Of course, you're right. The jury just applied the law to the facts and determined that Ebay infringed. My point was just that blaming the PTO is also wrong. In this case, a jury determined that the patent was valid, in effect, vindicating the PTO.
If a large corporation like ebay can't win a case brought up against them for infringing an obviously frivolous patent then what chance do the rest of us have? Drastic reform in the uspto is necessary.
Actually, it's not the PTO's fault. If anyone is to "blame" (and how can you determine blame unless you've actually read the patents and heard the evidence) it would be the jury that found the infringement. Remember, even if the PTO grants a patent, the courts can still strike it down as being invalid.
True, but did you read the rest of that page? MS has $4.3B in cash . . . AND $41.9 B in short term investments, which are basically cash equivalent. That's a total of $46.2 B it has available.
In contrast, while IBM has $4.2 B in cash, it only has $1.4 B in short term investments.
BTW, despite being seen as the biggest and baddest company in the world, Microsoft is actually much smaller than IBM alone.
True. There are actually many companies that have more revenue than MS. You've probably heard of the Fortune 500. That list is based on revenue. And MS isn't even in the top 20. (I don't know it's exact ranking because the damn list isn't on the site). There are companies that dwarf IBM in revenue. For example, Exxon Mobil has $63 B in revenue. Wal-Mart has $57 B.
But look at the net income (aka Profit). While Exxon's $7B in income is huge, MS's $2.8 B is higher than Wal-Mart's or IBM's.
You realize that this is only the first filing that IBM has made in this case.
Not technically true. But the essence of it is true. According to SCO's own page on the lawsuit, IBM has filed several documents, one to move the case from state court to federal court, an extension of time, an answer, and an amended answer. The site doesn't have IBM's latest answer, which was only filed yesterday.
Why don't you try reading the patents first, before deciding that they cover merely the "wireless transmission of messages." You can find a link to the patents here.
I was under the impression that the patent treaties granted an automatic "reservation" for a patent, but no patent itself.
When you file under the PCT, you don't get a patent in every country, you merely reserve a date and allow the patent to be brought into various other countries. Here is a PCT FAQ from a Canadian law firm. Here is another FAQ. And here is the WIPO FAQ about PCT.
The court and the various attorneys looked at the patent very thoroughly and the jury still believed the patents were valid and infringed. If anything, a finding of patent validity validates the work of the PTO.
The problem is that this won't reward people who come up with inventions a before others. Lets say Inventor A invents product X on January 1, 2004. He applies for a patent on February 1, 2004. By April 1, 2005 (14 months after filing, which is how long the Patent Office attempts to examine patents), product X may already be on the market. Any "expert" hired to solve the problem will recite product X, but the reality is that product X did not exist until Inventor A invented it. Patents are supposed to be examined in light of the prior art in existence at the time of filing (and invention) not at the time of examination.
Plus, the sheer number of patents precludes the hiring of that many experts.
This is a common misconception, which needs to be corrected. The AHRA allows you to make backup copies of software only, that particular law does not extend that right to music. People are hoping that fair use will allow backup copies, but there is no law that does.
Why then is it called the Audio Home Recording Act?
Here is the link to 17 U.S.C. 1008. Key quote: "No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright . . . based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of [specified devices] for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings".
The law isn't so broad as to encompass all audio recordings, only those made on devices specified elsewhere in the AHRA, basically just standalone digital recorders and all analog recorders.
but the one advantage that I think people haven't mentioned yet of the printed guides are the screenshots.
But sometimes the ASCII is better. For example, in GTA: Vice City there are hidden packages to be found. I had the print guide version, but all it shows is a screen shot and a general description of where it is (e.g., on top of building X). But the GameFaqs guide actually made it easier to find things. Instead of just saying it's on top of building X, it told you how to get there, which is sometimes not obvious.
$30 for a CD? Not in the US. If you only like 8 minutes of a CD, try picking groups that you actually like. Most good groups have many good songs on their CDs, if you happen to like their style of music.
As for a cost comparison, I look at it this way. I will listen to a good CD 100s of times. I will watch a movie maybe once every 2 years. I will never go around watching a movie 5 times to hear 5 different commentaries. And I will never watch 8 hours of "behind the scenes" footage.
My favorite movie of all is The Godfather and I looked forward to getting the DVDs for so long. When I finally got them, I realized that I don't like watching movies over and over again. I've never listened to the audio commentaries and only briefly looked at the behind the scenes features.
That is why I own so few DVDs, if I want to watch a movie, I'll just rent one.
A top firm in a major city is going to start their attornies just out of school at 80k a year.
Actually, they make a lot more than that. In major cities (New York, Chicago, DC, San Franciso, etc.) new attorneys at large law firms make over $120k/year. Of course, the majority of new graduates don't work in large law firms and make about half of that.
If you are talking about "rock" in the sense of Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, etc. then I would probably listen to bands like:
Spock's Beard
Dream Theater
Liquid Tension
Actually that last band is called Liquid Tension Experiment. Also try Symphony X, another prog-metal band. And you have to include Transatlantic, a band featuring members of Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, and the Flower Kings. Transtlantic and Spock's Beard are probably closest to 70s prog rock, as Dream Theater and Symphony X have many more metal elements.
SACD and DVD-A were not really attempts to replace the CD. They've always been positioned in a niche market for audiophiles who aren't satisfied with the sound quality of CDs.
If they really wanted to push SACD, they would have made some releases as SACD exclusive. They never did that.
Why do you feel violated. You voluntarily bought the duplicates. You weren't forced to buy 3 copies of 23 albums. Why not sell the duplicates and get some money back?
If you call waiting 60 minutes for a decent connection to a file host "on demand", i'd argue that calling a DJ is more instantaneous.
You've got a good point there. Downloading music is a lot harder than the RIAA makes it out to be because you have to deal with users who log out, mislabled songs, and some songs are hard to get. Then again, with radio, you still have the DJ problem. Let's say you like the Coldplay song they play on the radio and you want to hear a few more tracks from their most recent album. The DJ will probably play the radio songs (Politik, Clocks) for you, but they're not going to play just any track off of the album.
My point is that the RIAA and record labels should be exploiting this opportunity.
I think everyone on/. agrees with you. The RIAA's distribution strategy worked fine in the past, but there is new technology out there just waiting to be legally exploited.
US Copyright act which was ammended in 1996 with the "Fair Use" act
No such thing as the Fair Use Act. The Copyright statutes have defined Fair Use under 17 U.S.C. 107 since 1978.
which allows me to make multiple copies to other media for personal and family use, and I believe also allows me to share my music with friends and acquaintances
Perhaps you're thinking of the Audio Home Recording Act, which prevents prosecution for making an analog copy or certain digital copies of music.
Final word, what's so different between Napster and Radio? I turn on a radio, I can hear the latest (and older) tunes. I can call in and make a request, and almost hear a tune on demand.
Well, Napster has been dead for years. I'll assume you mean Kazaa Lite. The difference in the RIAA's eyes is that radio is not on demand. Yeah, you can request a song, but that requires you to get through to fairly busy DJs, where the phone lines are always busy. In addition, the radio stations typically have playlists. If you request a song that is on the playlist, they may play it. If you request one that is not on the play list, they will not play it. Even the so called "alternative" stations would not play obscure music. With Kazaa, you have quick access to the song of your choice without those limitations.
Slashdot Mirror
Of course, you're right. The jury just applied the law to the facts and determined that Ebay infringed. My point was just that blaming the PTO is also wrong. In this case, a jury determined that the patent was valid, in effect, vindicating the PTO.
Actually, it's not the PTO's fault. If anyone is to "blame" (and how can you determine blame unless you've actually read the patents and heard the evidence) it would be the jury that found the infringement. Remember, even if the PTO grants a patent, the courts can still strike it down as being invalid.
True, but did you read the rest of that page? MS has $4.3B in cash . . . AND $41.9 B in short term investments, which are basically cash equivalent. That's a total of $46.2 B it has available.
In contrast, while IBM has $4.2 B in cash, it only has $1.4 B in short term investments.
BTW, despite being seen as the biggest and baddest company in the world, Microsoft is actually much smaller than IBM alone.
True. There are actually many companies that have more revenue than MS. You've probably heard of the Fortune 500. That list is based on revenue. And MS isn't even in the top 20. (I don't know it's exact ranking because the damn list isn't on the site). There are companies that dwarf IBM in revenue. For example, Exxon Mobil has $63 B in revenue. Wal-Mart has $57 B.
But look at the net income (aka Profit). While Exxon's $7B in income is huge, MS's $2.8 B is higher than Wal-Mart's or IBM's.
Not technically true. But the essence of it is true. According to SCO's own page on the lawsuit, IBM has filed several documents, one to move the case from state court to federal court, an extension of time, an answer, and an amended answer. The site doesn't have IBM's latest answer, which was only filed yesterday.
They review the lower court's decision for errors.
Why don't you try reading the patents first, before deciding that they cover merely the "wireless transmission of messages." You can find a link to the patents here.
When you file under the PCT, you don't get a patent in every country, you merely reserve a date and allow the patent to be brought into various other countries. Here is a PCT FAQ from a Canadian law firm. Here is another FAQ. And here is the WIPO FAQ about PCT.
They don't.
Actually the trial courts determine both validity and infringement.
The court and the various attorneys looked at the patent very thoroughly and the jury still believed the patents were valid and infringed. If anything, a finding of patent validity validates the work of the PTO.
- U.S. Patent 6,317,592
- U.S. Patent 6,067,451
- U.S. Patent 5,819,172
- U.S. Patent 5,631,946
- U.S. Patent 5,625,670
Each of the patent are very long with over 200 claims. One of them, in fact, has over 600 claims.You are correct! Saves me the trouble of having to correct all the mistakes you made in the parent post. :-)
Patents filed after November 29, 2000 are already being published on the PTO web site.
So who decides if something is prior art?
Plus, the sheer number of patents precludes the hiring of that many experts.
Why then is it called the Audio Home Recording Act?
Here is the link to 17 U.S.C. 1008. Key quote: "No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright . . . based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of [specified devices] for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings".
The law isn't so broad as to encompass all audio recordings, only those made on devices specified elsewhere in the AHRA, basically just standalone digital recorders and all analog recorders.
But sometimes the ASCII is better. For example, in GTA: Vice City there are hidden packages to be found. I had the print guide version, but all it shows is a screen shot and a general description of where it is (e.g., on top of building X). But the GameFaqs guide actually made it easier to find things. Instead of just saying it's on top of building X, it told you how to get there, which is sometimes not obvious.
As for a cost comparison, I look at it this way. I will listen to a good CD 100s of times. I will watch a movie maybe once every 2 years. I will never go around watching a movie 5 times to hear 5 different commentaries. And I will never watch 8 hours of "behind the scenes" footage.
My favorite movie of all is The Godfather and I looked forward to getting the DVDs for so long. When I finally got them, I realized that I don't like watching movies over and over again. I've never listened to the audio commentaries and only briefly looked at the behind the scenes features.
That is why I own so few DVDs, if I want to watch a movie, I'll just rent one.
Actually, they make a lot more than that. In major cities (New York, Chicago, DC, San Franciso, etc.) new attorneys at large law firms make over $120k/year. Of course, the majority of new graduates don't work in large law firms and make about half of that.
Spock's Beard
Dream Theater
Liquid Tension
Actually that last band is called Liquid Tension Experiment. Also try Symphony X, another prog-metal band. And you have to include Transatlantic, a band featuring members of Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, and the Flower Kings. Transtlantic and Spock's Beard are probably closest to 70s prog rock, as Dream Theater and Symphony X have many more metal elements.
If they really wanted to push SACD, they would have made some releases as SACD exclusive. They never did that.
Why do you feel violated. You voluntarily bought the duplicates. You weren't forced to buy 3 copies of 23 albums. Why not sell the duplicates and get some money back?
You've got a good point there. Downloading music is a lot harder than the RIAA makes it out to be because you have to deal with users who log out, mislabled songs, and some songs are hard to get. Then again, with radio, you still have the DJ problem. Let's say you like the Coldplay song they play on the radio and you want to hear a few more tracks from their most recent album. The DJ will probably play the radio songs (Politik, Clocks) for you, but they're not going to play just any track off of the album.
My point is that the RIAA and record labels should be exploiting this opportunity.
I think everyone on /. agrees with you. The RIAA's distribution strategy worked fine in the past, but there is new technology out there just waiting to be legally exploited.
No such thing as the Fair Use Act. The Copyright statutes have defined Fair Use under 17 U.S.C. 107 since 1978.
which allows me to make multiple copies to other media for personal and family use, and I believe also allows me to share my music with friends and acquaintances
Perhaps you're thinking of the Audio Home Recording Act, which prevents prosecution for making an analog copy or certain digital copies of music.
Final word, what's so different between Napster and Radio? I turn on a radio, I can hear the latest (and older) tunes. I can call in and make a request, and almost hear a tune on demand.
Well, Napster has been dead for years. I'll assume you mean Kazaa Lite. The difference in the RIAA's eyes is that radio is not on demand. Yeah, you can request a song, but that requires you to get through to fairly busy DJs, where the phone lines are always busy. In addition, the radio stations typically have playlists. If you request a song that is on the playlist, they may play it. If you request one that is not on the play list, they will not play it. Even the so called "alternative" stations would not play obscure music. With Kazaa, you have quick access to the song of your choice without those limitations.