying to pass between two narrow posts: if you look at the post, you're likely to hit it (owww on the knuckles) : IF however, you look past the posts into the gap, you'll pass through unscathed and a happier rider...so, where you look is where you go....
now, I'm off to celebrate opportunities of the day ---!!!

Markey Bill on Net Neutrality
Rep. Charles "Chip" Pickering (R-Miss.), who has argued against Net neutrality regulations in the past, is now co-sponsoring the rewritten measure, which is being called the Internet Freedom Preservation Act.

Post-Writer's Strike comments re-hash the same old tune: there's gold in the new and different; Yes thanks so much for sharing...and those who are betting on the web for media, marketing and advertising (see www.mediapost.com) tout web based "content" as the SOURCE
MEDIAPOST editor writes:

The Big Media companies need to get over their obsession with their own series. They need to put their resources and brand muscle behind unconventional development online and on air. They need to stop relying on the 90/10 or 75/25 splits with online distributors of their existing content. It’s easy, but it’s not the future. As long as the network companies can collect $10 to $50 CPMs for advertising on their familiar programming streamed online, they won’t be motivated to engage in anything more enterprising than Hulu, Veoh, Joost and their own branded sites.

Bravo’s recent acquisition of the whimsical series “Television Without Pity” is a measured step in the direction of original creation. But it’s still too safe. Surely, dozens of new viable online showcases for incubating premium Internet talent and product (such as 60Frames, Channel 101, Funny or Die) will help Big Media find new ways to place financial bets on original fare. The strike has also encouraged venture capital and other funding sources to get behind new online homes–such as Visual Arts–for professional TV and film writers.

Vuguru’s “Prom Queen” has provided a skillful template for creating original, appealing short-form fare for a demographic wedded to their mobile phones and social networks. What about a witty video blog journal that captures daily commuting, grocery shopping, or chauffeuring kids, and blends grassroots and professional contributions?

First, condolences to the demographic "wedded to their mobile phone & social networks"...sounds like a digital gulag.... Second...talk to Oprah about that...or maybe Ellen....but wait, they don't commute or buy groceries....so????

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 -- 10:42 PM ET
-----

Writers Vote to End Strike

Hollywood's writers made it official, ending their bitterly
fought strike at the 100-day mark by an overwhelming margin.
Of 3,775 writers who cast ballots, 92.5 percent voted in
favor of ending the strike.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

-----
Visit our mobile site for the latest news:
http://m.nytimes.com
-----

NEW BREEDS DEBUT AT WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW

As my blog cred grows, I get more requests to publicize and endorse...so far no perks, other than "moral happiness" (see my Feb 2008 book review column on Stumbling on Happiness)
In any event, thanks to John Tsai of UC Berkeley who asked so very nicely that I publicize the following:

IP & Entrepreneurship Symposium

March 7 & 8, 2008 ~ UC Berkeley Law School

Co-sponsored by the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology (BCLT) and the Berkeley Technology Law Journal (BTLJ).

BCLT's 12th Annual Symposium will explore the role of intellectual property -- and patent law in particular -- in promoting entrepreneurship and in providing incentives to entrepreneurs, bringing together speakers from a broad range of disciplines, including economics, law, business, and other fields. The panelists include distinguished professors, attorneys, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists who have been actively involved in the information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and green technology sectors.

At the Symposium, BCLT will introduce its project on intellectual property and entrepreneurship, launched this year with the generous support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. We will discuss the current state of knowledge about the field of intellectual property and entrepreneurship, as well as our plans for empirical and theoretical research.

To that end, we will explore such questions as whether, when, and why entrepreneurs obtain patents, focusing on the role that patent rights play in decisions to invest in start-ups and how investors and entrepreneurs assess the scope and value of their own and other firms’ patent rights in the course of deciding which business opportunities to pursue. Furthermore, we will explore the challenges that entrepreneurs face when licensing or enforcing patents, looking at issues such as the effects of “patent trolls” on entrepreneurs and how patent thickets, standards, and the need to cross-license may present strong barriers to entry for entrepreneurs.

We plan to discuss the role patents play in an increasingly open and collaborative innovation environment, exploring the effects of patent rights on issues such as open source software, open standards, interoperability and employee mobility. Lastly, we will explore the timely question of whether entrepreneurs should care about patent reform initiatives.

Registration discounts are available for BCLT Sponsors and Entrepreneurs. Details are here:
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/bclt/entrepreneurship/registration.html

You can also contact David Grady at or call 510-642-3702.

10.5 units of MCLE credit will be available for attendees of the symposium.

Symposium Website:
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/bclt/entrepreneurship/

Register Now:
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/bclt/entrepreneurship/registration.html

About BCLT:
http://bclt.berkeley.edu

About BTLJ:
http://www.btlj.org/