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First Solar Buys GE’s Intellectual Property

For a couple of years now, General Electric has been looking to make serious investments in solar energy research and development. In 2011 PrimeStar Solar and announced that they would use that company’s resources to begin manufacture of solar panels in Colorado. However, the enterprise came to an unexpected end yesterday when solar power rival, …

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The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the NSA

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is best known as the preeminent digital rights advocacy group, possibly in the entire world. Think of any noteworthy piece of legislation in the past couple of decades and the EFF has more than likely participated in the drafting of that legislation, critiquing the legislation, or campaigned on behalf of digital …

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New Statesman Predicts a Robot Revolution

There are many well founded fears about progress and how intellectual property may come to reshape our society. The New Statesman however, has hit on the most solid and grounded fear of them all: that robots are coming to steal your job. And not just blue collar jobs either, Alex Hern’s article opines that white …

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On Crowdfunding Intellectual Property

Wired, one of the preeminent technologically oriented online news sources, has a fascinating article arguing that we need a crowdfunding platform for patents. Writer Samuel Arbesman opens by citing two impressive statistics. One is that every year the citizens of the US spend $40 billion to support technological innovation and research (about two-thirds of this …

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Tə – ˈmeɪ – toʊ / Tə – ˈmɑ – toʊ: Fruit or Vegetable?

I recently visited the annual Orange County Fair for the first time and was very impressed with the array of attractions. Thousands of turkeys barbecued over open flames raising clouds of the essence of summer over the entirety of the fair. A Bubble Roller pool showcased kids zipped up in life sized bubbles and tossed …

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Here Comes the Ubuntu Smartphone….Maybe

Open-source web developer, Ubuntu, has announced a Kickstarter type campaign to fund the development of a new open-source smartphone: the Edge. The project is ambitious, Ubuntu has asked for $32 million in order to develop 40,000 units (a contribution of $600 to the campaign on the first day or $830 on the following days guarantees …

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A Reflection on American Innovation and Achievement – 45 Years beyond Apollo 11

John F. Kennedy, speaking to a stadium full of Americans at Rice University, September 1962: “If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or …

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NY Times Blog Criticizes the Notion of Intellectual Property

The New York Times blog has an article by Joseph E. Stiglitz, revisiting the Supreme Court’s decision on gene patents. As he writes in specific relation to the gene patent case, “the case was a battle between those who would privatize good health, making it a privilege to be enjoyed in proportion to wealth, and …

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Las Vegas, Now Focusing on Intellectual Property

Las Vegas was one of the major American cities to be hit hardest by the global recession of 2008. People aren’t in a hurry to gamble away what little money they have in a depression, and this substantially affected Las Vegas tourism for the past couple of years. However, it seems that the famous city …

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The Axiom “Don’t Try to Reinvent the Wheel” Holds True for Door Knobs

“I’ve a superb idea that is going to make us rich!” said John G. Hotchkiss, resident of New Haven, Connecticut, from Staffordshire, England. “Really? And what is that my fine fellow?” remarked his compatriot John A Davenport resident of New York, also from Staffordshire. “Well, the simplicity is the beauty of it. Let’s get a …

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Will 3D Printing End Intellectual Property Rights?

One of the most remarkable developments of the past few years has been 3D printing, a system that can literally print a solid object using only a design and some plastic polymers. The applications for such a device are seemingly endless. It can print cheap food for impoverished third world nations and solve world hunger! …

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Myriad Genetics sues Aliso Viejo company Ambry Genetics over gene tests

Myriad Genetics, a biotech company, owns patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, mutations of which help to increase the risk of certain breast and ovarian cancers. The Association for Molecular Pathology filed a suit against Myriad in 2009, claiming that the genes, which are naturally occurring segments of DNA, are not eligible for a …

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