Teaching Away
Unexpected and Fruitful IP Law, Design & Economics.
Dorothy Hartman applied to patent a business method called the “Accessing Accessibility Process.” In essence, Hartman claimed to have invented the Internet. The examiner rejected all thirty-five claims of Hartman’s amended application as indefinite under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 2. The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences affirmed. We affirm.
In re Hartman (lightly edited) via @RyanAlley’s excellent patent blog.
New paper provides empirical insight into design patents like Apple’s Slide-to-Unlock and Microsoft’s Windows 8 tiles.
From Jason J. Du Mont and Mark Janis
The myth of the overnight success is just that – a myth.
Alexander Graham Bell knew this when he famously said, “It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider … who is bound to succeed in the greatest degree.”
Thomas Edison knew this when he proclaimed, “Success is the product of the severest kind of mental and physical application.”
Amelia E. Barr knew this when she asserted, “Everything good needs time.”
(via explore-blog)![Chapter 2 of Simple is about [Bank] Simple.com](http://24.media.tumblr.com/e242a3fbfcd77a6eccf5e070bb0f20eb/tumblr_mmpqofhY0v1r6792uo1_500.jpg)
Caught in a NYC downpour in 1901, Mary Anderson watched the streetcar drivers frantically roll down their windows, and pop out their heads like horizontal prairie dogs struggling to see road.
She knew there was a better way.
Note: not to be confused with Robert Kearns and his epic intermittent wiper patent lawsuit.
(Source: uspto.gov)
Sam Colt Revolver Patent, 1850.
Colt never fired a shot in anger, and made millions from his technology. One of the rare inventors who hit the Horatio Alger patent jackpot.
Freak patent problem isn’t new. Check out this NY Times Sunday Magazine from 1910.
via Sunday Magazine.
Lexis compounds the tedium of reading caselaw by applying some detestable styles and typography. Even worse, Lexis takes documents with good typography (look at any supreme court case), mangles the presentation, and then charges us $$$ for the privilege.
In the past, I used Evernote Clearly. Its great, but Clearly requires a click to activate on each new page (and who has time for a click?). So here’s a better fix:
Add the stylebot extension to Chrome.
In the stylebot options, go to Styles > “Add a new style” and then input the following:
div.variable {
font-size: 20px;
line-height: 34px;
color: #333;
max-width: 800px;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
Note: These styles are geared towards reading on a 27” iMac. If the text is too large, reduce the “font-size” and “line-height” by a few points.
Better design leads to faster information uptake, increased efficiency, and lower legal fees.
In my last post, I complained about Kindle typography. But I found some solutions:
Fonts: You can add fonts to a Kindle without breaking the license terms or copyright law (or so it seems–I didn’t study the license before clicking ‘agree’). In any event, you don’t need to Jailbreak the Kindle to add fonts.
Left-Align: Fixing Kindle’s always-justified problem is harder (from a tech and a legal perspective). You can re-convert the ebook files with Calibre. But this requires stripping the DRM. Removing the DRM is not particularly complicated, but it probably violates the terms of use and copyright law.
Conclusion: You can read public domain books in your preferred typography. But if you like reading books published after 1923, and you like reading them with reasonable typography, DON’T BUY A KINDLE.
DRM Note: cracking the DRM, even for creating a personal backup, probably violates the Copyright Act.
