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Trademark versus Copyright and Patent, or: Is All IP Evil?
,----[ Quote ]
| So we come to trademark. I deal with this on pp. 58-59 of Against
| Intellectual Property, and also in some detail in Reply to Van Dun:
| Non-Aggression and Title Transfer (esp. pp. 59-63). In my view, the
| new-fangled extensions of trademark law--rights against "trademark dilution"
| and cybersquatting, etc.--are obviously invalid. Further, federal trademark
| law is problematic since it is not authorized in the Constitution (copyright
| and patent are, but not trademark; trademark relies on the Interstate
| Commerce Clause, and thus the federal trademark law only covers trademark
| connected to interstate commerce, and does not preempt state law, so that
| state trademark law still governs many intra-state situations).
|
| But even if federal trademark law were abolished, as well as modern
| extensions such as rights against trademark dilution, even common law
| trademark is problematic, for three primary reasons. First, it is enforced by
| the state, which gets everything wrong. Second (see First), the test
| of "consumer confusion" is usually applied ridiculously, treating consumers
| like indiscriminating idiots. Third, and worst of all, the right at issue is
| the right of the defrauded consumer, not the competitor. Trademark law ought
| to be reformed by abolishing the right of trademark "owners" to
| sue "infringers" (except perhaps as proxy for customers, when consent can be
| presumed or proved), and treating this as a case of the customer's right to
| sue a vendor who defrauds him as to the nature of the good purchased.
`----
http://www.againstmonopoly.org/index.php?perm=593056000000000543
Increasing Concerns Raised Over Google's Book Search Settlement
,----[ Quote ]
| When the settlement between Google and authors and publishers, over Google's
| book scanning project, was announced, many saw it as a big victory for
| everyone -- as it allowed Google to continue moving forward with plans to
| scan books, while also creating a "business model" for authors and
| publishers. However, some of us were very troubled by the implications of the
| settlement.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090204/0248153640.shtml
Google pays writers for old books
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/972/1050972/google-pays-writers-books
Recent:
50 Years Of Scientific Discovery & Sharing In Antarctica May End Thanks To
Patent Greed
,----[ Quote ]
| Beyond the rather serious question of why either organisms or molecules can
| be patented, this is a microcosm of what's wrong with patents. Patents are
| supposed to be used to encourage research (promoting the progress, remember).
| And this treaty has done a great job promoting progress without patents.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090206/0931323669.shtml
Scientists Feel That Patents Cause Significant Harm To Research
,----[ Quote ]
| Michael Geist points us to a recent survey of scientists who say that IP
| protection has a negative impact on their research. It's greatly slowed down
| the ability to do research, as universities (thanks to the dreadful and
| damaging Bayh-Dole Act -- which has significantly hurt progress in scientific
| research) are trying to hoard anything that can be patented for the sake of
| profit, rather than scientific advancement. Of course, advancement doesn't
| work that way. It works through collaboration and sharing ideas -- and what
| patents do is add a huge bureaucracy to the process, encouraging secrecy, not
| sharing and hoarding, not collaboration. Once again, we're seeing that about
| the only folks who really truly benefit from patents are the lawyers.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090125/1827273529.shtml
Free The Facts: Critical Issue, Killer Presentation
,----[ Quote ]
| Dave Gray's Free The Facts presentation is a must-read, must-share for anyone
| who cares about either science or open access.
`----
http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/01/free-the-facts-open-access.html
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