Mike Masnick says: "So we see bizarre and ridiculous patent claims all the time" "Ideas mean little in the long run. Execution is everything."
To which I ask, except for his business interactions with various members of the Coalition for Patent Piracy & Fairness what does Mike actually know about the subject?
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Those who create content do deserve to be fairly compensated. But once they have been compensated the purchaser deserves to receive fair value.
The real problem is that big business has become unaccountable. And creators rather musicians or inventors like myself are being used and abused by these big business interests.
Patent deform has been promoted using the same sort of underhanded tactics used to push ACTA.
The end result is that our government is no longer representative and we do have the best government money can buy.
I have been visiting members of Congress for over fifteen years and I have had the pleasure of knowing many honest members. They are not all for sale. But some are and just like big corporations the scum does seem to always rise to the top.
One more point, the USTR has been selling America's inventor interests out for the whole time. Lip service with nothing substantial.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Actually I sent the following to Mike some time ago.
Mike Masnick,
We have a bit of common ground :)
This is a memo I sent to inventor activists concerning ACTA and the US Chamber. I have copied the contents of an attached letter after their pitch to me. I can email the same with the attachment if you want it. It is likely that the US Chamber got the inventor group mailing list from UIA which was recently taken over in a coup by a group of people who are not interested in inventor interests.
== My memo to the inventor community ==
See the appended documents below my reply. The US Chamber and the USTR are trying to get America's inventors to carry their ACTA water. ACTA is being promoted using the same sleazy tactics which have been used for years to promote the Patent Deform agenda of the Coalition for Patent Piracy & Fairness and the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Deform & HARMonization.
The US Chamber has a long history of representing really big business interests to the detriment of small entities like independent inventors. They have done their best to foist Patent Deform on us and are proponents of HARMonization.
And while they claim to represent chambers across the country, the reality is that their membership is a very very small percentage of the total number of chambers because they do not represent the interests of small business which is the backbone of both local chambers and the small businesses who are the backbone of America's competitiveness.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that much of the public's anti inventor sentiment is driven by attempts of copyright holders, big business copyright holders to increase scope of their rights. Especially egregious have been their attempts to limit fair use such as making personal copies of content which the public has purchased.
I do not believe that stealing content is right but I also think that once someone has purchased rights that the seller should not be trying to steal their purchaser's rights and that is what is happening. The Anti-Counterfeiting trade agreement does nothing to protect our rights, in fact it is an attempt to further erode all of our rights. Rather than supporting this all inventors should vocally oppose the trade agreement.
Also, many of the same companies trying to extend their copyrights are also stealing patent property rights from small inventors. They are large transnational corporations who whine about their rights while at the same time stomping on inventor's rights. And every time an inventor holds them accountable they then whine about vicious mythical trolls.
There is no upside in inventors helping the US Chamber and there is considerable downside.
Obama's Administration has either been duped or otherwise incentivized to sell out small entity inventors. The Administration has been stacked with transnational stooges of those companies pushing Patent Deform. Kappos has been working hard to create doubt about Patent Deform. He has marshaled the full force of the USPTO and used our fees to our detriment while at the same time wanting to increase fees. Whenever Kappos tells you something is good for inventors remember that he spent his career at IBM and that today IBM is a shadow of its former self. IBM floods the patent system with thousands of patent applications for minor incremental inventions to the detriment of small entities. IBM was the second large company behind Microsoft demanding Patent Deform and now their man is running the USPTO.
UIA has also fallen under Kappos' spell, and like so many organizations which started with good intentions it appears that UIA has been willing to get in bed with both invention promoters of questionable track records and to curry favor with the likes of Kappos to all of our detriment. This is a very common fate of organizations who are co opted by people who use them to promote their own self interests. In fact this is the same issue which led the USPTO into their current crisis.
It behooves all inventors to not trust anything which either the US Chamber or Kappos has to say. They are not our friends!
Ronald J. Riley,
I am speaking only on my own behalf.
Affiliations:
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Keeley Hozjan [mailto:khozjan@waggeneredstrom.com]
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 12:16 PM
To: RJR@InvED.org
Cc: HELP@InvEd.org
Subject: US Chamber of Commerce opportunity
Hi Mr. Riley,
My name is Keeley Hozjan, and I am writing on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with a request and opportunity. Hopefully this email can be addressed by either you or the general help email.
We are currently working to send a letter of support (attached) from business owners around the country to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, highlighting the importance of intellectual property (IP) to business of all shapes and sizes. It expresses our support for a robust Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), particularly for small businesses.
This letter not only will help ensure the competitiveness of American business going forward, but provides an opportunity for your organization to be highlighted as one of 100 IP supporters nationwide.
You can tell Rep. Kirk that InventorEd supports an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA by signing onto this letter. To do so, please respond to this email and we will include your organization as a signatory (there is NO cost or anything like that involved with this!).
For more information on ACTA, please see below. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (425) 638-7032. I will call to follow up on this email in a few days to ensure it was received.
In 2006, the U.S. and several key trading partners who are committed to fighting counterfeiting and piracy began negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). This initiative aims to enhance international cooperation and establish more effective international standards for enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights.
ACTA seeks to build on existing international rules in the area of IP, in particular on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS), and is intended to address a number of enforcement areas where participants have identified that an international legal framework does not exist or needs to strengthened.
Who is involved?
Current negotiating parties include: Australia, Canada, the European Union (European Commission, the EU Presidency, and Member States), Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and the U.S.
When will ACTA be Completed?
The Office of the United State Trade Representative (USTR) plans to complete ACTA by the close of 2010.
What is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Position on ACTA?:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) supports the Administration’s efforts to conclude an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA that will result in robust enforcement of IP rights. Specifically, we believe the agreement should do the following:
· Builds upon existing international rules and norms, in particular on the TRIPS, to produce measurable improvements in the prevailing legal and enforcement frameworks for the protection of IP rights;
· Complements IP provisions of recent FTAs, especially those with Korea and Oman;
· Includes robust provisions to confront IP theft in both physical and online environments; and
· Includes an effective and credible mechanism to monitor and provide incentives to encourage parties’ compliance with obligations.
How You Can Help?
Tell Rep. Kirk that you support an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA by signing onto this letter. To do so, please send an email to Keeley Hozjan (khozjan@waggeneredstrom.com) and she will include your company as a signatory. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact her at (425) 638-7032.
The Honorable Ron Kirk
U.S. Trade Representative
600 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20508
Dear Ambassador Kirk:
The undersigned businesses applaud your efforts to negotiate the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and urge you to continue to work diligently toward concluding a robust agreement by the close of 2010.
Intellectual property (IP) rights have helped the United States become the world leader in innovation by encouraging businesses of all sizes to take risks and enabling them to attract investment to develop exciting new products and services. Not only has this innovation improved citizens' lives, but the IP-intensive industries have become the backbone of the 21st century American economy, employing nearly 18 million workers, accounting for more than $5 trillion of the gross domestic product, and comprising more than 40 percent of all exports.
However, these innovative and creative sectors are under attack by sophisticated criminal networks around the world that profit from counterfeiting and piracy, at the expense of the American economy. This illicit activity threatens the sustainability of businesses of all sizes, but particularly small and medium sized businesses, which often operate on tight margins and lack the resources to effectively defend their IP rights on their own.
If the administration is to achieve its goal of spurring economic recovery through doubling exports over the next five years it is imperative to more effectively combat counterfeiting and piracy. We believe that successfully concluding an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA would be a significant step in the right direction. Specifically, we believe the agreement should:
- Recognize the contributions of small businesses to the global economy and the importance of IP rights to businesses of all sizes.
- Build upon existing international rules to produce measurable improvements in the prevailing legal and enforcement frameworks for the protection of IP rights;
- Complement IP provisions of recent free trade agreements, especially those with Korea and Oman;
- Include robust provisions to confront IP theft in both physical and online environments; and
- Include an effective and credible mechanism to monitor and provide incentives to encourage parties’ compliance with the agreement.
We thank you for your efforts on this important endeavor and firmly believe that concluding the ACTA will protect U.S. jobs, American consumers, and will stimulate the U.S. economy.
Second, I think that DRM is a waste and doomed to fail. It reminds me of early software copy protection and dongles, many of which did not play well with each other.
Last, I am a big believer in fair use and oppose any attempts to circumvent user rights. Once someone pays for content it should be theirs to do with as they please. It should be a transferable property right and people should be free to make backup copies for their own use. This is especially important where children are using CD and DVD media which are much less tolerant to how a child uses them than tapes were.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
I predict that most dailies will either die outright or become weekly publications while switching to mostly local daily coverage via the web. Furthermore, I suspect that just a few newspapers will continue as dailies specializing in regional or national coverage.
While the industry was imploding many print publications raised classified ad rates, driving clients to online sites. I think it is unlikely that they will ever recapture that business.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
"This post is part of the IT Innovation series, sponsored by Oracle & Intel. Read more at ITInnovation.com."Intel & Oracle are both card carrying founding members of the Coalition for Patent Piracy & Fairness.
So the question is what came first, TechDIRT's anti-inventor & patent stance or sponsorship?
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Most of the time when Mike talks about IP he is left field but this time he has written something I completely agree with.
ACTA is an outrage. Many of the companies pushing it are hypocrites, because they are ripping off people's inventions while at the same time trying to increase their rights using really sleazy tactics.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Exactly, patents will naturally navigate to areas where the most innovation occurs simply because that's where the money is, not because patents somehow stimulate innovation. Innovation occurs in areas where innovation is most necessary and patent trolls simply want to monopolize such innovations."
Patents do stimulate innovation in two ways.
First, patents teach the invention which allows other inventors to build on the discovery.
Second, patents offer a carrot to subsequent inventors to leapfrog a patent and an incentive to do so to avoid having to pay another.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Belligerent Serial Infringers Reaping Their Just Rewards
"D: Sue others in case they accidentally infringe on your patent."
Most infringers are not doing so by accident. I have been involved in many patent disputes and over twenty years only ONE was an accidental infringer.
I think most accidental infringers get easy settlement terms, most certainly I gave them a very reasonable deal.
It is the belligerent serial infringers who end up having to buy massive amounts of personal lube:)
RIM, Microsoft, Apple, HP, Micron, Cisco, Oracle, banking & Insurance interests, etc, all serve as examples of serial infringers reaping what they sow.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Actually both Sony and Apple fit this description. In Sony's case they are incompetent engineers and try to micro manage they customers and in Apple's case their engineering capabilities seem to be fine but they chose to intentionally cripple their products in order to hog tie and rape their customers.
Apple seems to be much better at bamboozling the public than Sony. What amazes me is how many people buy into either company's hype.
I refuse to buy any product which is intentionaly crippled.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Most certainly the US Chamber is little more than a stooge for large corporate interests and they do not by any means represent the interests of other chambers and small business.
But the same can be said of TechDIRT. I have corrected one of Mike Masnick's comments below. It is representative of just about everything Mike Masnick has to say about patent property rights.
"Tragically, the (delete: US Chamber of Commerce) TechDIRT still gets attention, despite the fact that its claims pushing for (delete: stronger) weaker IP laws would do a lot more harm than good for most US business and innovation."
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
"publisher allowed fansubbers to complete their version of the translation and compete side-by-side with the commercial translated version in the marketplace"
It is their choice to allow or not. It is their property and there is NO reason they should compete with some parasite.
Even if that was not the case, they have legitimate business reasons to not allow this.
What Mike Masnick needs is a bunch of homeless people camped out on his lawn and he should be competing with them for his food, bathroom usage, and all of his other belongings. Maybe then he would understand what property rights are.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Mike Masnick has never presented even one bit of credible evidence.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
"Wait, wait, wait. Weren't you just the one saying that people should only comment on this issue if they had experience inventing products in the R&D lab. Yet, you admit that you are just a lawyer."
I would say that in most cases patent practioners are quite capable of producing inventions. They are not "just a lawyer".
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
"What? Why would someone pay money to file a patent for the sake of disclosure"
Because most disclosures are not enabling and would have no effect on the ability to get a patent.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
When it comes to invention and the economics I find it hard to imagine anyone more wrong than Mike Masnick.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
Mapping The Genome Is Not An Invention ! ! - And Capital Is Not Free
"All of which assumes that patents are needed to make these discoveries and progress and that clinical trials will never happen without patents."
Producing inventions costs money. Equipment and supplies must be purchased, people must be paid so that they can pay their way. The capital for all this must come from somewhere.
Contrary to TechDIRT claims there are no free lunches.
I and other inventors produce inventions, we produce patents which teach the art. And most of us use initial income from licensing our patents to build companies, creating jobs and prosperity for our communities.
In order to do this we must make a living. That is true of any business. Income must exceed expenses or the business dies.
If the income does not come from sales of products or service then it must come from the public at large. Are you ready to vote for large tax increases to fund these costs? If not then there will be no discoveries.
I repeat, that regardless of the media hype that India has not invented anything in this case. And if they invent something based on the mapped genome I am willing to bet that they patent it.
One last point, the tools they used to map the genome were mostly produced by American inventors.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
"What kind of amazingly backward thinking is this?"
Excessive market dominance has long been regulated for good reason.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
"No, a patent simply limits my ability to solve a problem."
It sounds to me like your problem solving abilities are self limited, or maybe genetically limited.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: Apple Sued For Patent Infringement Over One Of The Broadest Patents You'll Ever See
Masnick is qualified to render opinions ?
To which I ask, except for his business interactions with various members of the Coalition for Patent Piracy & Fairness what does Mike actually know about the subject?
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: Could Cybercrime Treaty Already Push Through Some Of The Worst Of ACTA?
Re: Re: ACTA is an outrage.
Those who create content do deserve to be fairly compensated. But once they have been compensated the purchaser deserves to receive fair value.
The real problem is that big business has become unaccountable. And creators rather musicians or inventors like myself are being used and abused by these big business interests.
Patent deform has been promoted using the same sort of underhanded tactics used to push ACTA.
The end result is that our government is no longer representative and we do have the best government money can buy.
I have been visiting members of Congress for over fifteen years and I have had the pleasure of knowing many honest members. They are not all for sale. But some are and just like big corporations the scum does seem to always rise to the top.
One more point, the USTR has been selling America's inventor interests out for the whole time. Lip service with nothing substantial.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: Could Cybercrime Treaty Already Push Through Some Of The Worst Of ACTA?
Actually I sent the following to Mike some time ago.
We have a bit of common ground :)
This is a memo I sent to inventor activists concerning ACTA and the US Chamber. I have copied the contents of an attached letter after their pitch to me. I can email the same with the attachment if you want it. It is likely that the US Chamber got the inventor group mailing list from UIA which was recently taken over in a coup by a group of people who are not interested in inventor interests.
== My memo to the inventor community ==
See the appended documents below my reply. The US Chamber and the USTR are trying to get America's inventors to carry their ACTA water. ACTA is being promoted using the same sleazy tactics which have been used for years to promote the Patent Deform agenda of the Coalition for Patent Piracy & Fairness and the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Deform & HARMonization.
The US Chamber has a long history of representing really big business interests to the detriment of small entities like independent inventors. They have done their best to foist Patent Deform on us and are proponents of HARMonization.
And while they claim to represent chambers across the country, the reality is that their membership is a very very small percentage of the total number of chambers because they do not represent the interests of small business which is the backbone of both local chambers and the small businesses who are the backbone of America's competitiveness.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that much of the public's anti inventor sentiment is driven by attempts of copyright holders, big business copyright holders to increase scope of their rights. Especially egregious have been their attempts to limit fair use such as making personal copies of content which the public has purchased.
I do not believe that stealing content is right but I also think that once someone has purchased rights that the seller should not be trying to steal their purchaser's rights and that is what is happening. The Anti-Counterfeiting trade agreement does nothing to protect our rights, in fact it is an attempt to further erode all of our rights. Rather than supporting this all inventors should vocally oppose the trade agreement.
Also, many of the same companies trying to extend their copyrights are also stealing patent property rights from small inventors. They are large transnational corporations who whine about their rights while at the same time stomping on inventor's rights. And every time an inventor holds them accountable they then whine about vicious mythical trolls.
There is no upside in inventors helping the US Chamber and there is considerable downside.
Obama's Administration has either been duped or otherwise incentivized to sell out small entity inventors. The Administration has been stacked with transnational stooges of those companies pushing Patent Deform. Kappos has been working hard to create doubt about Patent Deform. He has marshaled the full force of the USPTO and used our fees to our detriment while at the same time wanting to increase fees. Whenever Kappos tells you something is good for inventors remember that he spent his career at IBM and that today IBM is a shadow of its former self. IBM floods the patent system with thousands of patent applications for minor incremental inventions to the detriment of small entities. IBM was the second large company behind Microsoft demanding Patent Deform and now their man is running the USPTO.
UIA has also fallen under Kappos' spell, and like so many organizations which started with good intentions it appears that UIA has been willing to get in bed with both invention promoters of questionable track records and to curry favor with the likes of Kappos to all of our detriment. This is a very common fate of organizations who are co opted by people who use them to promote their own self interests. In fact this is the same issue which led the USPTO into their current crisis.
It behooves all inventors to not trust anything which either the US Chamber or Kappos has to say. They are not our friends!
Ronald J. Riley,
I am speaking only on my own behalf.
Affiliations:
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 / (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Keeley Hozjan [mailto:khozjan@waggeneredstrom.com]
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 12:16 PM
To: RJR@InvED.org
Cc: HELP@InvEd.org
Subject: US Chamber of Commerce opportunity
Hi Mr. Riley,
My name is Keeley Hozjan, and I am writing on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with a request and opportunity. Hopefully this email can be addressed by either you or the general help email.
We are currently working to send a letter of support (attached) from business owners around the country to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, highlighting the importance of intellectual property (IP) to business of all shapes and sizes. It expresses our support for a robust Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), particularly for small businesses.
This letter not only will help ensure the competitiveness of American business going forward, but provides an opportunity for your organization to be highlighted as one of 100 IP supporters nationwide.
You can tell Rep. Kirk that InventorEd supports an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA by signing onto this letter. To do so, please respond to this email and we will include your organization as a signatory (there is NO cost or anything like that involved with this!).
For more information on ACTA, please see below. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (425) 638-7032. I will call to follow up on this email in a few days to ensure it was received.
Best regards,
Keeley
Keeley Hozjan | Public Affairs Practice | 425.638.7032 | khozjan@waggeneredstrom.com
****
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
What is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement?
In 2006, the U.S. and several key trading partners who are committed to fighting counterfeiting and piracy began negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). This initiative aims to enhance international cooperation and establish more effective international standards for enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights.
ACTA seeks to build on existing international rules in the area of IP, in particular on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS), and is intended to address a number of enforcement areas where participants have identified that an international legal framework does not exist or needs to strengthened.
Who is involved?
Current negotiating parties include: Australia, Canada, the European Union (European Commission, the EU Presidency, and Member States), Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and the U.S.
When will ACTA be Completed?
The Office of the United State Trade Representative (USTR) plans to complete ACTA by the close of 2010.
What is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Position on ACTA?:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) supports the Administration’s efforts to conclude an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA that will result in robust enforcement of IP rights. Specifically, we believe the agreement should do the following:
· Builds upon existing international rules and norms, in particular on the TRIPS, to produce measurable improvements in the prevailing legal and enforcement frameworks for the protection of IP rights;
· Complements IP provisions of recent FTAs, especially those with Korea and Oman;
· Includes robust provisions to confront IP theft in both physical and online environments; and
· Includes an effective and credible mechanism to monitor and provide incentives to encourage parties’ compliance with obligations.
How You Can Help?
Tell Rep. Kirk that you support an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA by signing onto this letter. To do so, please send an email to Keeley Hozjan (khozjan@waggeneredstrom.com) and she will include your company as a signatory. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact her at (425) 638-7032.
Where you Can Find More Information?
For more information on ACTA, please visit USTR’s website at http://www.ustr.gov/acta
== Copy of the attached letter appended below ==
April 1, 2010
The Honorable Ron Kirk
U.S. Trade Representative
600 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20508
Dear Ambassador Kirk:
The undersigned businesses applaud your efforts to negotiate the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and urge you to continue to work diligently toward concluding a robust agreement by the close of 2010.
Intellectual property (IP) rights have helped the United States become the world leader in innovation by encouraging businesses of all sizes to take risks and enabling them to attract investment to develop exciting new products and services. Not only has this innovation improved citizens' lives, but the IP-intensive industries have become the backbone of the 21st century American economy, employing nearly 18 million workers, accounting for more than $5 trillion of the gross domestic product, and comprising more than 40 percent of all exports.
However, these innovative and creative sectors are under attack by sophisticated criminal networks around the world that profit from counterfeiting and piracy, at the expense of the American economy. This illicit activity threatens the sustainability of businesses of all sizes, but particularly small and medium sized businesses, which often operate on tight margins and lack the resources to effectively defend their IP rights on their own.
If the administration is to achieve its goal of spurring economic recovery through doubling exports over the next five years it is imperative to more effectively combat counterfeiting and piracy. We believe that successfully concluding an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA would be a significant step in the right direction. Specifically, we believe the agreement should:
- Recognize the contributions of small businesses to the global economy and the importance of IP rights to businesses of all sizes.
- Build upon existing international rules to produce measurable improvements in the prevailing legal and enforcement frameworks for the protection of IP rights;
- Complement IP provisions of recent free trade agreements, especially those with Korea and Oman;
- Include robust provisions to confront IP theft in both physical and online environments; and
- Include an effective and credible mechanism to monitor and provide incentives to encourage parties’ compliance with the agreement.
We thank you for your efforts on this important endeavor and firmly believe that concluding the ACTA will protect U.S. jobs, American consumers, and will stimulate the U.S. economy.
Sincerely,
On the post: As If On Cue, Sony Sued For Making PS3 Less Useful
Fair Use & DRM
Second, I think that DRM is a waste and doomed to fail. It reminds me of early software copy protection and dongles, many of which did not play well with each other.
Last, I am a big believer in fair use and oppose any attempts to circumvent user rights. Once someone pays for content it should be theirs to do with as they please. It should be a transferable property right and people should be free to make backup copies for their own use. This is especially important where children are using CD and DVD media which are much less tolerant to how a child uses them than tapes were.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: Sumner Redstone Says That All Newspapers Will Be Gone In Two Years
Numbers will be greatly thinned out.
While the industry was imploding many print publications raised classified ad rates, driving clients to online sites. I think it is unlikely that they will ever recapture that business.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: Now That The Exaflood's Debunked, Fear The Exacloud!
Chicken or Egg?
So the question is what came first, TechDIRT's anti-inventor & patent stance or sponsorship?
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: Could Cybercrime Treaty Already Push Through Some Of The Worst Of ACTA?
ACTA is an outrage.
ACTA is an outrage. Many of the companies pushing it are hypocrites, because they are ripping off people's inventions while at the same time trying to increase their rights using really sleazy tactics.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Releases Latest Bogus Study Pushing For More Draconian IP Enforcement
Cause & Effect
Exactly, patents will naturally navigate to areas where the most innovation occurs simply because that's where the money is, not because patents somehow stimulate innovation. Innovation occurs in areas where innovation is most necessary and patent trolls simply want to monopolize such innovations."
Patents do stimulate innovation in two ways.
First, patents teach the invention which allows other inventors to build on the discovery.
Second, patents offer a carrot to subsequent inventors to leapfrog a patent and an incentive to do so to avoid having to pay another.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: Amazon Patents Selling Used Goods At Starbucks, Barnes & Noble Or Other Locations
Belligerent Serial Infringers Reaping Their Just Rewards
Most infringers are not doing so by accident. I have been involved in many patent disputes and over twenty years only ONE was an accidental infringer.
I think most accidental infringers get easy settlement terms, most certainly I gave them a very reasonable deal.
It is the belligerent serial infringers who end up having to buy massive amounts of personal lube:)
RIM, Microsoft, Apple, HP, Micron, Cisco, Oracle, banking & Insurance interests, etc, all serve as examples of serial infringers reaping what they sow.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: As If On Cue, Sony Sued For Making PS3 Less Useful
Sony, Style Without Substance
Apple seems to be much better at bamboozling the public than Sony. What amazes me is how many people buy into either company's hype.
I refuse to buy any product which is intentionaly crippled.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Releases Latest Bogus Study Pushing For More Draconian IP Enforcement
Fuzy Reasoning
On the post: Japanese Game Maker Engages In Wiki Edit War With Fansubbers, Then Opts For The DMCA Option
TLWiki owns it ! !
It is their choice to allow or not. It is their property and there is NO reason they should compete with some parasite.
Even if that was not the case, they have legitimate business reasons to not allow this.
What Mike Masnick needs is a bunch of homeless people camped out on his lawn and he should be competing with them for his food, bathroom usage, and all of his other belongings. Maybe then he would understand what property rights are.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: What If The Very Theory That Underlies Why We Need Patents Is Wrong?
Re: Re: Patents
On the post: What If The Very Theory That Underlies Why We Need Patents Is Wrong?
Re: Re:
Mike Masnick replies:
"And yet that rarely happens. But, if it does, it's called competition. If you can't compete in the market, why should you make the overall market worse off?"
And he is so full of it that it is pathetic. It happens all the time. And when inventors successfully fight back big companies whine about vicious trolls. They also a spending a great deal of money buying academics and bloggers.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: What If The Very Theory That Underlies Why We Need Patents Is Wrong?
Re: Re: Re:
I would say that in most cases patent practioners are quite capable of producing inventions. They are not "just a lawyer".
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: What If The Very Theory That Underlies Why We Need Patents Is Wrong?
Re: Re:
Because most disclosures are not enabling and would have no effect on the ability to get a patent.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: What If The Very Theory That Underlies Why We Need Patents Is Wrong?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: Indian Scientists Refuse To Patent Tuberculosis Genome, Encourage Anyone To Make The Drugs
Mapping The Genome Is Not An Invention ! ! - And Capital Is Not Free
Producing inventions costs money. Equipment and supplies must be purchased, people must be paid so that they can pay their way. The capital for all this must come from somewhere.
Contrary to TechDIRT claims there are no free lunches.
I and other inventors produce inventions, we produce patents which teach the art. And most of us use initial income from licensing our patents to build companies, creating jobs and prosperity for our communities.
In order to do this we must make a living. That is true of any business. Income must exceed expenses or the business dies.
If the income does not come from sales of products or service then it must come from the public at large. Are you ready to vote for large tax increases to fund these costs? If not then there will be no discoveries.
I repeat, that regardless of the media hype that India has not invented anything in this case. And if they invent something based on the mapped genome I am willing to bet that they patent it.
One last point, the tools they used to map the genome were mostly produced by American inventors.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: While Newspapers Threaten To Ban Google News, This Journalist Begs To Get In
Re: Re: Google needs their wings trimmed.
Excessive market dominance has long been regulated for good reason.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
On the post: What If The Very Theory That Underlies Why We Need Patents Is Wrong?
Ability to solve a problem
It sounds to me like your problem solving abilities are self limited, or maybe genetically limited.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (810) 597-0194 - (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 8 pm EST.
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