As a small entity (individual) with a few granted patents and several pending, here's what I'd do:
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- Keep the small entity fees as-is; they are not onerous. But make them applicable to an individual only without any assignee. The small entity fee only applies to the inventor.
- All other patent filings are considered large entity. If you have an assignee at application time then you pay higher fees. How high? Twenty times the price. In other words, if the company owns it from the start, they are going to pay a good amount of money for it.
- Lower the number of allowed claims in the base fee: 2 independent, 12 dependent. Fee for the small entity for each additional independent claim is $500, and $100 for each additional dependent claim. And those fees are 20X for large entities.
- First 10 pages of disclosure are free; you pay $50 per page (small entity) or $1000 per page (large entity) beyond that.
- First 10 drawings are free (and are independent of the pages); you pay the same $50/$1000 split as for pages of disclosure. But allow VRML or 3D PDF or IGES file formats for disclosure (a single 3D drawing can replace a dozen 2D drawings).
This should slow down the "file a patent, we might get lucky" type filings from many companies because of the cost, and would naturally limit the scope of each patent. Some issued patents have dozens, if not hundreds of claims because they are cheap to add (beyond the base 3/30 of independent/dependent). Threading through the claims is the biggest challenge, and trying to see if each and every claim is actually disclosed is nearly impossible.
Basically, make it economically viable for the individual to still get patents (he can sell it after it's issued, if he chooses), and make the big, complex company-sponsored patents still doable but more costly. They'll file the 200 page, 90 claim monster patent if it's really worth it because it would cost half a million dollars to file.
Or the wonderful way that ANY shot with ANY firearm will send you flying backwards, 10 feet through the air. Real life is a lot more like the old movies that are so often mocked, where the bad guy just kind of drops, rather than spins or flips or flies.
Because some of us do technical work with software tools (schematic capture, PCB layout, FEA, 3D CAD) that are not available on Linux. So it's either work with a pretty good OS (Windows 7) or hit the unemployment line with the OS choice of geeks.
It's weak, because the rebuttal talks about H.264 not being open, but Steve Jobs didn't claim it was, he called it an industry standard, not an open standard.
And Flash isn't an industry standard? When all the industry leaders - and nearly all the industry followers - support it, it seems to me to be a de-facto industry standard.
Hong Kong is still it's own basic country, with it's own legal system, currency, English is one of the official languages, different side of the road that you drive on, etc. In fact, mainland Chinese need a special passport/visa to enter Hong Kong. Hong Kong is "Chinese" in name only, from a functional standpoint. For a US Citizen to go to Hong Kong you only need your passport, while you need a visa to enter into China.
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Now, going from Shenzhen to Shekou would be an example of moving between development zones and you won't need to show your passport. But HK and Macau are really quasi-China; they're basically independent places with a nominal tie to China, much like Puerto Rico and the US.
I've never seen them doing spot checks at least on pedestrians, so I guess they have other means to catch overstayers.
I lived and worked in Belgium for 2 years, and about half a dozen times on local trains inside Belgium (Antwerp to Brussels) and the Netherlands (Amsterdam to Rotterdam) had the train stop, police sweep through and check everybody's ID, and have watched one or a couple people be escorted off for no ID (or fake ID). It may not happen in Finland which is extremely homogeneous in population compared to the other, larger cities and nations on the continent, but it does happen. Random spot-checks of everyone.
The one time I did not have my passport on me, I had my US driver's license and half a dozen credit cards, and spent 5 minutes explaining every little detail about where I lived, what I was doing, and was told in no uncertain terms that I better carry my passport and visa, or a copy of them, or next time they would arrest me to check out my story (it is within their power).
I live and work half my life in China, and have traveled extensively within it. I have never had to show my passport every day, and that includes bouncing in and out of development zones; however, I have been casually "swept" on a train coming from Hanoi into China (we were already inside China), and do carry it with me daily as the best form of ID that everyone understands (driver's licenses are a bit of a blind spot at banks and the like; legal to use, but many tellers are confused or simply don't know what numbers to copy down).
And I'm a US Citizen born, but not born in the US and I speak with an accent.
If I were to go to Arizona I would have to bring my passport everywhere. Oh and so would my wife who was born here, is a citizen, but is asian.
No. Read the law. You only need your driver's license. I presume you carry a driver's license or State-issued ID card?
However, I always carry my passport, and use it for proof of identification when cashing checks, or filling out forms. It is a legal proof of ID (about the best there is), but it does not contain my address, not even the State in which I reside, no State-traceable number, no hint of an SSN. In other words, it's about as private a piece of ID that you can find. It verifies your name, what you look like, your birth date, and your nationality. And that's it.
Carry your passport; it protects your privacy MUCH better than using your other forms of ID. But if that's too inconvenient, then rest assured in AZ a driver's license suffices.
If those Hispanic engineers are standing around the Home Depot parking lot at 10 AM on Tuesday morning, flagging down any truck that drives into the parking lot, then yes they may be profiled...
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What? Duct tape isn't acceptable?
Would the Archos 7 with an MSRP of $199 be considered a non-vaporware tablet? You can buy it from Amazon.
Here's one for $80. And here's one for $90. And another for $130. And of course there is the Archos 7 tablet which runs Android, and has an MSRP of $199.
The red one, just like on Star Trek.
- Keep the small entity fees as-is; they are not onerous. But make them applicable to an individual only without any assignee. The small entity fee only applies to the inventor.
- All other patent filings are considered large entity. If you have an assignee at application time then you pay higher fees. How high? Twenty times the price. In other words, if the company owns it from the start, they are going to pay a good amount of money for it.
- Lower the number of allowed claims in the base fee: 2 independent, 12 dependent. Fee for the small entity for each additional independent claim is $500, and $100 for each additional dependent claim. And those fees are 20X for large entities.
- First 10 pages of disclosure are free; you pay $50 per page (small entity) or $1000 per page (large entity) beyond that.
- First 10 drawings are free (and are independent of the pages); you pay the same $50/$1000 split as for pages of disclosure. But allow VRML or 3D PDF or IGES file formats for disclosure (a single 3D drawing can replace a dozen 2D drawings).
This should slow down the "file a patent, we might get lucky" type filings from many companies because of the cost, and would naturally limit the scope of each patent. Some issued patents have dozens, if not hundreds of claims because they are cheap to add (beyond the base 3/30 of independent/dependent). Threading through the claims is the biggest challenge, and trying to see if each and every claim is actually disclosed is nearly impossible.
Basically, make it economically viable for the individual to still get patents (he can sell it after it's issued, if he chooses), and make the big, complex company-sponsored patents still doable but more costly. They'll file the 200 page, 90 claim monster patent if it's really worth it because it would cost half a million dollars to file.
I only watch TV on DVD.
Interesting - I watch my DVDs on my TV!
when they use iPads with touch-screen keyboards. It'll be perfect, I tell you, PERFECT!
...then CLEARLY no one needs to use IPv6! Everyone knows that OSX and Macs only provide the functionality you need, not what you think you want...
How else do you prepare for a deposition with the SEC???
Or the wonderful way that ANY shot with ANY firearm will send you flying backwards, 10 feet through the air. Real life is a lot more like the old movies that are so often mocked, where the bad guy just kind of drops, rather than spins or flips or flies.
How about all the fancy GUI Hollywood shows when someone is coding/hacking? I want them to show someone using VI.
I'm sorry, snuff films aren't allowed.
Because some of us do technical work with software tools (schematic capture, PCB layout, FEA, 3D CAD) that are not available on Linux. So it's either work with a pretty good OS (Windows 7) or hit the unemployment line with the OS choice of geeks.
Since it comes in a device weighing around 1kg (2.2lbs)...
Yes, because anything higher weight may actually build a little muscle tone, and then how could you justify keeping your geek card?
It's weak, because the rebuttal talks about H.264 not being open, but Steve Jobs didn't claim it was, he called it an industry standard, not an open standard.
And Flash isn't an industry standard? When all the industry leaders - and nearly all the industry followers - support it, it seems to me to be a de-facto industry standard.
D'oh!
It is 5 minutes every hour on avg. not in a day.
The keys are right next to each other..
I am SO behind the times... I need to get one of these new keyboards with the "hour" and "day" keys!
Ice and breasts? Sounds like my last girlfriend...
Now, going from Shenzhen to Shekou would be an example of moving between development zones and you won't need to show your passport. But HK and Macau are really quasi-China; they're basically independent places with a nominal tie to China, much like Puerto Rico and the US.
Maybe if you would educate yourself about what minorities actually think about illegal immigration your racist opinions would change...
I find it strange that the article doesn't discuss the implications for normal U.S citizens, i.e how do you prove you are *not* a H-1B worker?
I would imagine the number of H-1Bs granted to be an independent day laborer outside of Home Depot is vanishingly small...
I've never seen them doing spot checks at least on pedestrians, so I guess they have other means to catch overstayers.
I lived and worked in Belgium for 2 years, and about half a dozen times on local trains inside Belgium (Antwerp to Brussels) and the Netherlands (Amsterdam to Rotterdam) had the train stop, police sweep through and check everybody's ID, and have watched one or a couple people be escorted off for no ID (or fake ID). It may not happen in Finland which is extremely homogeneous in population compared to the other, larger cities and nations on the continent, but it does happen. Random spot-checks of everyone.
The one time I did not have my passport on me, I had my US driver's license and half a dozen credit cards, and spent 5 minutes explaining every little detail about where I lived, what I was doing, and was told in no uncertain terms that I better carry my passport and visa, or a copy of them, or next time they would arrest me to check out my story (it is within their power).
I live and work half my life in China, and have traveled extensively within it. I have never had to show my passport every day, and that includes bouncing in and out of development zones; however, I have been casually "swept" on a train coming from Hanoi into China (we were already inside China), and do carry it with me daily as the best form of ID that everyone understands (driver's licenses are a bit of a blind spot at banks and the like; legal to use, but many tellers are confused or simply don't know what numbers to copy down).
And I'm a US Citizen born, but not born in the US and I speak with an accent. If I were to go to Arizona I would have to bring my passport everywhere. Oh and so would my wife who was born here, is a citizen, but is asian.
No. Read the law. You only need your driver's license. I presume you carry a driver's license or State-issued ID card?
However, I always carry my passport, and use it for proof of identification when cashing checks, or filling out forms. It is a legal proof of ID (about the best there is), but it does not contain my address, not even the State in which I reside, no State-traceable number, no hint of an SSN. In other words, it's about as private a piece of ID that you can find. It verifies your name, what you look like, your birth date, and your nationality. And that's it.
Carry your passport; it protects your privacy MUCH better than using your other forms of ID. But if that's too inconvenient, then rest assured in AZ a driver's license suffices.
If those Hispanic engineers are standing around the Home Depot parking lot at 10 AM on Tuesday morning, flagging down any truck that drives into the parking lot, then yes they may be profiled...
I got not a single paper that understood the difference, despite having spent time going over the topic already
That's what happens when everybody Google's the same terms and uses those same first 10 sources for their research...
Unless you don't use birth control, then it's fucked today, "err..." tomorrow.