Patents

Trying To Strangle American Innovation

Pat Choate | Posted 11.18.2009 | Home


Pat Choate

If Big Tech succeeds in Washington, a greatly weakened patent system is likely to destroy American innovation and invention-led job creation in the next decade.

An Important Patent Law Precedent Approaches

Eben Moglen | Posted 11.02.2009 | Business


Eben Moglen

Patent law cannot award ownership of facts of nature, or mere mental activities, or algorithms: the US Supreme Court has been unambiguous on that point for more than 150 years.

(Video) Patent Trouble: Nokia Sues Apple in U.S. Court Over iPhone

Andy Plesser | Posted 10.22.2009 | Technology


Andy Plesser

ESPOO, FINLAND - Earlier today Nokia filed suit in a U.S. federal court alleging patent infringement by Apple and iPhone.  The Wall Street Journ...

Obama's Modern Art (PHOTOS): White House's New Art On Display

AP | NANCY BENAC | Posted 10.07.2009 | Style


WASHINGTON (AP) You can't see it, but there's a quiet cultural revolution under way at the White House. The Obamas are decorating their private space...

With Health Care, the Profit Motive is Infectious

Sam Leff | Posted 09.25.2009 | Politics


Sam Leff

The fact that the medical industrial complex suppressed the cure for stomach ulcers for nearly 15 years raises crucial questions about trusting a system which demonstrably favors corporate profits over patient health.

What Reforms Will The United States Have as a Result of This Recession?

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 11.18.2009 | Politics


Mark Weisbrot

If we look at the United States from the point of view of its potential, it seems that we have a very limited form of democracy.

Save the Whales! Abolish Patents!

David K. Levine | Posted 11.15.2009 | Business


David K. Levine

The case for drastically reducing and eventually abolishing medical patents is clear: they raise the social cost of drugs, and medicine, while providing little or even a negative incentive for medical innovation.

Copyright Needs Limits, As It Restricts Innovation

Gary Shapiro | Posted 06.27.2009 | Business


Gary Shapiro

Defenders of expanded copyright restrictions imply that content owners have been on a losing streak and have few tools at their disposal. Wrong.

Big Business Gearing Up to Defend Protectionism Against UN Climate Negotiators

Mark Weisbrot | Posted 06.20.2009 | Green


Mark Weisbrot

It appears that international efforts to slow the pace of worldwide climate disruption could also run up against powerful interests who advocate a "fundamentalist" conception of intellectual property.

ACLU Files Case Challenging Patents on Breast Cancer Genes

Joanna Rudnick | Posted 06.14.2009 | Politics


Joanna Rudnick

Skolnick's answers surrounding the ethics and detrimental consequences of gene patenting were unsatisfying.

Is the recession suffocating American innovation?

AP | DEB RIECHMANN | Posted 06.04.2009 | Business


WASHINGTON — Got a bright business idea? Take a number. Americans haven't stopped dreaming up newfangled gizmos or sketching engineering marvel...

IBM Trifecta: Files For Offshoring Patent, Offshores Jobs, Applies for Stimulus Funds

Dawn Teo | Posted 05.01.2009 | Business


Dawn Teo

IBM is currently seeking $30 billion in stimulus money to create 1 million jobs. CEO Sam Palmisano even met with Obama at the White House to discuss I...

Promise in the Pipeline: Is it Pay Day for Burks' Patented Peanut Protein?

Robyn O'Brien | Posted 04.25.2009 | Business


Robyn O'Brien

As doctors bring their inventions to market, we should consider the health implications, liabilities and costs associated with exposing our children to yet another novel protein and synthetic substance before the long term health consequences have been evaluated.

Obama Administration Rules Texts of New IPR Agreement are State Secrets

James Love | Posted 04.12.2009 | Politics


James Love

We have been seeking access to documents relating to negotiations on an important new intellectual property enforcement treaty. The agreement, misle...

Microsoft Roils the World with FAT Patents

Brian Kahin | Posted 04.06.2009 | Business


Brian Kahin

Some wishful thinkers may accept Microsoft's claim that this is about TomTom rather than Linux. But this is a landmark assault into the most troubled and controversial terrain of the patent system.

Nike Sues Wal-Mart

AP | Posted 11.16.2008 | Business


PORTLAND, Ore. — Nike Inc. has sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc., alleging the giant retailer is selling shoes that infringe on Nike's patented designs....

The Patent Bubble... Still Growing

Brian Kahin | Posted 10.27.2008 | Business


Brian Kahin

The patent bubble hasn't burst, but judging by last week's Wall Street Journal story on Intellectual Ventures, it's getting pretty big.

In the Water Cube, It's Clean AND Green

Nancy Edwards Cronin | Posted 09.21.2008 | Green


Nancy Edwards Cronin

I recently happened upon another possible reason why the Olympic swimmers in general are getting faster and faster. Would you believe it could be the water?

Under the Radar: Two Tales From the Secret Life of Patents

Brian Kahin | Posted 08.02.2008 | Business


Brian Kahin

The patent system is often portrayed as the defender of creativity, but as it's grown powerful, it's become a tool to extract settlements from little guys with the threat of astronomical legal costs.

Patents for All: The System That Could Not Contain Itself

Brian Kahin | Posted 06.18.2008 | Business


Brian Kahin

The question of just what is patentable is far too complex for Congress to handle -- especially given that even modest patent reform legislation has stalled.

Real Artists Ship

Margaret Heffernan | Posted 06.13.2008 | Business


Margaret Heffernan

Whichever innovation guru you read, you won't find references to customers. But nothing compares to the creativity that could come from consumers if companies only knew how to talk to them.

Patent-Holding Firm Sues AT&T, Sprint, And Verizon

CNet News | Tom Krazit | Posted 03.28.2008 | Business


Remember NTP? They're back. The holding company that brought BlackBerry Nation to its knees in 2006 is once again on the advance, this time filing su...