Google starts back up
Google started
scanning books in other countries. Soon you can read all the books from Canada that you want. :-) What books will be selected? Why does country matter? International copyright law (as well as jurisdiction laws) get a real test.
Re-engineer the internet
The NSF will help re-engineer the internet, and is starting to give (well, grant) away some planning money. How will this effort be different from Internet 2?
This article talks about how other countries might be involved. Seems like a great idea, given the Internet is about the most global technology that exists. I'll be curious how IP and standards are set up in an international collaboration such as this. Will the IETF rule? W3C? Or the good old US?
Open Media Commons
Watch for this one, even though it's first project is DReaM. My opinion: Commons need to be seen as run by a benevolent, and/or independent group. Sun can be behind it, but they can't be alone -- or too far (or ahead) of it. A tough balancing act ahead for Sun. But go OMC! Good luck.
DReaM on?
Sun releases a
new open source Digital Rights Management standard. Why will an open source standard succeed when other proprietary standards will not? Is it finally time for an open source standard -- people want the technology, but don't want the proprietary handcuffs?
My opinion is that the public has not yet embraced DRM, so open source or not, it will be difficult to get the public to adopt anything!
Lloyd's of London = open source
Lloyd's of London gets hip. They are about to become (or even might be by this point) the backer for
Open Source Risk Management's open source risk insurance. Will you be the first on your block to
buy?
Women: Get into tech
Not intellectual property-related, but good news.
MSNBC covered the mission of the National Center for Women and Information Technology, which UC Berkeley is also involved in. With the reports this month that women are not involved in science because of opportunity, not nature, go NCWIT!
Where should academic freedom end?
The Seattle Times stirred up controversy on August 7 as they published an article about how university faculty talk about the results of clinical trials prior to their completion. Universities need to be cautious about leaking early information, and confidentiality of patient information, certainly. But where is the line between academic freedom and insider trading? Universities must remember their core mission to educate and research. See the report
here.
Gates preaches for higher ed
Bill Gates continued to use his soapbox talking about the
need for greater funding for higher education, as he sees it as being key to development of innovation. His remarks are very reminiscent of what appeals to the Creative Class -- more education, culture, etc. Fewer tax breaks!
Will trademarks for open source become an acceptable business model?
After now
confirmed reports that Linux has been trademarked in Australia, and users are being asked to pay a fee to receive the software, will this open the gates for more? Using a trademark can help maintain quality (and thus keep out bad code) but I know this has been a contentious move in the past. Watch for more.
Who wants to buy The Well?
The Well is
for sale. 12,000 users at one time; this actually doesn't sound like that many, but $500,000 annually isn't too bad. It's not a huge business, but perhaps one person with a passion will pick it up.
Everything Bad is Good for You
I just finished Steven Johnson's latest book
Everything Bad is Good for You. He calls it an old fashioned bit of persuasion. At the heart is the Sleeper Curve, which he named after some movie I've never heard of. The core idea is that media is getting more complex, and allowing us to think in different ways than before. He says IQs are even increasing. The book could use a little bit more editing, IMHO, but the evidence is compelling. He does point out that shows like "Fear Factor" are not the cream of the crop, but shows like The Apprentice or Survivor have us tracking social networks, judging, and becoming more involved. A quick read, and worth checking out from the library.
Pre-print licenses
Rather than relying on implicit copyright licenses for pre-prints, Roger Clarke
suggests that publishers use a specific license so that all know what permissions are granted for pre-prints. Just as I've always advised authors to share their early research work under a license, sharing publications with a license is a good idea. Let's hope that this idea spreads!
Can HP convince its big rivals?
HP
called on IBM & Sun to stop using their own open source licenses, and instead use a common open source license. HP also called for fewer open source licenses. Can HP convince others?
While I certainly agree that there are many open source licenses, theoretically they all achieve different goals. Should we limit the goals that authors/developers/companies can achieve?
Globalization for GPL 3
What will the new Global GPL look like? I'm curious -- I hope that it does not become unintelligble in its attempts to be all things to all nations. Licenses accomplish specific purposes. One should select the license to meet a purpose. How many masters can one serve at a time?
FSF General Counsel Eben Moglen: "We need to globalize GPL,"
Moglen told IDG. "GPL 2 has elegantly worked outside of the U.S. in Europe and elsewhere, but it needs to become a bit more legally cosmopolitan. The GPL depended heavily on the Berne Convention, but it's still speaking language very reminiscent of U.S. copyright law. The GPL needs to recognize global copyright more explicitly. It sounds strange to lawyers in some countries."
Rate your open source software
New open source ratings are coming soon. Users can help others by taking public their experiences with open source software. I wonder if they will use something like slashdot uses to stop bias. Watch for more soon. .
"Business Readiness Ratings, a project of Carnegie Mellon University, Intel, and a company called SpikeSource, will allow users to rate open source applications on a scale of 1 to 5 in 12 areas, including functionality, quality, and security. "
Look out for impacts to university copyright policies
Kansas may
set the stage for university copyright. Watch what happens!
http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/08/08/kansas
Darknets take over
Are you a member of a
Darknet yet? Darknets are the new answers to open file sharing networks. Will you be the next on your block to join?
A step in the wrong direction?
The University of Texas system settled with Research in Motion regarding a patent infringement case they filed. They have filed 40 lawsuits for infringement of a particular Texas patent.
While it's good news that the University will receive additional research funding, the other items Texas has planned, including forming a committee to increase revenue, is counter to what many universities new approach to tech transfer is. Perhaps the committee is actually directed toward improving relationships, and use of intellectual property, which -- as a byproduct -- probably also increases revenue.
Now, there is nothing wrong with patent owners asking infringers to take licenses, and obviously lawsuits are a key tool afforded patent owners. Watching the reaction of Texas licensees, and potential licensees, over the next few years, will be important. Does suing help or hinder technology adoption? What are the most important values to a university -- reward inventors; research resources; technology adoption; public service, etc. . . a tough call for every university.
