I-202 Exam 2
Public Domain
"the realm embracing property rights that belong to the community at large, are unprotected by copyright or patent, and are subject to appropriation by anyone."
Romantic Author PP
-idea of authorship in intellectual property is not natural -concept of authorship in US promotes particular relations of power and authority -the idea that originality of author added value did not appear until US property law in 1790 --before that the aukthor and many other parts were all equally important contributors -Author centered definition of intellectual property values individual act of transformation over other forms of production --this reinforces values of industrialized nations and promotes inequality of developed and developing world -ideas of romantic authorship do not easily align w values of innovation --that are collectively produced, that communities have preserved for generations, and have resulted from incremental change
The Telephone PP
--invention of telephone is a contested story and not a black box -the black boxing had more to do with law than the technical creation -many ppl submitted similiar ideas for telephone -patent official in charge of telegraph patents claims he was bribed to give priority to Bell and give Bell confidential information of Grey's -patent struggles were very common in 19 and 20 century -1879 Bell sued for patent infringement and won by claiming central idea was "transmitting vocal and other sounds" -this became his entire legal strategy and had a monopoly on entire market -lawyers invented the telephone
Lawrence Lessig
-Jack Valenti, head of MPAA pushed to redifine creative property -wanted to be accorded same rights and protection as actual property holders -this would cause a radical and undesireable change in tradition -this would have caused a powerful few to cause how our creative world developed -2 purposes:-to convince you that Valentis views were wrong, and -that it would be terribley wrong to reject our own history -by changing these laws we would weaken opportunity for creators to create -consitiution laid out laws for property and creative property, and changing these would change the consitituion -creative prop released into public domain after certain amount of time -when copright ends, no need for compensation -4 modalities were: law, social norms, market, and architecture -these interact, and if we desire to understand freedom to do any particular thing, we must understand how they interact -nothign wrong or suprising about content making industrys desire to protect itself, but policy makers had to ensure protecting them did not become a detterant to progress, and it must preserve incentives and opportunities for innovation and change -ways to protect them may have unintended consequiences -scope of copyrights origianlly were very small but now encompass all tangible material as well as derived material -possible uses of a book is 1)unregulated uses 2)regulated uses 3)regulated uses deemed as fair use --internet caused 1&2 to combine and put burden on 3 bc of fair use -internet allowed authors to "centralize control" bc each copy on internet becomes subject to owners control and expands power because internet builds a copy into every transaction
Ghana, Digital Dumping Ground
-ewaste is piled up and burned and pollutes the river -children work there to make money in a very dangerous and toxic environment -e waste is sorted through and working stuff is resold -hard drives still containing personal info are used by criminals in scams -people get rid of electronics not realizing they are just sent to other countries to scrap -circuit boards are cooked to retrieve valuable metals -american e waste is sent to China even though there are laws against it
Jenifer Burrell
-ghanas import industry went from invisible to infamous -e wast problem reflects ghanas local demand for used computers, not western explointation -questionable data causes ppl to assume credible data is full truth, but this is rarely the case -often said that 75-80% of imports are unrepairable but true number is 10-20% -article basiclaly outlines how media is misrepresenting what is happening in Ghana -the import of computers is goal and benefits the citizens, does not harm them
Russel & Vinsel
-innovation is overvalued, overused buzzword with no actual meaning -what happens after innovation,maintenance, is more important -in 60s to take place of moral and social progress, we put importance on technological progress(innovation) --provided a way to celebrate accomplishments without moral or ethical improvement -after ww2, US viewed consumer tech as social progress -in 70s and 80s we focused on innovation policy in the face of economic competition -people wanted to disrupt entire industries completely changing them just for the fact of innovation -eventually ppl began to question value of innovation and it turned out to be a weak tactic in face of econmic turnmoil -evidence shows that innovation has systematic problems with inequality -Is there a better way to characterize relationship of society and tech? 3 answers 1. tech is not innovation, innoavtion is a very small part of tech --most remarkable tales of cunning, effort and care that people direct towards tech exist far beyond old anecdotes of innovation and invention 2.by dropping innovation, we recognize essential roles of basic infrastructures 3. focusing on infrastrucure allows us to be reminded of centrality of work that keeps country going -central part of civilizaiton is labor, and most labor falls outside of innovation -we should focus more on maintainers who keep country running instead of innovation
Lone Inventors vs Collaborative Inventors
-most work today is collaborative and done within a formal institution context -lone inventors more likely to create useless inventions bc they are less effective at cutting out bad ideas -extended networks are important and increase chance of having breakthrough idea
Origin Stories PP
-myths of genius inventors and creation myths are all too popular ex. garage inventors, heroic inventors that come up with an idea and save the world
James Bessen
-patent troll crisis is rly a software patent crisis -ppl who file patents without ever creating or doing anything with patent -patent trolling risen bc of dramatic increase in software patents which are prone to abuse and trolling --this is due to low quality patents w unclear property rughts and overly broad claims -lots of software patents are invalid bc they cover something already invented or are obvious improvement over something already invented -software patents especially vulnerable bc most of the time it is inherently conceptual -for physical items and chemicals, a prototype is required with the patent, but for software just the concept is enough for a patent
John Moore's Spleen & HeLa Cells
-tissue was taken from his spleen and transformed into a cell line -didnt receive property rights or right to profits bc he produced raw material but didnt transform it into a cell line
Traditional Knowledge
-umbrella term describing recongintion for a number of forms of traditional and indigenoius cultrual production,etc
Innovation
1. The introduction of something new (Merriam Webster). 2. A new idea, method or device (Merriam Webster). 3. The process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. In business, innovation often results when ideas are applied by the company in order to further satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers (Business Dictionary).
Intellectual Property and Creativity PP
3/1/17 3 • Western ideas of "romantic authorship" are not natural. • There are other models for the production and distribution of creative knowledge that are read out of intellectual property regimes (e.g. collaboration instead of authorship, tradition instead of new invention, gradual evolution instead of transformation, etc.) • Introducing Western ideas of authorship in other parts of the world creates and reinforces power relationships. • The material presented in this lecture is about property rights over information, but it is also intimately tied to changes in technology. How? Summary Intellectual Property, Invention and Creativity Argument: 1) Intellectual property laws were created to encourage invention and creativity, but today they often have the opposite effect. 2) Part of this is due to changes in technology. 3) It is also the result of laws broadening the scope of what we consider intellectual property, the increasing number of patent filings, and the greater number of patent-‐‐ and copyright-‐‐related lawsuits. Congress has the power to promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts, by securing for Limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. What is the purpose of intellectual property? • Incentive for people to share their inventions or their creative work so the public benefits from the ideas. • Mechanism for inventors and authors to receive payment for their work. • Continuation of public domain. 3/1/17 9 Patents are given for: "a process, machine manufacture or composition of matter or an improvement thereof." Patents cannot be given for: • Abstract ideas • Mathematical formulae • Scientific principles • Laws of nature • Mental process
Patent Troll
A derogatory term for an organization (non-‐‐practicing entity or NPE) that uses its patents to generate revenue without manufacturing the products that the patents pertain to.
Fair Use
An exception to U.S. copyright law that may allow people to reproduce a copyrighted work depending on: • The purpose and character of use (e.g. academic, commercial) • The nature of the copyrighted work, • The amount of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole • The effect of the use on the value of the work or its potential market
First Sale
An exception to U.S. copyright law that allows you to resell a used version of a copyrighted work (e.g. books, dvds, etc.)
Maintenance PP
Argument • We mythologize heroic tales of inventiveness, rather than mundane forms of work that are essential. • By focusing on innovation, we often overlook maintenance. • As such we have a partial and biased view of technology and work. Young v. Old (Ageism) • High status v. Low status • Exceptional Geniuses v. Regular People • New and unknown v. Known (experience, wisdom) • Media attention v. no news & status quo • Argument that "innovation speak" favors those with access to resources and the ability to fai The Maintainers: How a Group of Bureaucrats, Standards Engineers, and Introverts Created Technologies that Kinda Work Most of the Time Maintenance-‐‐Centered Perspective 1. Focus on the local. Innovation is often framed as universal. Maintenance attends to the specifics of where you are. It is about care. 2. Think of technology as more than the latest high-‐‐tech gadget. Much of technology is old and not innovative. Innovative technologies become old too, and must be maintained. 3. Think about infrastructure and its repair. Infrastructures make daily life possible (think of water, electrical, sewage, telecommunications, road, and rail infrastructures.). Overlooking maintenance and repair can lead to disastrous consequences. 4. Value "maintainers," the people who perform the upkeep on our world. Recognize that maintenance work is often given lower status, but that it is crucial for sustaining our way of life. Maintenance-‐‐Centered Perspective 1. Focus on the local. Innovation is often framed as universal. Maintenance attends to the specifics of where you are. It is about care. 2. Think of technology as more than the latest high-‐‐tech gadget. Much of technology is old and not innovative. Innovative technologies become old too, and must be maintained. 3. Think about infrastructure and its repair. Infrastructures make daily life possible (think of water, electrical, sewage, telecommunications, road, and rail infrastructures.). Overlooking maintenance and repair can lead to disastrous consequences. 4. Value "maintainers," the people who perform the upkeep on our world. Recognize that maintenance work is often given lower status, but that it is crucial for sustaining our way of life.
Planned Obsolescense
Business practice of deliberately limiting the life of the product to stimulate future demand. This can be done by: • Stopping its supply or available customer support • Introducing a new, and perhaps incompatible, version • Incorporating features that will go out of favor in a short time. • Designing products that are difficult to fix or "made to break."
Diagram for typical invention story
Idea(man w light bulb)--->Invention(Light Bulb)------>Society(earth)
E-Waste
Electronic products such as computers, televisions, stereos, DVD players, etc. that are at the end of their useful life.
Dan and Chip Heath
Myth about Creation Myths -tales of innovation sound alike, everything was created in a garage without money or power and they triumphed due to brilliant insight and scrappy groundwork -this is not true -Pino Audia and Chris Ryder published study that said 91% of venture capital backed companies were related to owners prior experience -Jobs and Woz worked at HP before APPLE -companies were born in other companies, not garages -ppl just enjoy these types of stories
Stylistic Obselesence
Objects go out of fashion and need to be replaced. This promotes market activity and economic growth. Sometimes viewed as wasteful.
Common features of creation myths?
Often sacred accounts, with a plot and characters, in a dim and nonspecific past.
What it means to open the black box of invention? Could you use examples from class to tell a more complex story?
Opening up the black box means looking past just the inputs and outputs of the device and analyzing how you get this function out of the box.
Bruno Latour
Science in Action -talks about Diesel and his creation of the diesel engine -started off a s a constant temp engine but was transformed into a constant pressure engine -finally created a working one and sold blueprints and license to use it to be built as a black box, but it fell open -had to constantly be fixed and repaired -slowly but surely all licenses and prototypes were returned and Diesel went bankrupt -engineers from MAN kept working on it and eventually created a working prototype -in 1908 when Diesels Patent ran out, MAN repatented it and it actually worked
James Boyle
Shamans, Software, and Spleens -intellectual property regime benefits the developed world at the expense of the developing -if all countries commodified innovation, the largest smartest and highes GNP countries would be able to commodify more -Boyle tries to show that basic assumptions of the regime allow it that certain contributions are validated and rewarded while others are made invisible -The author concept is the gate for intellectual property rights -many things flow out of develpong countries without intellectual property rights while many others flow in protected by these rights -intellectual property system centered on original creator compounds these tendenceies because of traditional competitive advantage of developing countries are their raw materials and developed countries advantages are the authorial regime values this raw material to produce intellectual property at zero cost -examples are 3rd world countries that for centuries had made plant strains have a certain property that they like, and a developed country comes in and makes it even better and now owns all of the intellectual property rights even if they did not do a majority of the work
How has copyright Law changed in past 100 years?
Started off with terms of 28 years max, now we have 95 year maximums. Before it only covered copies of the original work, but now encompasses all tangible materials to the copyright as well as all materials derived from the copyright. Before there was a renewal option, but now there is no renenwal , just one long 95 yr period. The internet has caused it so that every time there is a reproduction of the work on the internet, it is technically a copy and not the original work.
Technological Obsolescence
Technological change causes an object to become out-‐‐ of-‐‐date. This kind of progress is often related to ideas of progress, innovation, and human ingenuity. "Obsolete" objects should be replaced with "modern" ones.
How has idea of "romantic author" allowed us to patent spleens and cell lines?
The idea of romantic authorship has allowed us to patent cell lines and spleens because the whole idea behind it is the author is the one who takes the raw material and transforms it somehow. Who ever does the transformation is the romantic author and techically has all rights to the product.
Criteria Determining Fair Use
The purpose of the use The nature of the copyrighted work The amount of the entire portion used The effect of the use on the open market
One factor that challenges Bells claim as sole inventor of telephone
There were many other patents also filed with very similiar pictures and ideas inside of them. Elisha Grey had patented the talking telegraph before he had.
How do ideas of romantic authorship assert power and authority?
They do this by making the person who adds something to the raw material the author and therefore the property owner. This asserts power and authority because developing countries are usually the ones producing the raw materials and developed countries are usually the ones transforming these materials. When we transform them we assert our power and authority and now we own the property of that idea.
Black Box
device viewed by society that is viewed solely in terms of input and output without knowledge of internal workings
Patent
gives a set of exclusive rights to an inventor for a fixed period of time, typically 20 years after the filing date, in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter. The idea must be new, inventive (non-‐‐obvious), and useful or industrially applicable.
Copyright
is a form of protection provided to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. It prohibits the making of unauthorized copies or derivative works. Facts, ideas, concepts, processes and methods are not copyrightable.
Romantic Author
view of authorship that emphasizes the transformation of raw materials and indivudual originality as the basis of intellectual and artistic production and this form a property -must add something original to raw material to attain authoriship
black boxing
way that scientific and technical work is made invisible by its own success, When the machine works we only need to focus on input and output and not on its internal complexity
Waste PP
• There is a bias towards the new in the way we think about technology. • This can create a strain on our human and environmental resources. • We see this in the growing amount of E-‐‐waste. • The lack of desire to maintain and repair in richer countries creates economies of maintenance and repair in poorer countries. • This creates new economic opportunities, but it also creates environmental and health hazards.
