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Raid on Gibraltar: How the U.S. Patent System was Rigged Against Independent Inventors

The numbers are stark. As recently as 1990, individual inventors were granted 17 percent of all patents. By 2000, they received 12 percent and only 6.8 percent in 2010. In 2015, individual inventors were granted only 5.8 percent of all patents. In sum, if there is any example of a nation squandering its technological seed corn, this systematic weakening of U.S. patent protections for some “guy in the garage” is it. The great irony is that most of the people behind the screen in all this got their start in that same “garage.” They know this all too well, which is why they’re relieved to see the garage all but Closed for Business.

Pat Choate & Joan Maginnis

September 17, 2017

Could Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg join the Trump Administration?

Text messages sent between Andreesen and Erskine Bowles speak to Zuckerberg’s desire to be able to maintain control of Facebook while possibly serving two years in government… The fact that Zuckerberg is open to serving in government might actually carry some sway with the Trump transition team, which includes a Facebook connection through Peter Thiel… Given Zuckerberg’s stances on Internet issues, one possible position for Zuckerberg could be at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Steve Brachmann

December 13, 2016

Google’s conversion to Alphabet highlights far-flung operations in biotech, venture capital funding

Google recently announced that it would be undergoing a major corporate restructuring, folding itself into a new corporation called Alphabet Inc. The move has been marketed as a means by which Google can remain more innovative insofar as it allows Larry Page and Sergey Brin to continue to make technological bets that have long odds while affecting search engine revenues less. Aside from the Internet division, there are as many as 80 other divisions where it is hoped that R&D development will continue while they grow into services with the billion+ level of users claimed by Google’s Internet services. This article takes a look at some of those divisions and how they stand to gain.

Steve Brachmann

August 18, 2015

Turning Your Small Business Into Big Business

Having a small business means having many challenges, especially in the earliest phases of development. Faced with challenges such as letting people know about your new business, establishing and augmenting your brand, creating a website, designing logos, developing and implementing marketing initiatives, creating and printing real world marketing materials, procuring new clients and customers, building and maintaining a blog, initiating and executing a social media campaign, acquiring followers within your social media platforms, securing office space at a reasonable cost, book keeping and everything else that must be done during the start-up process. This seemingly endless list of tasks seems to imply that starting a new business will most certainly be a stressful and very expensive endeavor. But starting and growing a small business, does not have to cost you an arm and a leg nor does having a small business mean that your business has to look “Small.”

Renee C. Quinn

August 17, 2011

Google Patents the Google Doodle

Earlier this week Google received U.S. Patent No. 7,912,915, titled “Systems and methods for enticing users to access a web site.” The patent covers what is known as a “Google Doodle.” The patent application was originally filed back in 2001, and due to Patent Office delay Google was awarded a whopping 2,618 days of patent term extension.

Gene Quinn

March 25, 2011