http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/00174423181/kim-dotcom-threatens-to-sue-google-facebook-twitter-over-2-factor-authentication-patent-if-they-dont-help-him.shtml#c2019 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:51:46 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/00174423181/kim-dotcom-threatens-to-sue-google-facebook-twitter-over-2-factor-authentication-patent-if-they-dont-help-him.shtml#c2019
Would you like to buy this bridge?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c154 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:51:09 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c154
Historically, I think their biggest market was US military folk -- who would go to school part-time, get moved around a lot, and graduate from Regents (old name) with a combination of transfer credit and guided-reading-up-on-your-own credit-by-exam.

Linder got a pretty generic Associates with a funny name by transferring credit from a variety of sources. His trick was to find cheap or free classes that he could transfer. If he'd been better at AP or CLEP exams it might have been even easier.

I expect Excelsior is watching and considering MOOC developments very closely, and could be one of the pioneers in transforming MOOC completions into degrees from an accredited institution.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130517/02413623115/bogus-lawsuit-plus-threats-to-those-who-write-about-it-leads-to-epic-response.shtml#c1001 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:50:35 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130517/02413623115/bogus-lawsuit-plus-threats-to-those-who-write-about-it-leads-to-epic-response.shtml#c1001 Hires WAAmbulance chaser
To sue blog chatters

Blames fat, poor, alone
On allegations of perv
Just short of statute

Demands settlement
Annoints self process server
(Stalker more like it)

"Does" worried, with cause:
5 mill? for discussing case
Of screaming drunk girl?

Popehat brings counsel
Case demolished, point by point
Lawyer to lawyer

Somerville: small town
Gossip has gone national
Jonmon: new Prenda

Turns adage on head,
That no such thing as bad press
Streisand sings for him]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c131 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:48:54 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c131 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c572 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:47:52 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c572
That said: when printing costs took off in the mid-80s, a fan could find herself paying $30, $40, $50 for a zine with full-color covers, fancy binding, and full-color illustrations. Beauty and the Beast fandom (the TV show with Ron Perlman & Linda Hamilton) was the first to see these very opulent, romantic, and expensive zines published: you'd see full-color zines with fancy raised printing, metallic overlay printing, even a lace-and-crystal embellished zine was sold.

I put out an X-Files zine with a nice B&W cover on heavy stock, acid-free pages, with perfect binding--I charged $20, did not make a profit, and I had to do four printings to supply demand. It wasn't that big of a zine, only about 200 pages. It was considered a well-priced zine at the time, so people were spending more for other zines.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c112 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:47:45 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c112 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c90 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:47:34 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c90
And clearly, a job is the only reason to seek higher education ... what a simplistic attitude.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c78 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:45:27 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c78
Most business positions have no need of what they had to learn for a business degree. Accountants and lawyers being pretty much the only exception.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/09382823173/chicago-school-system-foia-requests-stonewalling-obfuscation-paper-shredding.shtml#c304 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:41:00 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/09382823173/chicago-school-system-foia-requests-stonewalling-obfuscation-paper-shredding.shtml#c304 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c56 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:39:49 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c56 College is also entirely unnecessary for the vast majority of jobs.
These days, even the jobs for which you don't need a college degree require a college degree. With so many people looking for work, it's a quick and easy way for employers to winnow down the field of applicants.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/18103323179/filmmaker-behind-pirate-bay-documentary-says-bogus-dmca-takedowns-take-away-his-free-speech.shtml#c914 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:38:51 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/18103323179/filmmaker-behind-pirate-bay-documentary-says-bogus-dmca-takedowns-take-away-his-free-speech.shtml#c914 The bots get false positives at times and one is one too many. In this case it seems like a lot of independent false positives on something that do not make these studios look good. That is rather suspicious!
In fact, it seems they were either targeting the documentary itself or targeting links containing the phrase "Pirate Bay" regardless of content. Either way, it's altogether improper behavior for anyone filing a DMCA notice, and in no way satisfies the "good faith" requirement of the DMCA. If the DMCA's "perjury" clause had any teeth, Simon Klose would be wiping the floor with all the studios.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/02455423183/prenda-lawyer-says-georgia-court-should-ignore-judge-wrights-order-because-look-hackers.shtml#c432 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:34:48 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/02455423183/prenda-lawyer-says-georgia-court-should-ignore-judge-wrights-order-because-look-hackers.shtml#c432
average_joe and horse with no name just hate it when due process is enforced.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130424/00010122821/adam-savage-why-copyright-trademark-holders-need-to-get-over-their-obsession-with-control.shtml#c181 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:33:31 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130424/00010122821/adam-savage-why-copyright-trademark-holders-need-to-get-over-their-obsession-with-control.shtml#c181 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130510/15454323039/appeals-court-issues-135-page-ruling-software-patents-that-answers-almost-nothing.shtml#c1010 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:31:54 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130510/15454323039/appeals-court-issues-135-page-ruling-software-patents-that-answers-almost-nothing.shtml#c1010
First, the majority of judges agree that the presumption of validity applies to Section 101. See Lourie at 23, and Radar at 26. This means that a defendant can't kill a software patent on a motion to dismiss, and without facts (e.g., expert testimony).

Second, the majority of judges agree that the key question is "preemption": does the claim cover all practical applications of the idea. They agree that this comes down to a question of the scope of the claim relative to "practical" and "real world effects". The judges all look for "meaningful limitations". Where the judges disagree is how you do that analysis, on what counts as "meaningful."

Even Lourie (who found all the claims ineligible) requires that the claim "wholly preempt" all "practical uses" of the idea. I would argue that a defendant has to prove that it could not practice the abstract idea without infringing. The patentee need only show that its possible to do that, because there is some limitation in the claim that is not required to practice the "big idea." In general, given a broadly stated "abstract idea" any good engineer can show that there is some limitation in the claim that is not required to implement the abstract idea. In that case, the defendant loses.

Your quotation above that "generic computer automation" should kill lots of software patents is not correct. Most software patents are not mere computer automation of an existing idea practiced in real life. Certainly there are plenty, but they are the minority. They may be more visible because they are more likely to be contested and result in litigation, but that's a biased sample.

More fundamentally, the underlying logic of this view is at odds with the law and I would argue, common sense. It has never been the case that an invention is ineligible because it is "automation" or because it uses conventional mechanisms. It may be obvious, but it's still eligible for patenting. Indeed, caselaw going back over a 100 years, and the modern patent law, specifically allowed for inventions that were new "uses" of existing machines, which arguably covers the "mere" computerization of an existing process.

Further, this thinking is "biased" against computers for no apparent reason. More specifically: would you deny patent eligibility to someone who used conventional pulleys and gears and levers and springs etc. in a new way to lift a stone? No, you would say that qualified as eligible for a patent, and then decide whether it was obvious. If you would not discriminate against other types of "hardware" that can be reconfigured and repurposed, then you should not discriminate against computer hardware which is reconfigured and repurposed by software.

One of the hallmarks of our patent system is that it is technology agnostic: it does not dictate which technologies are a priori worthy of protecting and which are not. It lets in all comers and thus does not bias the path of technological innovation. Imagine if in the 1920s or so, the Supreme Court decided the inventions that used electricity were merely applying a "natural law" or "natural phenomena" and therefore no electrical device was eligible for patent protection? Maybe you would say that we'd be better off--but there is no evidence for that. Indeed, the historical record is that Edison, Westinghouse, and many others relied on patents in order obtain financing and maintain profits for further research and development.

For a detailed analysis of the CLS opinions see http://www.bilskiblog.com]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c54 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:31:07 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c54 "College is also entirely unnecessary for the vast majority of jobs."

These jobs you speak of... do they require you to say "do you want fries with that?" alot?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130514/10391523084/vp-joe-biden-believes-theres-no-legal-reason-government-cant-slap-sin-tax-violent-media.shtml#c647 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:28:38 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130514/10391523084/vp-joe-biden-believes-theres-no-legal-reason-government-cant-slap-sin-tax-violent-media.shtml#c647 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c565 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:23:18 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c565
Do you post your fic on Archiveofourown.org? I both post & read most of my fanfic there for many reasons, but a big one is that there's a drop-down menu on "Download" where you can choose mobi, epub, pdf, or html to download to your ebook rather than reading the fic on the screen. My first thought on discovering the drop-down was, "I'll never have to pay for an overpriced zine again!", and I immediately gave AO3 a nice donation.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c42 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:17:19 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/01434213446/dailydirt-tuition-debt-is-chumps.shtml#c42 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/10303023175/magic-hat-brewery-sues-west-sixth-brewing-using-number-six-their-logo.shtml#c346 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:08:57 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/10303023175/magic-hat-brewery-sues-west-sixth-brewing-using-number-six-their-logo.shtml#c346 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/00174423181/kim-dotcom-threatens-to-sue-google-facebook-twitter-over-2-factor-authentication-patent-if-they-dont-help-him.shtml#c2002 Thu, 23 May 2013 18:08:40 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130523/00174423181/kim-dotcom-threatens-to-sue-google-facebook-twitter-over-2-factor-authentication-patent-if-they-dont-help-him.shtml#c2002