rethink(ip)

A Rethink(IP) need: graphic design help

Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at November 30, 2006 03:57 PM

Matt, Doug and I have been talking about creating some novelty T-shirt designs that are patent and IP related. 

If any of you are handy enough with Gimp/Photoshop/graphics editing software to make simple designs (nothing too elaborate) and would be interested in helping out, drop me (Steve) a line at:  nipper@inventblog.com

New Law Jobs posted at LegalMojo

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at November 27, 2006 06:21 PM

Recent law jobs at LegalMojo :

• Patent Attorney - INTELLECTUAL LAW GROUP Bellevue, Washington Patent
  
• Prosecution Associates - FENWICK & WEST Mountain View, CA
  
• Patent Prosecution Associate or Agent - VISTA IP LAW GROUP Saratoga, California
  
• Patent Attorney - LONDON London, England
  
• Corporate Associate - GALILEO GROUP Washington, DC
  
• IP Counsel - PROCTER & GAMBLE Cincinnati, OH
  
• Intellectual Property Law and Policy Counsel - IPO Washington, D.C,

Post-Thanksgiving Invention Funnies

Need a little humor going into the end of the year and holiday season?  Once again, YouTube comes through like a champ - Invention Funnies compiled from the DailyShow.

The video may not be exactly work-safe (it is the DailyShow on Comedy Central, afterall) - but if you have a headset and your monitor faces away from the door, let a little levity into your life.

Don't say I didn't warn you - don't have a mouth full of coffee in your mouth while watching this.  You will spray it all over your monitor.

 

Martin Luther King

On a weekend of Thanksgiving, accurate information should be a goal for a search on Google for Martin Luther King. 

So... let's do a little Google-bombing:

Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King

If you want to know why we are doing this, have a look here.  Even better - join in the project and do some good.

Thanks to Scoble for raising the profile of this project.

Technorati tags: MLK, Martin Luther King, Thanksgiving, Do Good

 

Rethink(IP) rethinks the national championship - bring in the lawyers

Posted by J Matthew Buchanan at November 21, 2006 10:18 AM

I'm a die hard Buckeye fan.  Ask Doug and Steve, they'll tell ya.

So, considering Ohio State's victory over our arch-rival *ichigan last week (I told you I was die-hard), I should be sitting back and relaxing as we wait for the other invitation to the Fiesta Bowl national championship game to be mailed, right?

Wrong.  If you haven't heard, the football nation is up in arms over whether that team up north (*ichigan) deserves a rematch, especially considering their current #2 ranking in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series).

For the record, I don't really care who the Buckeyes play.  The BCS is designed to ensure that #1 faces #2 in the final game of the year; the victor gets the crown.  The Buckeyes are #1...and should play the #2 team, no matter which team ends up in that spot (yes, even if its those pesky wol*erines).

But, the whole debate has me thinking that there has to be a better way to do this.  Forget the long-debated playoff system...the fact that we haven't put that in place yet tells me that its not likely to ever happen.

Nah....I'm going way out of the box here...a real rethinking.

I say "bring in the lawyers!"

Yep, you heard me right.  Let the lawyers rack up some billable hours on the national championship debate. 

Ok, once you're done snickering (or screaming), please read on because I am serious.

Right now we've got an arbitrary system that, more often than not, produces some legitimate debate about which teams should be in the national championship game.  Right now, *ichigan, USC, and Florida probably have legitimate claims to the second invitation.  It's possible that the next two weeks could make things crystal clear (think USC and Florida losses), but, its more likely that a debate will linger at the close of the regular season.

Here's the thought.  At the close of the regular season, the BCS should invite the teams that are legitimately in the debate to present their case to a panel of judges that will ultimately make a ruling...a public ruling that can be used as precedent in future years.  The BCS could establish a body of "caselaw" that teams could use in the future as they present their case.  Teams could argue that a particular ruling (e.g., the *ichigan decision of 2006/2007) supports their cause, cuts against another team's cause, or both.  They could distinguish prior rulings, and even argue that a prior ruling was a bad decision that should be overturned.

All of this, of course, would be held in a public forum (ESPN would buy the television and radio rights, I'm sure).  December is essentially void of college football action.  Three weeks of BCS National Championship Court would fit in nicely.

I'm not saying this solely because it would probably be my dream job as an attorney.  Nope...I think it's the easiest solution to a complicated problem.  The championship game will always have an arbitrary component to it (even if a playoff system is adopted), and the best way to protect against arbitrary decisions is to have an adversarial system in which parties are loyally represented by advocates in a public forum that makes public decisions.

Bring on the lawyers.

And bring on #2.  Go Bucks.

 

Rethink(THIS!): Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

Posted by J Matthew Buchanan at November 14, 2006 08:53 AM

From Alan Weiss' Value-Based Fees, How to Charge -and Get- What You're Worth:


"Other than their tactical and strategic failure, time based fees are great."

Five minute inspiration for inventors and innovators

Posted by J Matthew Buchanan at November 12, 2006 04:38 PM

Inventing, as our good friend Bill Meade likes to say, is a process, not an event. So, too, is innovating.  Both can produce some amazing results when the creative juices are flowing.  Unfortunately, though, both inventing and innovating are like other business processes….they’re prone to getting stuck every so often. 

So what do you do when you or your inventive personnel don’t feel much like inventing?  When the innovation machine has come to a screaching halt?

Yell and scream and throw things (an old boss of mine comes to mind…)?

Nah…remember, this is the Web 2.0 world.  Nowadays, you head on over to YouTube, of course.  It is, after all, the Invention of The Year.  That alone should get everyone thinking of invention/innovation fortune and fame.

All kidding aside, there are some wonderfully inspirational clips on YouTube relating to invention and/or innovation.  I did a quick search and scan this weekend, and picked the three clips below as my current favorites. 

Many people just won’t understand these clips.  Some might even stare at the screen a bit funny, with their head cocked to the side like a dog that just doesn’t get it.  But I guarantee that the inventors and innovators of the world will be inspired by each of them.  

It’ll take about five minutes to read this post and watch all three clips.  If you’re one of the crazy ones, feel free to come back whenever you need a little inspiration.