Sponsor's Message

A good alarm and a well-locked garage will do the trick quite nicely in most cases.

Of course if your car is really expensive and you've got money to spare, you could also get one of those GPS tracking devices installed so that even if someone does make of with your property, they can be tracked and apprehended.

Things get a little trickier however, when you're attempting to protect something that can't be locked up, alarmed or tracked.

I'm talking about intellectual property -- stuff like music, software, designs, etc.

While the music industry has tried to use copy-protection as the equivalent of locking the door against joy-riders, it's an approach that has (if the industry's own figures and claims of rising piracy are to be believed) proven totally ineffective.

The only practical way to protect intellectual property, it seems, is to rely on a raft of highly-paid lawyers to enforce the various laws that have been formulated in an attempt to outlaw its unauthorised use.

The most often mentioned of these laws is the copyright act but that's just one of many bits of legislation designed to protect intellectual property.

There are also patent laws, trademark, servicemark and probably a whole lot of others that I don't know about -- since I'm not a lawyer.

Now have your say Got something to say about today's column, or want to see what others think?  Visit The Forums While you're here, why not visit the Aardvark Hall of Shame and perhaps make your own nomination.

The problem with this "sue em all and let the courts sort it out" attitude to dealing with the protection of intellectual property is that rapidly advancing technology is making it increasingly difficult to determine what should and what shouldn't be protected.

Things are also reaching the point where some companies appear to be more interested in making money by suing infringers than by licensing or using that same IP.

No doubt many of you will consider the RIAA's current agenda to identify and sue all those internet file-traders as a good example of this -- but I suspect it's just the beginning of a trend.

In the headlines section today you'll find news of a patent suit brought by Monsanto against a farmer who, they claim, infringed their rights by growing corn containing one of their patented genes.

Given that Monsanto appears unable to stop the contamination of crops grown in fields adjacent to those carrying this gene, it makes the judgement an outrage and shows that patent laws will have to be constantly updated to ensure they reflect the advances and limitations of newer technologies.

In fact, using this judgement as a precedent, I can see a wonderful new business model for Monsanto and other companies who regularly patent GE genes:

1. Patent a gene
2. Lease a small plot of land in the middle of a large cropping area
3. Plant your GE crop and wait for the wind to blow its pollen
4. Sue your neighbours for using your patented gene without licence.
5. Profit

But the problem affects the IT industry as well.

Here's the IT version of that business model:

1. File for a patent on a simple algorithm or technique, regardless of the fact that you didn't actually invent it.
2. Once the patent is granted, demand licence fees from many small companies
3. Profit

However, when a small company which apparently infringes those patents is faced with the choice of paying a small annual licence fee or facing an incredibly expensive battle to have the patent judged invalid -- many will opt for the former.

Find enough small-fry willing to take the easy-way out and you have a very nice little earner.

As technology right across the board becomes more complex, these problems will only get worse and increasingly disadvantage the small guys who simply don't have the resources to stand up for their own rights.

Unfortunately, in a world where we probably have more lawyers than doctors, what can we do?

If you feel that this is a good thing and/or you hold a "geniune affection" for yours truly -- then you are welcome to gift me some money using the buttons provided. In gifting this money you accept that no goods, service or other consideration is offered, provided, accepted or anticipated in return. Just click on the button to gift whatever you can afford. NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally gift more than what you were intending :-)

Contacting Aardvark
I'm always happy to hear from readers, whether they're delivering brickbats, bouquets or news tip-offs. If you'd like to contact me directly, please this form. If you're happy for me to republish your comments then please be sure and select For Publication.

Other media organisations seeking more information or republication rights are also invited to contact me.

Just add a couple of lines of JavaScript to your pages and you can get a free summary of Aardvark's daily commentary -- automatically updated each and every week-day.

Aardvark also makes a summary of this daily column available via XML using the RSS format. More details can be found here.

Contact me if you decide to use either of these feeds and have any problems.

Linking Policy
Want to link to this site? Check out Aardvark's Linking Policy.

Did you tell someone else about Aardvark today? If not then do it now!