Assignment #13D | End of Course Reflection, Part 2

Hi all,

I am so sad to be writing my last blog post of this semester. It has been a very educational semester, and I am very grateful for Tal's teachings both in and out of lectures. I can't wait to take all of this knowledge and apply it to the real world! I believe this newfound patent knowledge will allow me to engage in more relevant technology discussions and file my own patent one day!

For my final blog post, I wanted to discuss innovation with regards to a patent being novel and non-obvious. Intellectual property holds certain value to a great deal of companies in the modern age, and I believe that innovation is mistakenly viewed as "new" ideas by many people; however, I believe that innovation includes improvements on old things that makes human lives easier. Although a patent is considered obvious and not novel if prior knowledge indicates something similar, but I believe there is a balance between innovative and redundant patents.

Through this class, we learned so much about the patent process, what requirements are necessary for a file to be patented, in addition to a discussion of patent wars and patent trolls. I learned that the process for filing a patent is actually not too difficult, and problems with the patent system exist exactly for this reason. Looking forward, I hope the US Patent Office is able to effectively combat the unjust actions of patent trolls.

Ultimately, I learned so many interesting topics through this class. I hope to take this knowledge and apply it to the real world as I look to file my very own patent one day! It's been an absolute pleasure writing these blogs this semester, and I thank you all for taking this journey with me. For the last time, thank you all and have a wonderful summer vacation!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #13C | End of Course Reflection, Part 1

Hi all,

With the last two posts of the semester, I wanted to discuss some of the main learning points that I can pull from my experiences in this class.

Collaboration

I believe one of the most essential tools I learned this semester is the power of collaboration. From the first lectures in this class, collaboration was encouraged as a way for students to teach and learn from each other. Through social media platforms like Google blogger, Twitter, and YouTube, students were able to connect even outside of the classroom. Via blog posts, discussions, and virtual connectivity, students could provide feedback and crucial information to their peers in-between lectures. Collaboration was taken to new heights within this 190G class in a few different ways:

• classroom discussion and engagement
• social media connection and peer commenting
• student-run lectures and ability to provide input for homework assignments

Creativity

Creativity was the second concept that this class really encouraged through its unconventional nature. With no midterm or final, Tal had to be creative in the assignments he gave to us as the students. However, the creativity didn't stop there. Students were encouraged to teach the class, come up with their own assignments (especially for the three-unit students), and were given free range to tweet at their discretion. This class taught me that our creativity as students does not need to be limited to the differentiation of our comments within the classroom; rather, our creativity shines through the additional work we do, projects we research, and effort we put into our blogs/homework.

Thanks so much for reading my first analysis on key takeaways from this course. Hope you enjoyed it, and looking forward to reading your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #13B | Social Media in Education, Part 2

Hi all,

This is my second blog post regarding social media learning. In my previous post, we discussed the power of social media in the education sphere. We discussed how social media gives students a medium to share their ideas outside of the classroom, in addition to a platform to sharing, connecting, and challenging ideas. Social media's potential impact on education is evident, but how exactly can we achieve collaboration?

Looking at three of the social media platforms we used this semester, Google blogger, YouTube, and Twitter gave students the opportunity to effectively share their ideas in an unconventional format.

Looking first at Google Blogger, we were able to post weekly blog posts surrounding the topics that were explained in lecture. Through Google Blogger, we were given the opportunity to publicly post our thoughts on the lecture topic, while also adding creativity through pictures and decoration of the posts. In addition, students could comment on their peers' posts and share any feedback or criticism.

Although Twitter was not integrated into our curriculum until later on in the semester, it served as one of the most creative and informative learning experiences in this class. Through the tweets, students were encouraged to research relevant current news to patent law, infringement, and study. Twitter, as one of the most popular social media platforms currently available, allowed students to share their ideas in an open and public space.

The last medium that we utilized in this class was YouTube. Through YouTube, students were encouraged to film themselves for video blog posts to include on the Google Blogger posts. These were educational in more ways than imagined: students actually could practice speaking and their level of comfort in front of the camera, while at the same time sharing their ideas in a public format.

Overall, I believe the integration of all of these social media platforms into our class education was both informative and creative. Thanks so much for reading this post, and I look forward to reading your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #13A | Social Media in Education, Part 1

Hi all,

This week's assignment was to create discussion surrounding social media in education. Never before have I participated in a class with such a large emphasis on social media learning, and I found it to be a new and refreshing experience. Especially with my generation, I believe that social media has played an integral role in every aspect of our lives. From our social experiences, to how we access the news and information, social media has revolutionized the way in which my generation functions in modern society. As education looks to harness the power of social media in this growing age of technology, I fully support and encourage teachers and students everywhere to embrace its positive potential.

In other classes, social media learning was stressed but never put into action. This class forced people who were uncomfortable with social media to reach outside of their comfort zones in order to fully immerse themselves in a social media ecosystem with focus placed on interactions with other students.

Looking at the powerful statistics which indicate social media's influence on today's generation, it is surprising that education systems everywhere have not effectively integrated social media into their curriculum. Looking specifically at Facebook, millennials are communicating and sharing information like never before. Social media platforms like Facebook can be integrated into existing education systems via podcasts, video sharing, collaborative presentation, and blogging.

Hope you enjoyed my blog post, and I look forward to reading your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #12D | Efrat Kaznik Response, Part 4

Hi all,

For my final post regarding topics from the Efrat Kaznik guest lecture on Monday, I wanted to discuss the mobile patent wars. With more inventions being created and technology advancing, many more patents are being issued compared to past years.

Looking specifically at the 250,000 patents related to smartphones, both design and utility patents are relevantly discussed.

Design patents are related to the physical appearance of the smartphones themselves and their software. Earlier this semester, we discussed Apple's "Slide to Unlock" patent that would fall into this category. Icons, including the rounded square ones ion the Apple iPhone interfaces are also design patented because they are related to the aesthetics of the phone.

Utility patents, on the other hand, provide some use to the smartphones with regards to the day-to-day activities of the user. Specifically discussing the iPhone software applications, there is a feature that images and documents become larger upon the touching of icons. Also the zooming in and out based on the pinching of the screen is another utility patent.

Touching more on the intangible asset discussion, more technology companies are aiming to acquire issued patents. Intellectual property serves as one of the largest contributors to intangible assets with a huge market for large technology companies!

Hope you all enjoyed this week's blog posts! Look forward to checking in next week and reading your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #12C | Efrat Kaznik Response, Part 3

Hi all,

For this blog post I wanted to discuss the value of intellectual property as assets. I came along this article and wanted to summarize it and provide my own analysis as well:

http://www.wipo.int/sme/en/ip_business/ip_asset/business_assets.htm 

Although Efrat discussed this a little bit in Monday's lecture, I felt that this article form the World Intellectual Property Organization website really paralleled many of the informative points. In this article, an enterprise's assets are separated into physical assets and intangible assets. On the physical side, buildings, machinery, financial assets, and infrastructure are noted. While the intangible assets incorporate innovative capacity, brands, and concepts, among other intangibles of companies. Although the market normally perceives the bulk of a company's value to be derived from its physical assets, this is being altered in a new age of corporate value. In other words, intangible assets are becoming more and more valuable in the modern era based upon rapidly changing IT and growing technology. 

Furthermore, software is becoming the catalyst to allow for intangible assets to continue growing with regards to their value. In the new age, executives are relying heavily on said intangible assets to drive the valuation of their companies. Conclusively, acquiring and maintaining IP rights can be done for distinctive signs, microchips, and innovative products and processes. 

Thanks so much for reading my blog, and I look forward to seeing your comments!

Best,

Anish

Assignment #12B | Efrat Kaznik Response, Part 2

Hi all,

With this blog post, I looked at the example of my peer, Payal Patel, for the example of how to break down the macroeconomic forces that are currently shaping the patent marketplace. In Efrat's discussion, she effectively broke down the the four forces that contribute to the survival of this marketplace.

Looking closely at how technology is constantly evolving, many external forces affect the patent marketplace; this marketplace has many strengths and weaknesses:

Firstly, there is an extremely active patent transaction market where innovation has been constantly increasing. This is an opportunity due to the fact that people need to file many patents in order to protect their IP. Secondly, globalization has led to increased competition and has thus encouraged innovation. Therfore, global competition is viewed as an opportunity due to the fact that companies are constantly pushed to strive for more and better things.

On the other hand, the patent marketplace faces many threats. One such threats includes the fact that IP litigation levels are very high. With the existence of patent trolls, large corporations have continued getting unrightfully sued. Therefore, the patent trolls are creating a problem and threat within the patent litigation world. Another threat is evident with the fact that the USPTO is underfunded. As government departments look to save more money, this will undoubetdly hinder innovation within the US.

Thanks for reading my blog post, and I look forward to seeing your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #12A | Efrat Kaznik Response, Part 1

Hi all,

This week's assignment was to discuss the guest lecture from Monday's lecture. Efrat Kasznik was the name of our lecturer, and she is the founder and president of Foresight Valuation Group, a start-up advisory firm. This firm focuses on valuation and strategy, and it was very insightful to hear Kasznik speak about her experiences.

Efrat Kasznik is an expert in the field of valuation and strategy, and she was able to provide great insights into his twenty years of background experience in the field of intellectual property. Her company, Foresight Valuation Group, serves A-list clients like Ford, Visa, Xerox, and Dow.

With Kasznik's lecture, she discussed how patents can negatively impact innovation and ultimately hinder the creative world. Through explanation of patent infringement, she talked about the ways in which different products are prevented from entering the market due to their violation of patents.

Specifically with Kasznik's discussion of Consumer and Digital Products, she explained the cyclical nature of trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Comparing intellectual property rights, she gave wonderful insight into the definitions and life of the rights.

Ultimately, I had a great time listening and learning from this guest lecturer. I hope you all enjoyed my summary and analysis, and I look forward to reading your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #11D | TED Talks, Part 4

Hi all,

For my final post regarding the TED Talks, I wanted to look at Johanna Blakley's "Lessons from Fashion's Free Culture."

This video details the USPTO's reasoning for not mandating the fashion industry to have copyrights and patents. Blakley, in this TED talk, explains how patents and licenses can actually hinder innovation. Further, Blakley discusses that clothing was in a way "too utilitarian" for copyrights and patents, a topic that actually sparks discussion regarding the software industry.

Through this TED Talk, Blakley explains the benefits of no patents or copyrights on the world of fashion innovation. I agree with Blakley's reasoning, and believe fashion creativity would be fostered through less patents and copyrights. For more analysis, please refer to my video below.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to reading your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #11C | TED Talks, Part 3

Hi all,

As I continue with this week's blog theme of TED talks, I wanted to discuss Beth Noveck's "Demand a more open source government."

In this TED talk, Noveck discusses her time as the Chief Technology Officer within President Obama's administration. The direction she lead was towards a more "open source" government with transparency being a top priority. Although she acknowledged that the White House was nothing close to "open source" when she joined, Noveck addressed her goals to return to the transparent days of the 1990s.

Through implementation of an open source government, Noveck details that much of the unnecessary bureaucratic aspects are left out. Sberbank is noted as an example of a Russian bank that practiced open-source through crowdsourcing and saved over a billion dollars. On the other hand, Noveck emphasizes that it is important to recognize that data should not just be made open to everyone. Instead, transparency should be created through limited sharing of knowledge to the public.

Action steps to fulfill goals of an open-source government include making the US Patent Office more accessible. With her example, USPTO had power to make decisions regarding patent apps that would be granted; in other words, they had a monopoly for over twenty years. Thus, in order to allow for more open information flow, USPTO allowed total openness such that patent apps could be accessed by all people to analyze.

In conclusion, Noveck places responsibility on all of us to open institutions and to share information. I wholehearedtly agree with Noveck's ideas and believe that an open-source government is a step in the right direction, especially with the prevalence of data in today's society.

Thanks for your time reading this post -- I hope you liked it, and I look forward to your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #11B | TED Talks, Part 2

Hi all,

This week we were assigned the task of analyzing the TED talks that we discussed in class. For this blog post, I will be discussing Drew Curtis' analysis regarding how to beat a patent troll.

Drew Curtis is an expert on patent litigation based upon his background as a law professor at the University of Missouri. With the existence of patent trolls, Drew utilizes his educational background to better analyze the world of patents, patent litigation, and patent trolls.

Drew, in this video, discusses his strategy for combating a patent troll that actually attempted to sue his media company for patent infringement. In his words, he does not believe in "negotiating with terrorists," and he firmly asserts that it is his right to battle these patent trolls. In fact, his analysis uncovers that patent trolls are actually more costly to the US Economy that terrorists. This was especially shocking to me, because the acts of these patent trolls are unlawful and unjust.

Curtis explains a few different strategic ways to fight patent trolls. The first is to fight the infringement rather than the patent due to the notion that it is easier to prove that one has not infringed on a patent rather than proving the patent is not valid. The second strategy is to not back down financially -- by this, Curtis refers to the notion that a company should spend money fighting the troll rather than giving the money to the troll itself. The third and final strategy is to publicly state that this battle will be long and painful in order to discourage the patent troll.

When Gooseberry, a non-practicing entity, claimed that Curtis' company was guilty of patent infringement, Curtis highlighted that he was guilty until proven innocent. In my opinion, this case only further indicates a need for patent reform within the US government to save companies like Curtis from losing so much money.

Thanks so much for reading, and I look forward to seeing your comments!

Best,
Anish

Assignment #11A | TED Talks, Part 1

Hi all,

This week, we were given the opportunity to watch TED talks in class regarding patents lead by our own classmates, Mo and Abbey. The first TED talk was led by Ellen 't Hoen regarding how to save lives by pooling medical patents.

In this TED talk, Ellen begins with a discussion regarding the Wright brothers and how they issued a great deal of patents following their feat of getting an airplane to fly. This feat, in fact, was not the most optimal for aviation as an industry due to the fact that government agencies were organizing the development of military airplanes. The patents had to be made available to all people according to the government, so that everyone could start producing airplanes.

This introduction directly related to the medical patent pool discussion because, as Ellen detailed, antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV (like all life-saving medications) need to be patented. People in undeveloped countries only a few years ago were unable to afford the high costs of drugs like these, while wealthier people in developed countries were able to afford them. Drug cocktail prices dropped from $12,000 to $240, saving countless lives with easier accessibility to drugs.

In this TED talk, Ellen details that the responsibility lies with big pharma and medical companies to help progress society as a whole by making these drugs more accessible.