On May 6, 2009, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launched an initiative to make available free digital textbooks for high school students. California's Secretary of Education, Glen Thomas, was responsible for ensuring that digital resources were available for use in high school math and science classes this September. According to Governor Schwarzenegger, California's budget crisis motivated […]
Software patents have been criticized frequently in recent years for a multitude of reasons. Computer programmers argue that they can make programming impossible for both commercial and for non-profit projects. Some analysts have noted that they do not promote innovation like patents in other industries do, and may in fact be hurting research and development […]
There was once an era where the music record industry existed in a symbiotic relationship with radio stations and broadcasters. Radio DJs could play what they wanted without paying royalties for every song played and radio play was free advertising for the record industry, enticing customers to purchase records from retailers. With the advent of the […]
Mark Rogers (Harris Manchester College, Oxford University) focuses on applied analysis of intellectual property and performance in his research. He is an IP Osgoode Research Affiliate. The role of IP in the UK, as elsewhere, is under active debate. In 2006 the Gowers Review of IP looked at all aspects of IP, although with a particular […]
In a recent presentation delivered at MIT, Professor Edward Roberts and Charles Eesley discussed the findings of a report that they co-authored on the role of universities in the level of success ultimately attained by companies founded by their graduates. Understandably, an emphasis was placed on the economic success achieved by start-up companies created by […]
Ariel Katz is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Toronto. Ariel holds the Innovation Chair in Electronic Commerce and is the Director of the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy of the University of Toronto. With the Public Copyright Consultations moving full steam ahead, various stake-holders raise proposals for expanding […]
The recent announcement of Yahoo and Microsoft's partnership may mean more choice and transparency for consumers, advertisers and publishers. It certainly means more competition in the world of online search and advertisements. Carol Bartz of Yahoo and Steven A. Ballmer of Microsoft finally put pen to paper on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, to announce this […]
The current decline in patent filings at the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has been well documented on many prominent intellectual property blog sites. In fact, according to a recent Patently-O blog entry, "new patent filings are down 16% so far in 2009." This post examines the variability in the number of application filings in the United […]
The period of data protection allocated to research-based, innovative drug companies is a hotly debated topic in the pharmaceutical industry and beyond. This period of protection allows research-based, brand name drug companies to maintain a monopoly on the market for any particular drug for a specified duration. During the period of data protection, competing generic drug […]
It is often said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but in the world of copyright, flattery is a much more controversial act. If you are not already familiar with the Shepard Fairey v. The Associated Press controversy, hop over to this site and take a look at the two pictures. The original […]