-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
No import bar in InterDigital v Samsung patent case
,----[ Quote ]
| It's pretty unlikely this case will see Samsung handsets stopped at the US
| border. Most likely it will rumble on until both sides see an escape that
| saves face and a sum of money changes hands. So if this is a preliminary
| skirmish then Samsung has the most men still standing but the battle
| continues.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/08/interdigital_samsung/
Nobel laureate criticises intellectual property rights system
,----[ Quote ]
| US economist Joseph Stiglitz has warned that intellectual property rights are
| stifling innovation. According to the Intellectual Property Watch news
| service, the professor, who was awarded a 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic
| Sciences for his work on the relationship of information and markets, said at
| the opening of Manchester University's Institute for Science, Ethics and
| Innovation on Saturday that the intellectual property rights regime "closes
| down access to knowledge". It was clear, he said, that specific restrictions
| applied particularly in the patent system.
|
| Stiglitz criticised the current approach of treating copyright and patent
| rights as "intellectual property". Intellectual property, he insisted, is
| public property and not something to be "owned". It is difficult to prevent
| others from enjoying its benefits, he said, because it is fundamentally
| different to, and should not be compared to, the ownership of physical
| property. This approach creates monopoly power over knowledge that is often
| abused. Stiglitz gave as an example the current "patent thicket" in software,
| which results in anyone who writes a successful software program being sued
| for alleged patent infringements.
`----
http://www.heise-online.co.uk/news/Nobel-laureate-criticises-intellectual-property-rights-system--/111066
http://tinyurl.com/6fquc9
Maybe the Trolls will start calling this professor a 'hippie' or a 'basement
dweller'. Well, well...
Recent:
A Czar for the Digital Peasants
,----[ Quote ]
| One sure sign of a lack of political vision is a rise in the number of pieces
| of acronymic legislation. After September 11, the US Congress passed the
| euphoniously named “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
| Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act” the
| initials of which spell out “USA – Patriot.” The Patriot Act is a pretty bad
| piece of legislation, but at least its drafters worked hard on the acronyms
| so that opponents could be labelled “anti-patriot” – a perfect level of
| analysis for Fox News. Admittedly, in this administration, having public
| officials torturing acronyms rather than detainees might be counted as a
| plus, but I still find the whole practice distasteful. I'd suggest that
| politicians vow to vote against any piece of legislation with its own
| normatively loaded acronym, no matter how otherwise appealing. It might make
| them focus a little more on the content.
|
| In any event, Congress has been at it again. The House just passed, and the
| Senate is considering, the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for
| Intellectual Property Act of 2008 – or “Pro-IP” Act. (If it passes, a version
| is sure to be urged on Europe as a matter of “harmonisation.”) Are you
| pro-intellectual property? Then surely you must be for this piece of
| legislation! The name says it all.
`----
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/14aacbc8-41e1-11dd-a5e8-0000779fd2ac.html
I've Seen the Future, and It Has a Kill Switch
,----[ Quote ]
| It used to be that just the entertainment industries wanted to control your
| computers -- and televisions and iPods and everything else -- to ensure that
| you didn't violate any copyright rules. But now everyone else wants to get
| their hooks into your gear.
|
| [...]
|
| And that's the key to understanding this system. Don't be fooled by the scare
| stories of wireless devices on airplanes and in hospitals, or visions of a
| world where no one is yammering loudly on their cellphones in posh
| restaurants. This is really about media companies wanting to exert their
| control further over your electronics. They not only want to prevent you from
| surreptitiously recording movies and concerts, they want your new television
| to enforce good "manners" on your computer, and not allow it to record any
| programs. They want your iPod to politely refuse to copy music to a computer
| other than your own. They want to enforce their legislated definition of
| manners: to control what you do and when you do it, and to charge you
| repeatedly for the privilege whenever possible.
|
| "Digital Manners Policies" is a marketing term. Let's call this what it
| really is: Selective Device Jamming. It's not polite, it's dangerous. It
| won't make anyone more secure -- or more polite.
`----
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2008/06/securitymatters_0626
Microsoft could force your mobile into silence
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is developing a new technology that could force mobiles into silent
| mode, or even prevent calls from being made.
|
| [...]
|
| Phone jammers, which work in small spaces, are banned in the UK and come with
| a hefty fine for use.
`----
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/microsoft-could-force-your-mobile-into-silence-393006
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)
iEYEARECAAYFAkh0EUEACgkQU4xAY3RXLo4dMQCgpYBn/SY9uU7MamSWMOBTD2F+
XToAn0+huxu9thcfsysGO2y7Q7jv6ukn
=PDU6
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
|
|
