25 Mar 2003
Patent Tweaking

This article points up some of the current absurdities of the patent process regarding drugs.

Apparently Celebrex was developed from basic research performed at the University of Rochester in the early 1990's. A Federal judge invalidated the patent on the grounds that it was not developed as a "complete invention" and sent the case back to an appeals court.

Allowing the university patent to stand would have put a nearly insurmountable barrier in the way of companies wishing to utilize basic research supported by our universities and other institutions of higher learning. However ....

Celebrex itself is patented, even though it was based on this earlier basic research, some of which was, presumably, funded by all of us through our tax dollars. This is as bogus as granting a patent on the basic research itself, for while Pharmacia can claim to have fleshed out the basic research into a commercial product, the patent they claim on Celebrex covers the basic mechanism itself.

In a nutshell, this illustrates the complexities inherent in IP law in this modern age of genetic engineering, digital data and taxpayer funded basic research. I believe that the most equitable solution would be to insure that all research funded in any part by the government fall into the prohibition on government held patents and/or copyrights. Otherwise, the people end up paying twice (and sometimes, especially in the case of medications, very dearly) for essentially the same product.

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Unfair Uses

Seems to be a lot of copyright news today. This piece from the Chronicle of Higher Education points out an interesting conflict that is brewing between two federal laws governing the so-called "fair use" doctine.

I find this particularly interesting because it touches on several issues I have with current copyright law and the status of long out of print articles and thesis. Let's hope the copyright office gets this one right from the start.

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

On the Home Front

Today I seem to be back into the swing of blogging - over the last couple of days I've only managed to post quick quips on news items, with little or no depth. Oh well, it's been a pretty frustrating week.

Our septic tank is apparently full - it should be pumped out by tomorrow morning and back to normal, but because we've not lived here all that long we're unsure exactly what "normal" really is. Nothing makes one crankier than having to get in the truck and drive next door every time nature calls ....

Well, except when the truck won't start. Which our new "beater" vehicle has not been doing on it's own for a while. We thought it was the battery, so we got a new one and installed it, but as it turns out it's more likely a short in the ignition switch itself. Just more goofing around ... it's great when it's running. Gotta keep telling myself that!

Yesterday was a beautiful day and we did get some work done - yard cleanup mostly. Also burned some more of our brush pile - at this rate I should have it gone by next year sometime! And we did take Willie with us out to the back pasture and flew a kite! Very windy, and a bunch of fun.

We did hear from some folks breeding Icelandic sheep, and there's a good possibility that we could get a starter flock together later this summer. That'd be really cool - but we've got lots of fence to set and buildings to repair first.

Today it's just raining and dreary overall, and my apprehension level over the on going war in Iraq is slowly rising. I have generally avoided posting an opinion on the operations here because, well, my opinions are seriously conflicted, and I do "have a dog in this fight", as my son-in-law Peter is currently with the Marines in Nasariyah. Serious stuff indeed.

But I have been writing on it - I'll post something later when my thoughts are cohesive enough to hold together.

I will have to say the the anti-war protestors have been doing a terrible job of winning friends with some of their repulsive tactics. That's about all they're accomplishing - making themselves repellent to those Americans who might lend their message a ear were it presented in a sober and respectful way. And some of the main organizers of these protests are positively repugnant themselves.

Oh well - maybe I'll post some more on this topic later this evening. But right now my compiler is calling ...

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