Eric Reasons

[Update: This accidentally became a series of posts on a theme. Does Intellectual Property Law Foster Innovation? Where I question the efficacy of patent and copyright in a socially networked world. Intellectual Property and the Deflation of the Knowledge Economy - (this post) Where I toy with the idea that the Knowledge Economy may not turn out to be much of an economy, especially when it comes to Intellectual Property The Economic Reset Button - Where Jeff Jarvis asks Eric Schmidt whether or not this is a fundamental shift in the economic base Innovative Deflation - Where I ask, "Is the knowledge economy ripe for growth, or is it the means by which traditional economies are shrunk?" ] Friday night I was discussing the future of intellectual property law with some friends. My argument, in a nutshell: Every business model relying on intellectual property law (patent and copyright) is heading for massive deflation in our lifetimes. We've seen it with the m...

Jim Harper over at Cato is still keeping an eye on the Fed 's grab for cybersecurity authority. That’s correct. “Cyber” is not a problem that affects our sovereignty or the integrity of our national boundaries. Thus, it’s not a problem for the defense or intelligence establishments to handle. The benefits of the online world vastly outstrip the risks - sorry Senator Rockefeller. With those benefits come a variety of problems akin to graffiti, house fires, street closures, petit theft, and organized crime. Those are not best handled by centralized bureaucracies, but by the decentralized systems we use to secure the real world: property rights, contract and tort liability, private enterprise, and innovation. I've blogged about this before, here and here , but it's worth keeping tabs on.

[Update: This accidentally became a series of posts on a theme. Does Intellectual Property Law Foster Innovation? (this post)Where I question the efficacy of patent and copyright in a socially networked world. Intellectual Property and the Deflation of the Knowledge Economy - Where I toy with the idea that the Knowledge Economy may not turn out to be much of an economy, especially when it comes to Intellectual Property The Economic Reset Button - Where Jeff Jarvis asks Eric Schmidt whether or not this is a fundamental shift in the economic base Innovative Deflation - Where I ask, "Is the knowledge economy ripe for growth, or is it the means by which traditional economies are shrunk?" ] Patent and copyright were established in this country under the assumption that the limited-term monopoly rights for creators foster innovation. The promise of exclusive reward to a creator for some set period of time provides incentive to pursue the overhead costs of research, in...

The opening incantation of P.J. O'Rourke's new book, Driving Like Crazy: Thirty Years of Vehicular Hell-Bending : The feminists grabbed our women, The liberals banned our guns, The health cops snuffed our cigarettes, The bailout has our funds, The laws of Breathalyzing Put an end to our roadside bars, Circle the Fords and Chevys, boys, THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE OUR CARS. Now THAT, my friends, is poetry.

I'm going to try and put all this together later, but here's what I'm working with. 1) Fed mistreats bond-holders in Chrysler deal in favor of unions . How likely is it that bond holders will want to offer up any additional capital for companies in bed with the Fed? 2) Stress tests say banks need $75 billion , and their going to have to raise it on the private market. Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary: For those institutions needing more capital, “everyone involved will be looking for banks to raise this through either private means or the selling of some assets that they have or that they control,” Gibbs added. Side note: GMAC is one of the banks that needs money. 3) Treasury Auction of bonds yesterday draws fewer buyers than expected . Yield on bonds jump to move the treasury bonds. This indicates a potential problem for future borrowing by the Fed to finance deficit spending. So, the Obama administration is tipping the scales against capital holders in companies ...

This is too good. A 22-year old student placed a false quote on Wikipedia, and it was reproduced in the obituary in countless "legitimate" newspapers around the world.

Maureen Dowd follows the litany of professional chattering class members thumbing their noses at Twitter . In an oh-so-clever twist, she interviews Biz Stone and Evan Williams, creators of Twitter, in a format that allows for only 140 characters in the questions or answers. (She even used the same title as one of my blog posts on the same subject , which probably means I wasn't being clever enough.) It's one of her more insipid articles, second only in recent memory to the article asking whether Michelle Obama should stop showing off her biceps . Why did you think the answer to e-mail was a new kind of e-mail? Fritinancy gives an excellent sendup of Ms. Dowd's article , rewriting it was if Dowd was interviewing Alexander Graham Bell. Why did you think the answer to telegrams was a noisy new telegram? Read Maureen Dowd, then read Fritinancy. Too good.