#1 and #3 are true, however #2 is false. The information existed and could have in fact been provided. The existence of a "policy" not to give existing relevant evidence to a defense attorney after a certain time period does not change that fact. According to the Brady v. Maryland decision, suppression of exculpatory evidence is a violation of due process. Also, knowingly denying the existence of such existing evidence would be perjury.
I agree with your interpretation. I was answering GP's general question about whether trademarks are ever lost by not defending them, and did not mean to imply that this was the case with Activision and King's Quest. Activision, as far as I can tell, are just being jerks in this case.
We're talking about trademarks in this thread, not patents. There's a different set of laws for those.
Zipper was a trademark which wasn't enforced, and thus it became genericized. If it had been enforced, we'd have to call zippers "sliding fasteners" or something equally awkward. The physical design to which the trademark refers could or could not be patented, that's a completely different issue from whether or not the brand name that refers to the design is trademarked.
You could trademark a non-patented design, or patent a design and not trademark a name for it. Patents and trademarks are apples and oranges.
Trademarks which have lost their legal protection in the US due to a lack of zealous lawyering include "aspirin," originally a trademark of Bayer AG, "escalator," originally a trademark of Otis Elevator Company, "thermos," originally a trademark of Thermos GmbH, "yo-yo," originally a trademark of Duncan Yo-Yo Company, and "zipper," originally a trademark of B.F. Goodrich.
References and more info are available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark
For a legal precedent from the world of real property, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession
I agree with your point, but not with your analogy.
Auto manufacturers do have explicit policies against you re-wiring your car. Doing so will certainly void your warranty. Also, many auto manufacturers actively design their cars specifically to prevent modification and repair by unauthorized persons. You may be able to change the oil in your expensive European luxury car, but if you want the light on the dashboard that says it's time for an oil change to go out, you'll need to either visit the dealer, or reverse-engineer the computer the dealer uses to reset those lights. In addition, the various computers in the car communicate using proprietary protocols, so if you want to integrate a computer of your own into your car, you'll have to reverse-engineer those protocols.
It sucks when auto manufacturers do it, it sucks when printer manufacturers do it, and it sucks when Apple does it. One of the things I look for in a car is a healthy aftermarket and a knowledgeable community of owners who work on their own cars. I don't want to have to take my car to the dealer for a problem I could solve myself, and likewise I don't want to have to ask Steve Jobs' permission to run a little app on my phone. I want my stuff to be my stuff, and if the manufacturer wants to lock me out of my own stuff, then I'll find another manufacturer to give my money to.
There are at least four factors at work in determining the happiness of an individual - neurological chemistry, experience, intelligence, and wisdom. Wisdom and intelligence don't necessarily go together - Bernie Madoff is a great example of this. He's a very smart guy, but he has caused a lot of suffering to himself and others. You can even study the roots of suffering as an intellectual exercise, but if you can't apply what you've learned to your own life as you're living it, it isn't going to make you happy. Consistently applying such principles in action is wisdom.
Sounds like he could use some private investors who are willing to take big risks to get big rewards.
If the local real estate market makes building profitable enough, he should be able to make it worth their while. If local homebuilders are defaulting on loans, though, the market may not be ready for new homes to be built at this time. It sounds to me like the banks are watching their backs for now. That's understandable, given what has happened to real estate over the past year. However, there are always people looking for ways to make money from investments, and if your friend has the numbers to back up his proposals, he should be able to convince someone to buy in.
I'd like some clarification about that last paragraph. Exactly how is Obama's administration preventing him from getting a loan? Can't anyone with money lend it to anyone they want, as long as the recipient isn't involved with something criminal that would make the lender an accessory to a crime? Or have the rules changed somehow?
I would get a different doctor. I had it done the first time at age 23, and even though I had complications, I would make the same decision again. 18 years of child support would have been a lot more painful than what I went through, and given the failure rate of condoms, it's almost guaranteed that I would have been in that situation.
In addition, the added pleasure of being able to have condom-free sex for decades (always within a committed relationship - otherwise you're playing Russian roulette with STDs) more than made up for the pain.
Also note that most of these texts do not attribute pain directly to sperm buildup. If that were the cause, everyone who has the surgery would have pain, because everyone who has the surgery (except possibly single-ended surgery) has sperm buildup. In fact, a certain percentage of men who have the surgery, no matter what technique is used, have long-term pain. This indicates that the pain has something to do with the individual physiology of the man and how this affects the healing process, as there is some randomness to this.
My request for a source that says that "sperm buildup can create pressure which is uncomfortable" still stands.
I just sing the words "Happy Birthday" over and over to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree". That way there's no question that it's public domain. I figure if it's my birthday, I get to pick the tune, right?
Interesting choice of examples here... PETA has never killed or injured any human. They've killed a bunch of cats and dogs in their "shelters" (as have most "humane societies") but as far as humans are concerned, they're harmless. If you have a counter-example, please provide a hyperlink.
I've had it done a couple of times. There was some residual pain the first time, but none the second time. The first surgeon put on a bunch of plastic clips that caused scar tissue to build up. I came up with a nonzero sperm count after a number of years (always get yourself re-tested, guys!) and had it done again. The second surgeon (who seemed to be a lot better at it than the first) said he thought the first was a little too gung-ho with the clips, and that was probably related to the pain I had experienced.
I've never seen any evidence that "pressure from sperm build-up" can cause pain, and would be interested to read about it if anyone has a citation.
Sounds like you are referring to Land Rover, which is currently owned by India's Tata Motors. Today's Hummer is just a Chevy truck with different styling, and modern Chevy trucks don't have serious problems with quality. Land Rover, on the other hand, was constantly at the bottom of Consumer Reports' list for reliability.
You are right that the Chinese don't have much to learn from Hummer, though... you can walk into most auto parts stores today and buy Chinese replacement parts for any American car or truck. It wouldn't be much of a leap for them to start putting those parts together in China to make a whole car or truck, and indeed GM has recently been contemplating importing Chinese-made economy cars to the US within a few years.
The Dodge Sprinter 2500 (also known as Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in Europe) fits the bill. 3/4-ton hauling capacity, and 25-30 MPG from a 5-cyl turbodiesel engine. If they can do that with a van, it couldn't be too hard to chop the top off and make a pickup that could get similar numbers.
Another problem is how the judge/jury would know that the picture of the not-brown van itself hadn't been Photoshopped.
Accused of a burglary on Feb. 20th? Click, click, click... "Here, Your Honor, is a picture of me having tea with President Obama in the White House Rose Garden on Feb. 20th, proving my innocence."
Court could get pretty entertaining in the future...
Here's another reason why DSLR cameras will tend to increase one's skill at photography: With a DSLR taking lots of pictures at different settings to see how they turn out (a very helpful activity while developing skill with a camera) is essentially free.
I can remember spending big bucks on film, paper, and chemicals to take the shots I did back in the day of film cameras. Ever since I made the one-time investment in a DSLR setup, though, I've been able to take all the pictures I want for the price of a trivial amount of electricity and some dirt-cheap hard-drive space. Not only has this saved me money in the long run, but it has also helped me get better at taking pictures, as I haven't had to worry about paying for all the extra rolls of film and packs of paper to print out all those bad experimental shots.
Most companies beyond the size of a garage startup need much more than just makers and sellers. They also need:
Managers to decide who makes what how and when using which materials and to which specifications
IS staff to crunch the numbers managers use to make those decisions
Janitorial and maintenance staff to keep the building and equipment clean and running
Accounting staff to keep track of accounts payable and receivable so the suppliers keep sending supplies and the customers eventually pay for the goods
HR staff to make sure laws are followed and employee benefit programs are run properly
How long would a large company last if they fired everyone but the sales people and factory-floor machine operators? My guess is that those people would quit as soon as the first batch of paychecks failed to materialize. If you take any large manufacturing business and remove one of the groups listed above, the business will not last a year.
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Let me read TFA... Azotic Technologies.
...is another classic that belongs on the list.
Get your hair dyed some other natural-looking color, with eyebrows to match. You can always go back to grey once you have the job.
#1 and #3 are true, however #2 is false. The information existed and could have in fact been provided. The existence of a "policy" not to give existing relevant evidence to a defense attorney after a certain time period does not change that fact. According to the Brady v. Maryland decision, suppression of exculpatory evidence is a violation of due process. Also, knowingly denying the existence of such existing evidence would be perjury.
I agree with your interpretation. I was answering GP's general question about whether trademarks are ever lost by not defending them, and did not mean to imply that this was the case with Activision and King's Quest. Activision, as far as I can tell, are just being jerks in this case.
We're talking about trademarks in this thread, not patents. There's a different set of laws for those.
Zipper was a trademark which wasn't enforced, and thus it became genericized. If it had been enforced, we'd have to call zippers "sliding fasteners" or something equally awkward. The physical design to which the trademark refers could or could not be patented, that's a completely different issue from whether or not the brand name that refers to the design is trademarked.
You could trademark a non-patented design, or patent a design and not trademark a name for it. Patents and trademarks are apples and oranges.
Trademarks which have lost their legal protection in the US due to a lack of zealous lawyering include "aspirin," originally a trademark of Bayer AG, "escalator," originally a trademark of Otis Elevator Company, "thermos," originally a trademark of Thermos GmbH, "yo-yo," originally a trademark of Duncan Yo-Yo Company, and "zipper," originally a trademark of B.F. Goodrich. References and more info are available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark For a legal precedent from the world of real property, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession
I agree with your point, but not with your analogy.
Auto manufacturers do have explicit policies against you re-wiring your car. Doing so will certainly void your warranty. Also, many auto manufacturers actively design their cars specifically to prevent modification and repair by unauthorized persons. You may be able to change the oil in your expensive European luxury car, but if you want the light on the dashboard that says it's time for an oil change to go out, you'll need to either visit the dealer, or reverse-engineer the computer the dealer uses to reset those lights. In addition, the various computers in the car communicate using proprietary protocols, so if you want to integrate a computer of your own into your car, you'll have to reverse-engineer those protocols.
It sucks when auto manufacturers do it, it sucks when printer manufacturers do it, and it sucks when Apple does it. One of the things I look for in a car is a healthy aftermarket and a knowledgeable community of owners who work on their own cars. I don't want to have to take my car to the dealer for a problem I could solve myself, and likewise I don't want to have to ask Steve Jobs' permission to run a little app on my phone. I want my stuff to be my stuff, and if the manufacturer wants to lock me out of my own stuff, then I'll find another manufacturer to give my money to.
There are at least four factors at work in determining the happiness of an individual - neurological chemistry, experience, intelligence, and wisdom. Wisdom and intelligence don't necessarily go together - Bernie Madoff is a great example of this. He's a very smart guy, but he has caused a lot of suffering to himself and others. You can even study the roots of suffering as an intellectual exercise, but if you can't apply what you've learned to your own life as you're living it, it isn't going to make you happy. Consistently applying such principles in action is wisdom.
Sounds like he could use some private investors who are willing to take big risks to get big rewards.
If the local real estate market makes building profitable enough, he should be able to make it worth their while. If local homebuilders are defaulting on loans, though, the market may not be ready for new homes to be built at this time. It sounds to me like the banks are watching their backs for now. That's understandable, given what has happened to real estate over the past year. However, there are always people looking for ways to make money from investments, and if your friend has the numbers to back up his proposals, he should be able to convince someone to buy in.
I'd like some clarification about that last paragraph. Exactly how is Obama's administration preventing him from getting a loan? Can't anyone with money lend it to anyone they want, as long as the recipient isn't involved with something criminal that would make the lender an accessory to a crime? Or have the rules changed somehow?
Your post brings to mind the Stephen King novel Thinner.
I would get a different doctor. I had it done the first time at age 23, and even though I had complications, I would make the same decision again. 18 years of child support would have been a lot more painful than what I went through, and given the failure rate of condoms, it's almost guaranteed that I would have been in that situation.
In addition, the added pleasure of being able to have condom-free sex for decades (always within a committed relationship - otherwise you're playing Russian roulette with STDs) more than made up for the pain.
Also note that most of these texts do not attribute pain directly to sperm buildup. If that were the cause, everyone who has the surgery would have pain, because everyone who has the surgery (except possibly single-ended surgery) has sperm buildup. In fact, a certain percentage of men who have the surgery, no matter what technique is used, have long-term pain. This indicates that the pain has something to do with the individual physiology of the man and how this affects the healing process, as there is some randomness to this.
My request for a source that says that "sperm buildup can create pressure which is uncomfortable" still stands.
I just sing the words "Happy Birthday" over and over to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree". That way there's no question that it's public domain. I figure if it's my birthday, I get to pick the tune, right?
Interesting choice of examples here... PETA has never killed or injured any human. They've killed a bunch of cats and dogs in their "shelters" (as have most "humane societies") but as far as humans are concerned, they're harmless. If you have a counter-example, please provide a hyperlink.
I've had it done a couple of times. There was some residual pain the first time, but none the second time. The first surgeon put on a bunch of plastic clips that caused scar tissue to build up. I came up with a nonzero sperm count after a number of years (always get yourself re-tested, guys!) and had it done again. The second surgeon (who seemed to be a lot better at it than the first) said he thought the first was a little too gung-ho with the clips, and that was probably related to the pain I had experienced.
I've never seen any evidence that "pressure from sperm build-up" can cause pain, and would be interested to read about it if anyone has a citation.
There's no reason you can't lube up before putting it on.
Got a citation for that?
Sounds like you are referring to Land Rover, which is currently owned by India's Tata Motors. Today's Hummer is just a Chevy truck with different styling, and modern Chevy trucks don't have serious problems with quality. Land Rover, on the other hand, was constantly at the bottom of Consumer Reports' list for reliability.
You are right that the Chinese don't have much to learn from Hummer, though... you can walk into most auto parts stores today and buy Chinese replacement parts for any American car or truck. It wouldn't be much of a leap for them to start putting those parts together in China to make a whole car or truck, and indeed GM has recently been contemplating importing Chinese-made economy cars to the US within a few years.
The Dodge Sprinter 2500 (also known as Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in Europe) fits the bill. 3/4-ton hauling capacity, and 25-30 MPG from a 5-cyl turbodiesel engine. If they can do that with a van, it couldn't be too hard to chop the top off and make a pickup that could get similar numbers.
Another problem is how the judge/jury would know that the picture of the not-brown van itself hadn't been Photoshopped.
Accused of a burglary on Feb. 20th? Click, click, click... "Here, Your Honor, is a picture of me having tea with President Obama in the White House Rose Garden on Feb. 20th, proving my innocence."
Court could get pretty entertaining in the future...
There would be a driver in there, you know...
Birth rates and censorship are both linked to per-capita income.
Countries with high per-capita income tend to have widespread birth control, low birth rates, and less censorship.
Countries with low per-capita income tend to have limited access to birth control, high birth rates, and more censorship.
Here's another reason why DSLR cameras will tend to increase one's skill at photography: With a DSLR taking lots of pictures at different settings to see how they turn out (a very helpful activity while developing skill with a camera) is essentially free.
I can remember spending big bucks on film, paper, and chemicals to take the shots I did back in the day of film cameras. Ever since I made the one-time investment in a DSLR setup, though, I've been able to take all the pictures I want for the price of a trivial amount of electricity and some dirt-cheap hard-drive space. Not only has this saved me money in the long run, but it has also helped me get better at taking pictures, as I haven't had to worry about paying for all the extra rolls of film and packs of paper to print out all those bad experimental shots.
How long would a large company last if they fired everyone but the sales people and factory-floor machine operators? My guess is that those people would quit as soon as the first batch of paychecks failed to materialize. If you take any large manufacturing business and remove one of the groups listed above, the business will not last a year.