Against Monopoly
defending the right to innovate
Monopoly corrupts. Absolute monopoly corrupts absolutely.
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Killing people with patents
Michele and I have long pointed out the human cost of pharmaceutical patents during the AIDS crisis in Africa (and were hardly the first to do so). Via Andy Neumeyer a new film documenting just how bad it was. Trailer here
[Posted at 05/16/2015 12:18 AM by David K. Levine on Pharmaceutical Patents 
comments(5)]
Dr. Who?
Via Werner Ploberger - the sad tale of reconstructing (or not...) missing episodes of Dr. Who
[Posted at 05/16/2015 12:14 AM by David K. Levine on Culture and IP comments(0)]
An analysis of patent trolls by a trademark lawyer
Via Randy Ray: Patent trolls
[Posted at 05/16/2015 12:12 AM by David K. Levine on Patent Trolls comments(2)]
Some history
[Posted at 11/21/2014 01:33 AM by David K. Levine on Patent comments(1)]
Patent Free Pharmaceuticals?
Joseph Jackson draws our attention to Project Marilyn a crowd funded effort to develop a promising anti-cancer drug unencumbered by patents. Check it out, and think about contributing. Often missing from our thinking is that the beneficiaries of a drug are not just those people that use it - but also all us who might use it.
[Posted at 11/04/2014 01:32 PM by David K. Levine on Open Source comments(0)]
Recipes
From Rafael Magri
Today I was reading a book called "The Omnivore's Dilema" and came accross something that I believe could be useful in your line of research (and I don't remember reading about it anywhere else).In the book, some executive from General Mills is quoted saying that recipes are not intellectual property. So, all you can get is a few months head start with some new product, time enough to establish a brand.
So, if the processes food industry is innovative enough, this fits nicely with the thesis that patents may be unecessary.
[Posted at 08/29/2014 05:36 AM by David K. Levine on Patents comments(0)]
What passes for intellectual thought
Cecil Quillen points us to the Partnership for American Innovation an organization devoted to making sure nobody ever innovates again...
[Posted at 08/29/2014 05:34 AM by David K. Levine on Propaganda comments(0)]
How many innovations are patented
Not all innovations are patented, and the question of how many is fundamental to understanding what is going on. Cecil Quillen points us to a careful new paper by R. Fontana, A. Nuvolari, H. Shimizu, A. Vezzulli attaching the issue.
[Posted at 08/29/2014 05:24 AM by David K. Levine on Patents comments(0)]
A new book on patent trolls
[Posted at 08/29/2014 05:17 AM by David K. Levine on Patent Trolls comments(0)]
All Our Innovation Are Belong You
Sadly patent trolls really do inhibit innovation: new research from Catherine Tucker. (Thanks to Jim Bessen and Cecil Quillen for this.)
[Posted at 06/16/2014 12:05 AM by David K. Levine on Innovation comments(0)]
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