Kevin Donovan 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (49)

• On the post: Ray Beckerman Picks Apart RIAA Lawsuits For Judges' Benefit

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 31 Jul, 2008 @ 05:58pm

  Conflict of Interest

  Hmmm that's a really good point regarding the conflict of interest. I wonder if there's a lawyer in the crowd that could explain the ABA rules.

• On the post: Comparing The Telecom Industry To OPEC Isn't So Crazy

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2008 @ 04:07pm

  Labels

  Another example of the out-of-date labels assigned to policy these days...

• On the post: Information Has Always Been Dynamic Rather Than Static

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2008 @ 11:33am

  Darnton Misses the Boat

  The second part of his article deals with Google Book Search and makes 8 cautionary points. I think most of these are premature or over-hyped: http://blurringborders.com/2008/06/06/libraries-in-the-age-of-google/

• On the post: Apple Announces New iPods, Cue Fanboy Frenzy, Navel-Gazing

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 05 Sep, 2007 @ 03:03pm

  Apple/Starbucks Deal is for WiFi!

  Apple wanted people to be able to use the WiFi features of the two devices at the most prevalent WiFi provider in the USA - Starbucks and that's what people can do.

• On the post: DMCA Takedown For Professor Showing How Copyright Owners Exaggerate Their Rights

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 15 Feb, 2007 @ 04:37pm

  Carlos Mencia Uses DMCA to Silence Critics, Too

  Carlos Mencia recently used DMCA takedowns to silence a critical video showing him stealing material. Details here: http://copyrightings.blogspot.com/2007/02/carlos-mencia-uses-dmca-to-silence.html

• On the post: Court Doesn't Have A Problem With Opt-Out Copyrights; Tells Kahle, Lessig To Go Home

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2007 @ 08:12am

  I imagine Lessig will continue the case, just because he has done so much with it so far, but it seems he is moving away from using the courts to change copyright policy.
  
  In recent speeches, he seems to think the most important thing to change is people's habits, because the legal system is stacked against us.

• On the post: Does The iPhone Need Patents?

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2007 @ 06:54pm

  Re: Re: 200 is a bit excessive...

  Very few have tried to 'copy' the iPod. How many MP3 players have 60 GBs? 30GB? Their main competition is the SanDisk ones whose purpose is to sell flash memory cards. The Zune, in my opinion, is the first real copy because it is the software+hardware model which they copied and which makes the iPod so attractive.

• On the post: Does The iPhone Need Patents?

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2007 @ 06:51pm

  Re: Re: 200 is a bit excessive...

  Very few have tried to 'copy' the iPod. How many MP3 players have 60 GBs? 30GB? Their main competition is the SanDisk ones whose purpose is to sell flash memory cards. The Zune, in my opinion, is the first real copy because it is the software+hardware model which they copied and which makes the iPod so attractive.

• On the post: Does The iPhone Need Patents?

  

  Kevin Donovan ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2007 @ 06:16pm

  R&D Costs

  Mike, I usually agree with you, but you are wrong on this one. "If it's so easy to copy, then it shouldn't have cost that much to develop." Researching and developing this technology is much more expensive than drawing on the patent applications to copy them. Using your logic, Apple should instead use trade secrets to stop copying instead of patents. Trade secrets are even more restrictive (no term restriction and not public). If I test a new, say, rake. After numerous iterations, I decide clear plastic is the best material (for whatever reason) and I then implement it to much fanfare, my competitors have little barrier to entry to the clear-plastic rake market. Just because some forms of intellectual property is bad, don't think all of it is. I had posted initial thoughts after watching the keynote: http://copyrightings.blogspot.com/2007/01/worthy-of-patent.html