another link from Wired this morning: pro bono group’s challenge to patent on naturally-occurring genetic material allowed to proceed:
U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet of New York, in ruling that the case may proceed to trial, noted that the litigation might open the door to challenges of a host of other patented genes. About [...]
Archive for the ‘economics’ Category
good news for health science
Posted in constitution, economics, ethics, fair use, free speech, medicine, patents, property, science on November 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If the law is a secret, do you have to obey it?
Posted in copyright, dissent, economics, ethics, first sale doctrine, free speech, internet, media, politics, technology on November 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’m thinking that negotiating a secret treaty that will strip rights from internet users to pacify movie studios is a pretty good way to make sure that it’s eventually rejected by the American people.
is it legal to make backup copies of your DVDs?
Posted in contracts, copyright, economics, fair use, first sale doctrine, free (or not) software, media, property, technology on April 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This is one of those questions that has bothered me ever since the DeCSS thing went down way back in 2001. The crux of the problem is this: the movie industry wants to sell you a DVD like it’s a physical object, and then use technology to restrict your use as though you have [...]
Bottomless Bailout or Nationalization- the only choices left
Posted in economics, ethics, politics, securities on February 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
What TPM does not say is that it’s been clear since, say, August 2008 that these are the only choices. Either we keep pissing good money after bad, or we … stop.
The issue isn’t whether people like the idea of ‘nationalization’. It’s better framed as whether you a) want the government to temporarily take over [...]
Posner Gets Basic US History Wrong
Posted in constitution, dissent, economics, education, ethics, hypocrisy, politics, tagged lincoln, posner, stare decisis on December 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
although since he doesn’t give a damn about stare decisis, I guess I’m not surprised that he can’t be bothered to actually check the factual truth behind the decisions his clerks write for him.
The Dow In Euros
Posted in economics, education, tagged Dollar, Euros, inflation on March 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
They days of the strong dollar are over, and we’re just beginning to feel the fallout. Time to party like it’s 2002. Folks, the word you are looking for is “inflation.”
Sleeping On The Job
Posted in economics, securities on March 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Sorry for the lag between posts. Life got busy last week. Today, I saw rumors that Bear Stearns is bankrupt and that the Fed is running out of options to prop up the markets. What else did I miss last week?
