Dear Doc: I used to have “rabbit ears” on my TV. On stormy nights, I had to stand “just so” near the left ear to see channel 17, but other than that, it worked just fine. Then the electronics companies and the gub’ment told me that I needed “digital” TV or cable. Now, I like […]
Dear Doc: I’ve been listening to NPR, and when they talk about Supreme Court cases, they talk about someone standing around, and how much that matters to all them old folks on the Court. Then they complain that folks lack standing (I guess they never heard of those tall desks like old Tom Jefferson used.) […]
The United States Federal Government does a lot with tax dollars. One of those things is that it funds research in many areas that lead to published papers in basic science, medicine, engineering, and many more fields. Another is that it runs the Federal Court system, which publishes orders, rules, opinions, and the like. What […]
Dear Doc: I heard that some insanity has recently infected the Republican Study Committee, when it published a memo with the exciting title of “Three Myths About Copyright Law and Where To Start To Fix It”. What gives? Signed, M. Mouse Dear M: A young staffer at the RSC, Derek Khanna, wrote about our broken […]
Dear Doc: I have heard that there is something called “trade dress” that can be legally protected, and that it’s different from trade mark and also from design patent and copyright? What gives? Signed, Sam Sung Dear Sam: Trade dress is pretty broadly defined as the visual impression created by the sum of all elements […]
At one time, leaders in developing countries and in international organizations decried the “brain drain” that led the best and brightest in what we used to call the “third world” to emigrate to the West to take advantage of superior educational and employment opportunities. The United States was the destination of choice, both for these […]
Dear Doc: I’m going to the beach and I am tired of re-reading old spy novels. Know any exciting books about intellectual property law? Signed, Eccentric Beachbum Dear EB: Absolutely! The “Doc” just loves a good suspenseful mystery, and in the Doc’s opinion, there is none better than William Rosen’s The Most Powerful Idea in […]
Dear Doc: I have heard several of my friends say that university copyright policies are complicated and are a “bear” to deal with. What, exactly, does that mean? Your friend, Yogi Dear Yogi: Many colleges and universities have so-called “intellectual property policies” that they say apply to student-created work. Many of these policies say that […]
Dear Doc: I hear a lot about storing files on “the cloud” these days. From your perspective, do I lose any rights when I use such a service? They sure are convenient! Signed, Will Robinson DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!! DANGER!!! The “Doc” has reviewed the terms and conditions of the license agreements of a few “cloud” […]
Dear Doc: What ever happened to “RightHaven” that company you called a “copyright troll” and that was suing bloggers for quoting from the Las Vegas newspaper? Signed, Just Curious, With Nothing Better to Do Dear JC: It turns out that RightHaven was beaten back by some of the defendants that it sued, with the help […]