Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Darknet on Hold
I just finished reading J.D. Lasica’s Darknet. The book is interesting, well-written, and disturbing. There’s no question that it warrants a review. But I’m on the island of Santorini at the moment, so it’s going to have to wait a bit. In fact, it might be a slow time for new postings overall…
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Thursday, August 04, 2005
Saga of a Baffled Dry Cleaner
A couple of weeks ago, the Federal Circuit issued its en banc ruling in Phillips v. AWH Corporation. Like most folks with a deep interest in patent law (and virtually no one else), I had been awaiting this decision for its promised clarification of the tools of claim construction. When it finally came down, I was pleasantly surprised. Though the law still does not stand where I think it should, I thought that the court arrived at the most sensible among the possible positions.
I promised a colleague that I would digest the case for an internal IP newsletter. I did that--and in keeping with the digest’s tone, ended up with a very vanilla and uninteresting little essay (note that I am not knocking vanilla, which is in truth one of my favorite flavors). Nevertheless, I chose to replicate it below. But I also decided that maybe, just maybe, I could use this posting as an excuse to promote a little patent education. So I’ve also done something gutsy. I also included a draft of an essay that I prepared as part of my second book. Of course, like all of my ealry drafts, it’s quite overwritten; it will be much condensed in later edits. Nevertheless, if you look below, you will find my introductory essay on the state of claim construction.
(WARNING! This is an unacceptably long post. Proceed at your peril).
(WARNING! I haven’t quite figured out how to include footnotes in a convenient matter, so I’ve just dropped them. Everything that I claim is a quote is, in fact, a quote. The state of the technology, or my aptitude, make it difficult for me to source quotes appropriately).
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Through the Looking Glass
One of my first thoughts after 9/11, and probably the first idea that I had the fortitude to draft into an essay, was the need to confront ”The Terrorist in the Mirror.” My first assertion was that any cause that motivates reasonable, committed people to work will also motivate unreasonable people to kill. My corrolary was that we all have a special responsibility to police and to punish those whose violence furthers our own goals.
Over the past few years, we have seen a hugely disappointing performance from the Muslim community. Though some brave voices continue to speak out, at considerable risk to themselves, the sclerotic power structure continues to excuse Islamic violence, at least selectively. Those of us who do not belong to that community frequently stand outside it and wonder if we’re witnessing a mere lack of nerve or a genuine support for violence.
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Iraqis or Iraq?
Preeta Bansal (a religious freedom activist) and Nina Shea (of Freedom House) contributed an important Op-Ed piece to this morning’s Washington Post, headed Iraq Must Avoid a Rollback of Rights.
As they describe the drafts of the pending “permanent Iraqi Constitution” now circulating, it eliminates all mention of international norms and obligations concerning human rights, instead limiting human rights to those consistent with sharia.
This characterization (assuming it’s true) poses a challenge for both the Bush Administration and its opponents, particularly those on the left.
For the administration, the challenge is to stand for its articulated principles. Will it hail a timely constitution that eviscerates the entire notion of liberalism and halt the Arab world’s tentative sampling of Enlightenment values? Or will it describe all such attempts as failures in need of further work? This question, more than anything else, will put to the test the promises of the President’s second inauguration speech. Will he, like his father before him, meekly accept the authoritatrian tendencies of nominally pro-American Arab leaders and governments? Or will he become the first world leader to ever stand for the rights of individual Arabs as individuals? The success of the entire push to reshape the Middle East hangs in the balance.
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Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Shalom, Tony & Jack
Israeli FM Silvan Shalom wrote a good piece in today’s Jerusalem Post about Britain’s growing commitment to fighting terrorism.
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Monday, August 01, 2005
Regrets? I’ve Got a Few. But then again. . .
Michael Krasny just hosted my first radio interview, now available on-line courtesy of San Francisco’s KQED. Other than blanking on the name “Creative Commons,” I think it went okay (though perhaps I should wait to hear from others before making such an assessment).
Of course, I blew a softball for a good closing. A satellite radio listener from West Virginia opposed the notion of government programs for assistance, citing his own success at reorienting himself. I said that I hoped that all Americans were as capable as he, but that I doubted it. Bad response. I came off like an advocate for large government programs (even though I stressed that the government’s job was to ensure that such programs existed, rather than to provide them directly).
I should have taken the opportunity to rally folks around the free trade cause. CAFTA passed by only two votes. The forces of protectionism are strong because people are afraid. If we don’t do something to alleviate that fear, they will start to win—soon. Adjustment assistance is more than simply a societal obligation. It is a necessary strategic component in a free trade agenda. And above all, the design of effective adjustment assistance programs will force us to rethink our approaches to education, training, and employment.
That would have been the right closing.
Sigh. Next time . . .
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Sunday, July 31, 2005
What Digital Phoenix might have Said about the Blogosphere
I’ve already sort-of lamented that the blogosphere mushroomed only after I had more-or-less completed Digital Phoenix. Of course, I can only “sort of” lament it, because one of my major points in Digital Phoenix was that the pattern we’ve seen in the information economy will recur repeatedly as broader swathes of society transtion to the information age. That pattern, for those just tuning in, is: (i) Information technology empowers individuals and consumers; (ii) Clever producers find ways to benefit from the new empowerment; (iii) Incumbent middlememen become increasingly unhappy and seek ways to fight back.
Judge Posner’s essay in this morning’s NYT Book Review section shows that pattern unfolding in the news business.
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Informationism in A Few Bullet Points
A couple of days ago, a poster over on TPM Cafe asked what “centrists” believe. Though anyone who’s read any of my writing knows, I consider myself a staunch philosophical liberal rather than a centrist, I knew what he meant. So I provided an answer. I didn’t think too much about it at the time, but I just reread it and liked it--so I thought that I’d archive it by reposting it here. Here are some things that I believe:
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