Intellectual Property - Prof. Noveck

Intellectual Property - Prof. Noveck : Patent war for "Automatic Hierarchical Categorization of Music by Metadata"

Interesting patent post before regarding the "Creative Patent"...
http://playlistmag.com/news/2005/08/30/creative/index.php?lsrc=mwrss

But what was patented? Was it the hierarchical structure?
ummmm. Nope. Creative received a patent on the method that automatically files tracks
according to that structure. ahhh...this is a software
patent. But what does this buy creative? Other than a reason to
call their friends at these "hi-tech magazines" and bug them to write about it and get some free adverstising? The cross reference to a related application on their patent application has a similar application that was abandoned. Not looking good for Creative,
They may have overpaid a bit for the advertising....

Thanks for the post! It was interesting to read up on what big media companies can waste their shareholders money on.

Trade Secrets

Microsoft has sued one of its former executives, Kai-fu Lee, and his new employer, Google, for violation of a no-compete clause.  Interestingly, however, Microsoft is not only relying on a breach of contract theory, but also on an increasingly popular strand of trade secret law called "inevitable disclosure", which "holds that in some circumstances people can't avoid sharing or relying on trade secrets from their former employer."  Employees could face severe job restrictions, even if they didn't sign anything at all. If this theory gains a foothold, will employees, especially those in science and technology, become indentured to their corporate masters for life? Is Microsoft trying to essentially claim it owns Lee's mind?

via /.

Patent war for "Automatic Hierarchical Categorization of Music by Metadata"

Interesting article today relating to the MP3 player wars. Creative patented the hierarchical structure of their Zen mp3 players, which happens to also cover Apple's iPod. How will this affect Apple in the future?

http://playlistmag.com/news/2005/08/30/creative/index.php?lsrc=mwrss

A Lawyer's Network

        Last Thursday, Prof. Noveck used the legal profession as an example of an area where secrets should perhaps not always be protected.  I imagined lawyers respecting their client's confidentiality while sharing as much as possible about their research, strategies, compensation, etc.  I'm curious if virtual communities exist where lawyers do these things. 
         I've read that elite DJs are known for having small file sharing groups where anywhere from 10-1000 share music and techniques that they wish to improve without sharing to the world.  That way when one of these DJs plays one of these tracks at a club, it will be new to the entire audience.
        I think lawyers should do this if they don't already.  It could be 50 old law school friends that setup a network where they can share anything-it would be like a tree of trust and understanding.  They can help each other for their entire careers.  They could start a database of info(personal and professional) on judges. They could post legal documents a week before they are due and get feedback.  When an argument is given in court it will be as new as a DJs track-even though both have been looked at by everyone in the network.  Some might say that a "law firm" serves these same functions.  However, I think an old school network free of the firm mentality can provide benefits that firms can't. 
          Many ethical rules might be broken, so the group should be selective with its memnbership and appoint someone early on to keep all the members in compliance with that MPRE stuff........

As Blogging Grows, Companies Eye Legal Pitfalls

Hey Class,

This is an interesting article that I found on Yahoo! about companies looking to join the "blogosphere," but keep their trade secrets protected. 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050826/us_nm/bizfeature_blogging_dc

After reading the article, what legal protections are available to companies to keep their employees from posting on blogs, and should employees be prohibited from talking about their lives inside the company, even if they aren't divulging company secrets?

Chris M. Neely

Wireless poses risks to trade secrets - 2003-11-10 - Austin Business Journal

Not quite sure what he's getting at here, why is this a risk? Does a company really have to place encryption on wireless packets? Isn't it a reasonable measure to assume someone won't hack into your system?

Link: Wireless poses risks to trade secrets - 2003-11-10 - Austin Business Journal.

Wireless technology and compact gadgets collect and relay information in a multitude of ways and within an increasingly public environment.

While this freedom is conducive to business productivity, it also presents new challenges in the arena of trade secrets. Does your company have trade secrets protection programs in place?

Chances are today's technology, including integrated telephone-cameras, wireless networks, personal digital assistants [PDAs] and laptop computers, have outstripped your trade secrets protection program.

Some cell phones with integrated cameras allow a cell phone user to digitally photograph, store and transmit information wirelessly and possibly surreptitiously. Concert venues, gymnasiums and schools already are taking steps to prohibit the use of such devices.

Other than the obvious mischief that can be caused when these features are misused in a presumptuously limited-access environment, these new devices pose serious problems for the security of intellectual property. While the quality and pixel counts of the photos are relatively low at this time, we can be assured that vast improvements are on the horizon.

The emergence of wireless network standards offers new options to companies seeking to enhance employee productivity, but they carry a bevy of security risks as well. Imagine sitting in a cafe that enables you to surf the Internet on your software-laden laptop and communicate through radio frequencies.

class participation

I had a general question about class participation.  If someone posts one week, and doesn't speak in class, and then the following week doesn't post but speaks up in class, and continues to alternate what he/she does like this for the rest of the school year, does this count as class participation?  What if he/she for the first part of the semester posts many comments on the blog, and for the other half of the semester speaks a lot in class.  My question is basically if someone is halfway active on the blog, and halfway contributes in class, does this count as full class participation, and will there grade be bumped up?  Thank you. 

this is my title

II'd rather be in Hawaii.

State of Play IV

State of Play IV - Mobile Worlds
         Santorini, Greece