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cryptozoologist points us to one of the most ridiculous analyses of the current patent situation by economist, and former Ross Perot running mate, Pat Choate, who doesn’t seem to have a clue how innovation actually works, in claiming that patent infringement is usually “patent theft” by big companies. Independent invention? Overly broad patents? Patent thickets stifling innovation and research? Not even possible. It’s all “theft.”

America’s largest big tech corporations are now using a business technique called “efficient infringement,” which means that they calculate the benefits of stealing someone else’s patented technology against the possibility of getting caught, tried in court and being forced to pay damages and penalties. If the benefits exceed the costs, they steal.

What makes patent theft so attractive is that infringement is not a criminal act and those found guilty face no jail time. Paying up is the worst that can happen to the infringer.

Of course, someone actually knowledgeable about patents would know the difference between infringement and theft. They would also know that it’s quite rare for there to be a case of a company actually copying an idea from someone else. It’s almost always independent invention — and many of the lawsuits that he’s so keen on later in the article are cases where an overly broad patent is brought up in a lawsuit about an innovation the original patent had nothing to do with.

This is a problem that happens all too often in these discussions. Folks who don’t know much about how innovation really occurs in the tech world, and who falsely conflate concepts in tangible property with a completely different government-granted monopoly right — automatically assume that infringement is the equivalent of “stealing.” Are there cases where big companies “copy” an idea from a small company? Yes, absolutely. But it’s a lot more rare than many make it out to be. The really innovative ideas? Those are the ones that big companies don’t even realize are big ideas until it’s too late.

A column like Choate’s is dangerous in the amount of misinformation that it puts forth, backed up with the veneer of truth without any basis in fact.

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[JURIST] US Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) on Sunday said that Senate approval of the so-called New START treaty will not happen this year. Speaking on a morning talk show, Alexander stated, “there’s not a chance the treaty will be approved this year. It took a year and a half to approve the START I treaty.” The new START treaty replaces the expired Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I treaty), with Russia and the United States each pledging to reduce their countries’ nuclear warheads by about 30 percent. Under the terms of the treaty and its protocol, both countries would only be allowed to deploy 1,550 strategic warheads, a decrease from the 2,200 currently permitted. Reaction to the new treaty has been mixed. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called it a “significant achievement,” while Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) expressed reservations. Appearing with Alexander on Fox News, Lieberman indicated he did not believe that START would have Senate support unless the Obama administration committed to modernize the existing nuclear arsenal, stating: I don’t believe that there will be 67 votes to ratify the START treaty unless the administration does two things — first, commit to modernize our nuclear stockpile so as we have less nuclear weapons we know they’re capable, if, God forbid, we need them; and secondly, to make absolutely clear that some of the statements by Russian president Medvedev at the signing in Prague that seem to suggest that if we continue to build the ballistic missile defense in Europe that they may pull out of this treaty — they’re just unacceptable to us. We need that defense to protect our allies and ourselves from Iran. President Obama is expected to submit the treaty to the Senate in early May and Senate Democrats have indicated they will then begin hearings with the aim of ratifying the treaty within the year.
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the treaty in Prague last Thursday. The treaty agreement, reached in February, is the first nuclear agreement between the two nations in nearly 20 years. The US State Department began negotiating the treaty with Russia in 2009. Nuclear disarmament between the US and Russia, whose nuclear arsenals comprise 95 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, languished during the Bush administration. The treaty is considered a key part of easing tensions between the two countries, which reached a high point after the 2008 Georgia conflict.

Article Tags: Will Alexander

This is from last Monday’s email.

South African recipients will appreciate that there is a difficult week ahead for our country. The last thing that we need is an adverse World Bank decision.

Nobody could have forecast the dramatic events that occurred during the week. This was one of the most important weeks in our history. In chronological order they were:

On Saturday 3 April the leader of an extremist, racially oriented political organisation was murdered. The authorities realised the possible consequences and rapidly stepped in. Both sides were urged to stay calm and not do anything that could worsen the situation. The situation is still tense in most of South Africa.

On Thursday 8 April the University of the Witwatersrand announced the discovery of a pair of well preserved, 2 million year old humanoid fossils at the Cradle of Humankind. The university appointed a team of South African and international experts to study the fossils. Compare this procedure with that adopted by the University of East Anglia in the UK where there were no multidisciplinary studies. They even manipulated the evidence to suit their objectives.

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File attachment: Out of Africa.pdf
  

Model-turned-autism activist Jenny McCarthy is shutting down her academy for autistic children following a series of disagreements with the school’s co-founder.

Just days after revealing via Twitter that she and boyfriend Jim Carrey had split up, Jenny announced that she is closing Teach2Talk Academy, her school for autistic children.

“Jenny and her partner at the Academy, Sarah Scheflen, had different visions for the school and made a decision to go their separate ways,” a rep for Jenny said in a statement late Thursday night.

The rep noted that both women will carry on their work in the fight against autism.

“Both intend to continue on in this important mission. Sarah and Jenny really enjoyed their time working at the Academy and feel honored that they were able to provide such high quality early intervention services to so many children with autism and other developmental disabilities.”

The weekend is over and damn if it didn’t go by in a whirlwind. Now it’s Monday morning and I find myself once again sitting at my desk with my big Houston coffee mug in hand trying to get a handle on what I have to accomplish for the week – not a fun task. Up here in the northeast the winter has finally come to an end, the flowers are starting to bloom and all those automobiles that have been hibernating for so many months are once again being brought out to roam the streets. Nowhere can this better be seen than at the racetrack.

Yesterday I was up at Pocono Raceway in Blakelee, PA doing a little track instruction. What’s nice about a track like Pocono is that there are multiple courses present, which means multiple events, which means a wide variety of cars. I drove up to the track in my Dodge Magnum SRT8 and while not the most nimble thing it does have the ability to surprise a few people if the moment allows.

There were Porsche’s of all years from vintage 356’s to GT3’s. We had a few Alfa Romeo’s, a wicked cool Lancia Superleggera and even a V-twin powered chain drive 1923 Morgan. There was also a slew of Corvettes present which is no surprise as quite honestly they are probably one of the best cars available out of the box for track duty.

The day was busy with run session after run session taking place. Students and instructors alike were ripping it up, and in the process having a grand ole’ time on a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon. Tracking a car is a great hobby, and one that not only serves as a great outlet, but the people and vehicles you encounter are generally top notch. There is a sense of camaraderie at the track that binds drivers together, and a love for the automobile that can’t be matched anywhere else.

I know there are those of you out there that have a car in the garage and have always wondered what it would be like to drive it on a real race track. It’s not as difficult as you think as organizations exist everywhere to help you do just this. Up here in the Northeast there is NASA/PDA, SCCA and Hooked on Driving just to name a few. So if you’ve ever wanted to try your luck at track driving but have been a bit timid, now is your chance to get that car out of the garage and onto the track. No excuses people… no excuses. If you have questions about tracking a car then shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’ll see if I can help ya’ out.

When I first reviewed BerryBuzz, I knew it would be an application that our readers would dig. The red blinking LED is so mysterious. It could mean anything, really. BerryBuzz helped take the mystery out of that. Because of the different LED colors and flashing patterns you could determine more specifically what it meant. We then saw a pretty big update from BerryBuzz, and since then I’ve seen a couple of other small tweaks. Over the weekend we heard of a bit more substantial upgrade, one that I’m pretty excited to see.

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If you work in an office, chances are high that the only tool at your disposal for heating your lunch is a microwave. And chances are also high that you already know how to use one and hardly need a tutorial! But there’s one microwaving tip that you might not have heard before.

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A roundup of economic news from around the Web.

Rising Oil Prices: Jim Hamilton looks at whether rising oil prices threaten the recovery. “Americans buy a little less than 12 billion gallons of gasoline in a typical month. With gas prices now about a dollar per gallon higher than they were a year ago, that leaves consumers with $12 billion less to spend each month on other things than they had in January of 2009. On the other hand, the U.S. average gas price is still more than a dollar below its peak in July of 2008. Changes of this size can certainly provide a measurable drag or boost to consumer spending, but are not enough by themselves to cause a recession.” Separately, Econompic makes some interesting charts that follow the same idea.

Recovery Risks: Kevin Drum looks at some of the downside risks facing the recovery. “1. This is a balance sheet recession, not a Fed-induced recession. Paul Volcker caused the 1981 recession by jacking up interest rates and he ended it by lowering them. That’s not going to happen this time. 2. In fact, there won’t be any further stimulus from lower interest rates. They’re already at zero, and Ben Bernanke has made it clear that he doesn’t plan to effectively lower them further by setting a higher inflation target. 3. Consumer debt is still way too high. There’s more deleveraging on the horizon, and that’s going to make consumer-led growth difficult. 4. The financial sector remains fragile and there could still be another serious shock somewhere in the world. 5. There are strong political pressures to reduce the budget deficit. That makes further fiscal stimulus unlikely. 6. Housing prices are still too high. They’re bound to fall further, especially given rising interest rates combined with the end of government support programs. 7. Our current account balance remains pretty far out of whack. Fixing this in the short term will hinder growth, while leaving it to the long term just kicks the can down the road. 8. The Fed still has to unwind its balance sheet. That has the potential to stall growth. 9. Oil prices are rising. This not only causes problems of its own, but also makes #7 worse. 10. Unemployment and long-term unemployment continue to look terrible. Yes, these are lagging indicators, but still.”

Industrial Policy: Dani Rodrik looks at the return of industrial policy. “The shift toward embracing industrial policy is therefore a welcome acknowledgement of what sensible analysts of economic growth have always known: developing new industries often requires a nudge from government. The nudge can take the form of subsidies, loans, infrastructure, and other kinds of support. But scratch the surface of any new successful industry anywhere, and more likely than not you will find government assistance lurking beneath. The real question about industrial policy is not whether it should be practiced, but how.”

Compiled by Phil Izzo

[JURIST] Amnesty International (AI) on Monday released a report criticizing some European nations’ practice of seeking “no-torture” assurances from other countries in order to remove foreigners. According to the report, the assurances are used to return people to countries with records of human rights abuses. AI described these deals as unreliable and unenforceable, and called for an end to their use. The report was particularly critical of the UK, which for 18 years has used the method to deport people who were considered national security threats. AI described the UK as:he most influential and aggressive promoter of…the use of diplomatic assurances to forcibly return people it considers threats to national security…The promotion of policy…has occurred at a number of levels: as a matter of domestic policy…at the European Court of Human Rights…and a number of intergovernmental forums… by the UN Human Rights Committee and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. A UK government spokesperson responded to the report, asserting that the use of “no-torture” agreements is necessary to maintain national security, and stating that the government would not enter into an agreement if it perceived a torture risk. The AI report also criticized several other European nations for using these assurances, including Denmark, Germany, France, and Italy, who continue to do so despite negative rulings on the practice from the European Court of Human Rights.In March, AI, Human Rights Watch, Liberty, and Reprieve joined with members of British parliament in calling for an inquiry into the UK role in torture and rendition during the war on terror. They called on British officials to conduct a public hearing on the role played by UK intelligence agencies and armed forces in the alleged torture and rendition of terror suspects. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has faced scrutiny over UK procedures amid allegations that British intelligence officials were involved in the torture of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohammed in Morocco. In February, Reprieve initiated a lawsuit against the British government, claiming that its unwillingness to disclose detainee policies suggests that it permits illegal torture.

Confirming the rumors, and after dismissing the iPad as nothing more than a large phone, Google is getting ready its own tablet computer. At least, that was what Google CEO—and Steve Jobs’ own personal Judas—Eric Schmidt is saying. More »

The following is the full text from the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is viewed as the unofficial arbiter of the beginning and end dates of recessions.

The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research met at the organization’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 8, 2010. The committee reviewed the most recent data for all indicators relevant to the determination of a possible date of the trough in economic activity marking the end of the recession that began in December 2007. The trough date would identify the end of contraction and the beginning of expansion. Although most indicators have turned up, the committee decided that the determination of the trough date on the basis of current data would be premature. Many indicators are quite preliminary at this time and will be revised in coming months. The committee acts only on the basis of actual indicators and does not rely on forecasts in making its determination of the dates of peaks and troughs in economic activity. The committee did review data relating to the date of the peak, previously determined to have occurred in December 2007, marking the onset of the recent recession. The committee reaffirmed that peak date.

Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials, UAW/Unions

There’s $77 billion owed to the pension plans contributed to by auto industry manufacturers and partner companies and we’re to assume that at least seven billion of that is owed by Ford to the UAW‘s Voluntary Employment Benefit Association. The way Ford is going, it looks likely to pay that off without needing unsavory assistance. When it comes to General Motors‘ and Chrysler‘s obligations over the next five years, though, the Government Accountability Office has warned that Uncle Sam still needs to keep a close eye on whether both automaker’s debts will be paid on time.

GM has $12.2 billion in pension liabilities, while Chrysler has $2.62 billion due merely to keep up with obligations over the next five years. Even though they came out of bankruptcy and trimmed their workforces, both are still on the hook for to pay white- and blue-collar pensions. The GAO’s concern is whether they will be profitable enough in the next five years to keep up with those payments. If not, the hook gets transferred to the government to the order of $14.5 billion.

GM appears to be slowly turning its ship, but we’re still in the dark about Chrysler. However, we know the Pentastar has big plans and one figures Marchionne didn’t buy the company just to go bust. That means that at the moment, this is only bell-ringing on the part of the GAO. But don’t take your eyes off the ball, guys.

[Source: New York Times]

Not out of the woods yet: GAO issues warning on automaker pensions originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It ain’t over yet — at least officially.

This morning, the Business Cycle Dating Committee at the National Bureau of Economic Research — a nonprofit organization that, among other things, officially determines when recessions start and end — announced that “[a]lthough most indicators have turned up,” it has not yet decided to declare the recession through.

The report does not signal that the economy is necessarily still undergoing contraction rather than expansion — just that “indicators are quite preliminary” and “[t]he committee acts only on the basis of actual indicators and does not rely on forecasts.” (It describes how it determines peaks and troughs here.)

Harvard economist Jeffrey Frankel, a member of the Business Cycle Dating Committee, declared “[t]he recession is over” on his blog just last month, citing improvements in employment and real income. Most academic and governmental economists agree. But though gross domestic product starting rising more than half a year ago, the job market remains brutal, and several other indicators sluggish.

Martin Feldstein, the president of the committee and a Harvard professor, recently warned that there is “significant risk the economy could run out of steam sometime in 2010″ because economic stimulus “delivered much less” than it should have. A double-dip recession remains possible if not probable, hence the committee’s reticence.

Dow Jones is implementing large solar energy system at its New Jersey headquarters, using ground mounted photovoltaics in its parking zones. …

… “It says it expects to install a 4.1-megawatt solar power system at its 200-acre campus in South Brunswick, N.J., next year. Dow Jones says the system will be one of the largest solar installations at a single commercial site in the U.S. The panels will cover nearly 230,000 square feet of parking space … ” …

Via USA TODAY: Dow Jones N.J. campus solar installation

Beleaguered Palm is looking for a buyer, according to a report by Bloomberg. The company has failed to capitalize sufficiently on the webOS platform — launched to great fanfare a couple of years ago — and is courting companies for a sale. Rumors of a potential sale of Palm have been swirling for a while, and an official search for a buyer will be announced soon according to Bloomberg.

Two companies mentioned to have an interest in acquiring Palm are Lenovo and HTC. Lenovo produces the ThinkPad line of notebook computers, and has recently entered the smartphone market through an acquisition of Lenovo Mobile Communication Technology Ltd. HTC is one of the largest makers of Android and Windows Mobile handsets. An acquisition of Palm by HTC would have definite ramifications in the smartphone world, as it would add Palm’s webOS to HTC’s already impressive product line.

HTC has recently been sued by Apple for alleged patent infringements, and an acquisition of Palm could play an unexpected role in that legal situation. Palm has a healthy portfolio of patents going back to the Palm Pilot days, and it’s possible these could be leveraged by HTC in its battle with Apple.

Related content from GigaOM Pro:

• Company Profile: HTC (free)
• Marketing Handsets in the Superphone Era
• With the iPad, Apple Takes Google To the Mat

We’ve heard that the upcoming PlayStation Wiimote will be called the PlayStation Move. Now we finally know what to call their nunchuk: The Navigation Controller. And following months of worry, we’ll all get a good night’s sleep. [Kotaku via Engadget] More »

TripAdvisor (app on left, mobile site on right)

Normally the quick app is an app that we want to draw attention to for positive reasons. TripAdvisor is not one of those apps. To call it half-baked may very well be generous, as the webOS TripAdvisor app is merely a poorly-executed portal to their mobile website. In fact, the website is actually more functional, because you can do things like use the back gesture. In the app there is no way to go back at all, you’re limited to hitting the home button in the top left corner (same as the website) and losing all your progress. The only advantage that the app provides is the nearby button, serving to locate you via GPS. Is finding your location worth the hassle of using the app? Well, it is free, so we can’t ask too much. If you’re looking for a full-featured “what’s around” app, we’re going to recommend something like Zagat To Go or OpenTable, and hope that TripAdvisor gets an update to bring it more in line with what you can get on other platforms.