Atlanteknology - Technology News for Atlantic Canada

What is old, is new....

Last night I discovered something I thought was quite interesting. The British have made all proceedings/case at the Old Bailey (London's central criminal court) for the period from 1674 to 1913 available online.

It is fascinating to go back and look at the old cases, the facts, and how things were dealt with at that time. Most fascinating to me are the old copyright and trade-mark cases. What struck me immediately is that the facts patterns stay the same - then and now (in a general sense). Not all that surprising I suppose.

In any event, the cases make for great reading, especially if you are a history buff. Enjoy!

The apple of my eye-p (intellectual property)

I was listening to CBC radio this morning on my way in to work and there was a story on the apple growing industry in Nova Scotia. Anyone who has been here will know that the area called the Annapolis Valley is the apple growing area of the province and that the apples grown there are exported around the world.

In an effort to create new markets and change in the face of consumer tastes, various growers are turning to organic growing techniques. The story discussed various aspects of the industry, including how one Acadia University PhD student is conducting organic apple research on behalf of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers' Association - the goal being (in part) to see if all natural treatments can be developed to replace the chemicals that help to manage the size and number of apples each tree produces. The reporter discussed some of these techniques but then went on to mention that they were not given further details because of......yes, thats right, intellectual property concerns.

The story was, to me, a perfect example of how intellectual property issues arise in all manner of commercial enterprises. I suspect that many people would not associate apple growing with cutting edge intellectual property matters but the truth of the matter is that farming, in general, produces a great deal of advancements, many of which are costly and are worthy of protection.

An apple grower, for example, would have a great advantage over competitors if that grower acquired (or group of growers acquired) an all natural technique to replace the chemicals that control the size and number of apples produced by a tree.

There are a number of ways she could protect this information including (potentially) a patent. The less costly alternative is via what is called "trade secret". The best known trade secret is the formula to Coke. Similarly, the "formula" for an all natural agent could be protected in much the same fashion.

The key of course is to keep the formula secret. Hence the name. And there are all kinds of ways to do this, including having the people who come in contact with the formula sign appropriate agreements concerning confidentiality etc. Also, and under the philosophy that a good defence is the best offence, the single best way to keep the formula secret would be to regulate who has access to it. And so on...

Anyway, I thought it was very interesting. Not all all intellectual property comes from laboratories where white coated technicians run around peering in to microscopes.

Have an apple - they are good for you. and don't forget to compost the core (assuming you do not eat it too).

Why write?....to get it right, that's why

I was re-reading some older cases today and came across an interesting one from late 2006 that I think illustrates several important points business people need to consider when they enter into a business relationship with other parties, and particularly parties with whom you are not familiar.

The case (formally known as Onkea Interactive Ltd. v. Smith 2006 BCCA 521) actually centred around an application for an injunction by the plaintiff (Onkea) against the defendants (Smith and others).

It is the background of the case that interests me. The plaintiff created what it described as a proprietary system whereby it used peer-to-peer file sharing networks to advertise adult websites. It wanted to join forces with the defendant to further develop the business.

The plaintiff and defendants incorporated a company (it is not mentioned in the case but I presume the plaintiff and defendants were shareholders) with the intention that the newly incorporated company would function as a joint venture vehicle.

Subsequently the joint venture broke down and the sides went their respective ways – except that the plaintiff alleged the defendants took the proprietary technology the plaintiff says it invented and started using the technology in its own business.

The plaintiff started a legal action against the defendants.

Two points in the history of the dealings between the parties need to be highlighted:

First, they did not enter into a written agreement. Almost always a big mistake. Here, the plaintiff was alleging the defendant committed various acts in violation of their agreement….except that it is incredibly hard to prove someone has violated an agreement when there is no concrete evidence as to the terms of that agreement.

Second, even if you have a written agreement it is important, especially where there is sensitive or proprietary business information at stake, to have specific clauses (or a separate stand alone agreement) dealing with the confidentiality of information and, as well, non-competition when the relationship ends (regardless of how it ends).

The moral of the story – put your contracts in writing and don’t go for the “quick 2 pager” either.

Protection of aboriginal intellectual property

Well, since it is the last day of March, the day before April Fool’s Day, I thought I would write an article.

Something I have been thinking about for some time actually.

I read, in some journal or other, about efforts in Canada and elsewhere, to attempt to protect aboriginal “intellectual property” given the current lack of a formalized structure. Now, some may groan at the notion (owing only to the current and ongoing "debate" over the protection of music and the revision of copyright laws in Canada and elsewhere), but I think it has considerable merit and should be afforded critical analysis.

The reality is that much of certain aboriginal cultures is oral in nature or physical (in the form of some tangible object) and is not easily dealt with in the western system of ownership – wherein a person creates or owns some property right, and has the ability to prevent or grant the exercise of rights by others.

How does one protect oral history in such an environment? Is it worth considering in the context of a western style intellectual property rights regime given the notion of common ownership within the particular community?

Again, I believe it is worth the effort. I am not sure how such a regime might spring into existence but perhaps it would be in the form of a separate and parallel registry to the one that currently exists in most States. A repository for oral, written, physical and other histories that may serve two functions – one to help preserve the histories for their own sake and the second to allow the aboriginal communities to control, if they choose, how those histories are used.

In a similar manner, we are seeing a growing recognition by States, particularly India, that indigenous scientific knowledge is valuable and ought to be protected. India is adopting a strategy to document its traditional medical heritage. In a recent article published in the Lawyers Weekly, Dr. Chidi Oguamanam (of Dalhousie Law School) noted that the approach by the Indian government “…[W]ill make it impossible for second comers to patent around India’s medicinal heritage”.

My own thoughts were more along the lines of what we would generally call copyright, but I think there is considerable merit to watching the development of the system in India with a view to determining whether we in Canada should adopt a similar framework. Having said that, I am always conscious of the problems associated with a pull approach to the development of anything, and certainly if the aboriginal community in Canada (if one can speak so broadly) is not interested in such an examination, so be it.

New Industrial Design Database

This may only be of interest to lawyers or people creating products, but I'll post about it anyway.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office now has a fully searchable database for industrial designs registered in Canada. The database is complete from 1861 to present.

A quick refresher on industrial designs - they  are the features, shapes, configurations, patterns or ornaments (or any combination of these) applied to a finished article - and this feature must appeal to the eye.

There are over 2000 industrial designs for all manner and type of chair (some of which are more appealing to the eye than others).

The database is here. Happy searching!

Useful (and not so useful) knowledge...at your fingertips

This site is very interesting. An online library, full of useful and not so useful information (care to know all there is to know about ancient archery?).

Called the Universal Digital Library, it purports to have over 1.5 million works in its collection. As the functionality of digital books, like Amazon's new product, become more user friendly, this site may become much more popular than its creator's envisioned.

The works are available in HTML, TIFF, and DjVu formats.

Happy reading.

Stop thief!

Well, first we had a real murder over virtual property. A chap in Hong Kong was obviously very annoyed when another person "sold" a virtual sword he had borrowed from the first person. The sword only existed inside the virtual world.

And now we have the alleged theft of virtual property. This article discusses the purported theft of some sofas from within a social networking site called Habbo. The theft occurred when the accused allegedly tricked other users of the site into revealing their user names and passwords to the purported thief, who then "moved" the furniture into his "room" within the Habbo virtual world.

The sofas cost real money by the way.

it will be interesting to see how the authorities frame the charge against the accused, whether as "theft" as we think of it or as something related to the fact the accused set up a false website to trick the owner into revealing his/her user name and password.

Virtual worlds are expanding so rapidly, it can boggle the mind. There are now virtual law firms, virtual courts and the like, all to go along with the virtual sex, theft, and other myriad activities. It sounds alot like the real world....

Google, the iPod, the hydrogen fuel cell....and Nova Scotia

Virtually un-reported (as with many success stories arising from Atlantic Canada - and Canada to a lesser extent) is the recent (October) award given to Dr. Abbey Kirumira and Hermes Chan. The former is now the head of Biomedica Diagnostics Inc. and the latter is now the head of MedMira Inc.

What did they do and what sort of award did they receive? The answer to the first is that they developed a rapid HIV test capable of producing results within 30 seconds. The award? The prestigious Economist Innovation award. Yes, the Economist - as in the magazine that forever to read.

This is no lightweight award and the mere fact that the recipients are based in the Atlantic region should be trumpeted - and I am trying to make my small contribution to the effort.

All of which reminds me of a book I am reading now called "Why Mexicans don't drink Molson" by Andrea Mandel-Campbell - in my mind one of the best books ever written about this country. if I had enough money I would send it out to everyone I know as a Christmas present.

In any event, I will not delve into the details of the books - sufficed to say that it does not paint a very flattering portrait of much Canada and its business culture/environment.

Why do I mention it? Well, for two reasons. One, I think everyone should read it. Two, the lack of fanfare Dr. Kirumira and Mr. Chan received reminds me of several points the author makes in her book....but I will leave that for you to discover.

Oh yes, the rest of the crew mentioned in this article's header - the inventors/business owners all received the same award.

Business permits and licenses

I found an interesting website the other day. It is called Bizpal and its purpose is to help new businesses wind their way through the complex and mind numbing government bureaucracy with respect to necessary permits and licenses.

I took the site for a "test drive" and found it to be quite useful although some features are limited because the site does not yet have various jurisdictions and governmental organizations on board (as of yet). For example, the site is useful for Nova Scotian businesses only if your business is in Halifax or New Glasgow.

However, anything new and useful tool is a good and I definitely think this is one of them.

Defamation - The YouTube Way

You may remember the Star Wars kids. This was a fellow who acted out a epic Star Wars light sabre battle in a room in his school, using only a broom stick (or something similar) and his voice.

Unfortunately for him, several of his school mates video taped the whole thing and posted it on some file sharing site.At one point, some clever people acquired the video and, using some editing software, added real sounding light sabre sound and visual effects.

Then websites were created just for the video, and numerous people created their own versions. And the "Star Wars" kid was born.

Sadly, it was done to mock the fellow. After a while, the publicity died (although the video is still widely available and there is now a Wikipedia entry for the Star Wars Kid). Unfortunately the young man suffered some severe emotional harm as a result and I believe he and his family actually moved from their town.

I am not so pleased to say that this sort of abuse can be propagated much more easily now that we live in the world of YouTube.

Yesterday I read an article where a youngster in Finland captured his teacher singing Karaoke at a scholl event and posted it on YouTube under the heading "Karaoke of the mental hospital" - insinuating that his teacher was a lunatic in a mental institution. The video got watched over 600 times before it was taken down.

The teacher sued and a court in Finland recently found the teenager guilt of defamation and fined him (according to the article I read) 90 Euros, with an additional award of 800 Euros in damages and 2000 Euros in court costs.

When all is said and done, defamation is still defamation, no matter the medium. It is not wise to practice it.