EDUCAUSE | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; and Intellectual Property

Winning Hearts and Minds in War on Plagiarism

ckeller — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:34:22 -0500

To many writing instructors, going nuclear (expulsion threats) or high tech (detection software) have failed to stop cheating. So they aim for small victories, through new approaches to teaching about academic integrity.

Full Report of the Section 108 Study Group

ckeller — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:19:08 -0500

The Section 108 Study Group is a select committee of copyright experts charged with updating for the digital world the Copyright Act's balance between the rights of creators and copyright owners and the needs of libraries and archives. The Study Group was convened as an independent group by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation program of the Library of Congress and by the U.S. Copyright Office. The recommendations, conclusions, and other outcomes of the Study Group's Report are its own and do not reflect the opinions of the Library of Congress or the U.S. Copyright Office.

Jury Sides With Blackboard in Patent Case

ckeller — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:26:30 -0600

A federal jury in Texas recently awarded the learning services giant Blackboard $3.1 million in its patent infringement lawsuit against a much smaller competitor, adding a new layer of complexity and uncertainty to a complex, uncertain market for higher education learning management systems.

The RIAA speaks--and it gets worse

ckeller — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:02:07 -0600

The RIAA has quickly become one of the most disliked organizations in the world. Working ostensibly with the interests of the artists in mind, the organization has single-handedly instituted a policy of lawsuits and education in an attempt to curb the piracy of music.

A Review of the Open Educational Resources Movement: Achievement, Challenges and New Opportunities

ckeller — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:39:08 -0600

This report examines The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s past investments in Open Educational Resources, the emerging impact and explores future opportunities. Central to the report is the idea of “The Brewing Perfect Storm” and the creation of an Open Participatory Learning Infrastructure.

Ending the Intellectual Property Frenzy

ckeller — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:05:03 -0600

New president of Rochester Institute of Technology proposes alternate way for academe to support business and the economy — and it involves admitting that your institution won’t have a big windfall.

What’s Wrong with the Patent System? Fuzzy Boundaries and the Patent Tax

ckeller — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:26:10 -0500

The authors provide evidence that software patents have more severe boundary problems and generate greater litigation costs than most other patents. Software patents tend to perform badly because the associated property rights are often expressed quite abstractly. The problem of mapping words to technology is difficult for any kind of technology, but it is especially difficult for software inventions because of the abstract nature of the technology. The problem has been made worse because when the courts have considered software inventions they have relaxed patent law doctrines that work to limit abstraction in other areas of technology. As a result, patent–based property rights to software inventions are not tethered to a specific device or to a specific physical or chemical process. Ironically, verbal descriptions corresponding to precise mathematical representations may be ambiguous; this is because of the inherent abstraction of the mathematical representations.

Backers of Stronger Copyright Laws Form Lobby Group

drupal — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:53:36 -0500

"Some of the staunchest advocates for stricter copyright laws have formed a new alliance designed to pressure Congress into preserving stronger intellectual property rights."

Silicon Valley IP Lobby Goes to Washington

drupal — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:35:44 -0500

"As two comprehensive patent-reform bills are expected to land in the Senate and House over the next month, patent reform watchers say the issue, after years of wrangling, has gained considerable momentum. It's no surprise, then, that Valley companies and their attorneys have hit the accelerator on lobbying, both here and in Washington. Millions of dollars in yearly litigation expenses are at stake for many of these companies."

US Copyright Lobby Out-of-touch

drupal — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 11:47:30 -0600

"Internet law professor Michael Geist takes a look at intellectual property protection in the US and finds it somewhat out of step with the rest of the world."