I think it is only fair to help those people who haven't jumped onto the bandwagon of destroying the world through intellectual property, by notifying them about the opportunities they have been missing.
Who doesn't want to make lots of money by patenting an obvious idea and then sitting back and raking in the money while watching the world decay into a legal morass, when the world governments are willing support you? As we bury the original idea for copyrights and patents - encouraging publishing and development - and promote the new one - discouraging publishing and development - here are some untapped areas that are just begging for IP fights:
Legal:
How about EULAs? Did you spend a lot of time writing a nifty new EULA, such as one that requires the user to erase all of his music from his desktop if he loses the CD (wasn't that the entire purpose of making a backup in the first place)? Copyright it! In fact, don't stop there - patent every clause. Surely no one else would have thought of adding those clauses to an EULA. Why let them - unless they pay you a fee?
While we're at it, why not all legal agreements? Why let other companies steal your nifty legalese? You worked hard and paid a lot of money for it. No one else should be allowed to hire people, rent houses, or merge companies using the same terms you used in your contract! Or derivatives, thereof.
In fact, let's go even further. We all know that government documents are not copyrightable, but that doesn't mean the government can copy your documents, does it? It's only a one way street. If you have passed laws in your company or community that prove to be effective, don't let the government pass the same laws without paying up. Patent them!
You can even do it before the laws come into effect. Are you a political party, tired of seeing others adopt your political platforms and then do better in the polls? Well, don't you deserve the right to control your own agenda and proposals? Patent these, too. Your solutions to health care and balancing the budget can then be yours forever; and you can refuse to let anyone use them unless you get elected! Victory!
Religion:
What goes for political platforms goes for religion. The Protestant movement could never have been founded if only the Catholic church had patented "worship of the divine being as mentioned in the bible". It certainly was non-obvious when it first started. You could also bring up a host of serious trademark issues: do you want those people claiming to speak in the name of your religion?
On a more local level, if you're a pulpit priest, why not patent your sermons? If you come up with a nifty way of linking two stories or presenting the word of God, don't let all those wannabes steal your ideas! Make them come to your church to hear it.
Family:
Naming your child something unusual, even if it is just an unusual first/middle name combination? Trademark that, too! As a bonus, this will save your child from any mistaken identity issues in the future.
But don't stop there: have you found an effective means of raising your children? Patent it! I'm pretty sure you won't find any prior art for it, and you want your kids to have every advantage they can, right?
Working World:
Think of the disciplines that still don't use IP to protect their rights:
Restaurants: Everyone else is stealing your recipes! Patent them! Don't let people eat your food and then make it in their own kitchen. That "discourages your incentive to publish"!
Architecture: Oops, too late for that.
Newscasters: Do you present global news, local news, weather, and local interest stories, in that order? That sounds creative. Better patent that, too, before someone else uses the formula. Don't forget to trademark your fancy phrases, like "Good evening, and drive safely". If you don't we may not be able to distinguish between you and some other channel's news service.
Novelists - Oops, too late for that.
Banking, Offices, Phone companies, and so on: Got a special way of giving good service? Patent that, too! We wouldn't want others to have good service; they may compete! Oh wait, Walmart already does that, too.
Teachers: curriculum, teaching hours, office hours, coffee breaks ... you name it! Patent the lot of it.
The rest:
We're only getting started. Why not patent war? Got a good military strategy? Don't let other countries go and use it for their own gains. Patent it, and then haul 'em into court. Why should anyone else be able to kill lots of people as easily as you can? Heck, if we patent "going to war for a specific reason", we may end up saving a lot of lives.
How about love? You want that moment to be special? Keep it that way for your natural lifespan, plus seventy years.
Politics. Religion. Why not sex? Got a new position that works for your? Patent it! Just make sure to investigate if there is any prior art.
Death! Don't let anyone just up and die the way you want to! Or did! You want some hack stealing your final thunder after you're gone? Don't wait until it's too late: bring out the patents!
Yehuda (TM, copyright, patent pending, and so forth (actually, creative commons))
Technorati tags: Patent, Copyright, Intellectual Property
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Weekend Gaming
Lord of the Rings: the Confrontation
I had played this once with my friend David. I played White and found it incredibly difficult to get anywhere. But, it was my first time. The game seemed like it still had potential, so I was hoping to play again.
I also introduced my brother Ben to the game at the game club, and he was so disgusted with the lack of symmetry and blind aspects to the game that he refused to play after one move.
This time I suggested it to my non-gamer neighbor whose family came for lunch. He has already played the Menorah Game and liked it, and I thought the association of this game with Lord of the Rings would appeal to him.
I played White again and won. Of course, this was his first time. He said it was OK, but not special. I kind of agree with him.
This looks like another victim of the overhype on BGG: "best two player game ever". No, it isn't. It is over too quickly, and it appears to be too slight a game to be that good. At least, from my limited experience.
I'm happy to play it a few more times. Here's hoping it will still be interesting after the tenth game.
Yehuda
I had played this once with my friend David. I played White and found it incredibly difficult to get anywhere. But, it was my first time. The game seemed like it still had potential, so I was hoping to play again.
I also introduced my brother Ben to the game at the game club, and he was so disgusted with the lack of symmetry and blind aspects to the game that he refused to play after one move.
This time I suggested it to my non-gamer neighbor whose family came for lunch. He has already played the Menorah Game and liked it, and I thought the association of this game with Lord of the Rings would appeal to him.
I played White again and won. Of course, this was his first time. He said it was OK, but not special. I kind of agree with him.
This looks like another victim of the overhype on BGG: "best two player game ever". No, it isn't. It is over too quickly, and it appears to be too slight a game to be that good. At least, from my limited experience.
I'm happy to play it a few more times. Here's hoping it will still be interesting after the tenth game.
Yehuda
Friday, December 16, 2005
Angst Post
The word "angst" is in my description of the blog (actually, my user description, but it serves the same purpose), so I have to write about it, sometimes.
Even though I started off my Gone Gaming posts with a message about "posting, and not letting fear get in the way", naturally I don't always follow that advice. It was advice for me, more than for anyone else. I'm still fearful; a holdover from the depression that hit me when I first got divorced.
It's partially because I've seen my blog grow a bit as time goes by (even though I sometimes think my only regular fan is Alfred, who often notices me in his Best of the Blogosphere posts - thank you, thank you!).
With a bigger blog, my head swelled into thinking that I could do something full-time in the game world - quit my job and blog for a living, or design games, or open a game store. Anything to get out of dealing with more difficult clients in my computer jobs (better to deal with difficult customers in the game world, right?). Of course, growth is relative - some of the Israeli blogs that I read get 1000 times the traffic that I do. If only all the blogs to which I linked would be kind enough to link back to me!
The truth is that this is a long process. My blog may have a few devoted readers, but a hundred hits a day is not going to make Google Ads profitable. I have designed a game and I'm working on others, but I am still months away from publishing it, if ever (although I've sold all of my prototypes). And I can't take off a year in order to get a game store off the ground.
In the meantime, the responsibilities of life go on. I'm luckier then many, I know. A good family, I have work, and a nice pastime. The Talmud calls a person rich if he is satisfied with what he has. That's not one of my successful attributes, yet, but I'm working on it.
Yehuda
P.S. I don't know if I'd call them "trademark", Alfred. Lots of other Geeks do a good job with them, too. For better or worse, here are mine, so far:
A Mad Game Club - Alice in Wonderland.
The Love Song of J Random Wargamer - T.S. Eliot
In Dallas, Tex, BGG.con - Samuel Talyor Coleridge
d6 or not d6 - Hamlet
Seafarers - Tennyson
I think that's it (?)
Even though I started off my Gone Gaming posts with a message about "posting, and not letting fear get in the way", naturally I don't always follow that advice. It was advice for me, more than for anyone else. I'm still fearful; a holdover from the depression that hit me when I first got divorced.
It's partially because I've seen my blog grow a bit as time goes by (even though I sometimes think my only regular fan is Alfred, who often notices me in his Best of the Blogosphere posts - thank you, thank you!).
With a bigger blog, my head swelled into thinking that I could do something full-time in the game world - quit my job and blog for a living, or design games, or open a game store. Anything to get out of dealing with more difficult clients in my computer jobs (better to deal with difficult customers in the game world, right?). Of course, growth is relative - some of the Israeli blogs that I read get 1000 times the traffic that I do. If only all the blogs to which I linked would be kind enough to link back to me!
The truth is that this is a long process. My blog may have a few devoted readers, but a hundred hits a day is not going to make Google Ads profitable. I have designed a game and I'm working on others, but I am still months away from publishing it, if ever (although I've sold all of my prototypes). And I can't take off a year in order to get a game store off the ground.
In the meantime, the responsibilities of life go on. I'm luckier then many, I know. A good family, I have work, and a nice pastime. The Talmud calls a person rich if he is satisfied with what he has. That's not one of my successful attributes, yet, but I'm working on it.
Yehuda
P.S. I don't know if I'd call them "trademark", Alfred. Lots of other Geeks do a good job with them, too. For better or worse, here are mine, so far:
A Mad Game Club - Alice in Wonderland.
The Love Song of J Random Wargamer - T.S. Eliot
In Dallas, Tex, BGG.con - Samuel Talyor Coleridge
d6 or not d6 - Hamlet
Seafarers - Tennyson
I think that's it (?)
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Tennyson would have played Seafarers
It little profits that a teenage kid,
By a still screen, through a barren game,
Connected through a rusty link, does click and kill
Faceless foes in a savage race,
To hoard, and sleep, and feed, and talk not once.
I cannot rest from people: I will meet them
Over a board: All games I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have played greatly, but with those
That loved me; not alone, decrepit on a chair,
Eyes and mouth agape, an equal stare
And none to hear: To become a name;
A screen-name pressing with a heavy thumb.
Much have I seen and known; boards of cities
And goods, climates, trades, auctions,
Myself not least, given to the game;
But face to face, battling with my peers,
Their warm brown hands and kindly smiles.
I am a part of all whom I have met;
Yet all meetings are an arch through which
Gleams that next game with other friends
For ever and forever when I play.
How dull it is to stare at shiny graphics,
To meet no other, speak nobody's name!
As though to breathe were life! Where the happy face
And all-familiar laughter, give and take,
Sharing drinks and food, talking into words,
Into that eternal silence, something more,
And not just pallor in a game; an evil thing
For kids to know nothing more of meetings,
Than the gray spurt of automatic gunfire
And blood falling like a sinking spirit,
And no real feeling for a human thought.
This is my son, my own head-banger,
To whom I hold affection and respect
Well-loved by me, if not his metal music -
Raucous so-called screechings filled with death,
Chaos, slaves, and kings; and he fancies himself such,
Intent to rule the world, subdue them all
And think no more of books and school and stuff
Wired up by ears, a banging gall
Of thrashing noise; and equally in his eyes
Gore and guts; and what has he gained in hours
From all this heap of electronic powers?
There lies the plug; pull it off the wall:
Open your eyes and see. My players,
Friends and companions, who have played a game with me
And ever on a friendly game night built
Towers and kingdoms in our imagination
But for freedom, not to conquer--he is not too young
To learn to talk to others at the table
Death closes all: but something else may yet be played
And enjoyed, other than brutal slaying,
Unbecoming of men that strive with God.
The lights no longer twinkle on the screen
The power turned off; the phone unhooked: the deep
Moans of many children bored. Come, my kids,
'T is not too late to learn a newer world.
Turn off, and meet over a board,
And meet new people; for my purpose holds
To play beyond the network, always learning
In the comfort of my company, until I die.
It may be that some games will be worthless;
It may be that we play the holy grail
And find hours of joyful entertainment,
Though much is old fashioned, much is new; and though
We play not now with video processed-driven battles
Computing earth and heaven, what we play, we play;
Many tempered hearts and hands together,
Made slow by taking turns, but strong in fun
To touch, to talk, to think, and not to drool.
Yehuda
By a still screen, through a barren game,
Connected through a rusty link, does click and kill
Faceless foes in a savage race,
To hoard, and sleep, and feed, and talk not once.
I cannot rest from people: I will meet them
Over a board: All games I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have played greatly, but with those
That loved me; not alone, decrepit on a chair,
Eyes and mouth agape, an equal stare
And none to hear: To become a name;
A screen-name pressing with a heavy thumb.
Much have I seen and known; boards of cities
And goods, climates, trades, auctions,
Myself not least, given to the game;
But face to face, battling with my peers,
Their warm brown hands and kindly smiles.
I am a part of all whom I have met;
Yet all meetings are an arch through which
Gleams that next game with other friends
For ever and forever when I play.
How dull it is to stare at shiny graphics,
To meet no other, speak nobody's name!
As though to breathe were life! Where the happy face
And all-familiar laughter, give and take,
Sharing drinks and food, talking into words,
Into that eternal silence, something more,
And not just pallor in a game; an evil thing
For kids to know nothing more of meetings,
Than the gray spurt of automatic gunfire
And blood falling like a sinking spirit,
And no real feeling for a human thought.
This is my son, my own head-banger,
To whom I hold affection and respect
Well-loved by me, if not his metal music -
Raucous so-called screechings filled with death,
Chaos, slaves, and kings; and he fancies himself such,
Intent to rule the world, subdue them all
And think no more of books and school and stuff
Wired up by ears, a banging gall
Of thrashing noise; and equally in his eyes
Gore and guts; and what has he gained in hours
From all this heap of electronic powers?
There lies the plug; pull it off the wall:
Open your eyes and see. My players,
Friends and companions, who have played a game with me
And ever on a friendly game night built
Towers and kingdoms in our imagination
But for freedom, not to conquer--he is not too young
To learn to talk to others at the table
Death closes all: but something else may yet be played
And enjoyed, other than brutal slaying,
Unbecoming of men that strive with God.
The lights no longer twinkle on the screen
The power turned off; the phone unhooked: the deep
Moans of many children bored. Come, my kids,
'T is not too late to learn a newer world.
Turn off, and meet over a board,
And meet new people; for my purpose holds
To play beyond the network, always learning
In the comfort of my company, until I die.
It may be that some games will be worthless;
It may be that we play the holy grail
And find hours of joyful entertainment,
Though much is old fashioned, much is new; and though
We play not now with video processed-driven battles
Computing earth and heaven, what we play, we play;
Many tempered hearts and hands together,
Made slow by taking turns, but strong in fun
To touch, to talk, to think, and not to drool.
Yehuda
Session Report Up
Games played: The Menorah Game, Modern Art, Primordial Soup, Tikal, San Juan, Yinsh.
Yehuda
Yehuda
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Googling
board game OR board games: 1,990,000
computer game OR computer games: 2,200,000
video game OR video games: 9,750,000
monopoly: 25,100,000 (monopoly + game: 7,200,000)
settlers of catan: 893,000
I love Monopoly: 1,780
I like Monopoly: 1,520
I don't like Monopoly: 348
I hate Monopoly: 576
I love Settlers of Catan: 177
I like Settlers of Catan: 205
I don't like Settlers of Catan: 4
I hate Settlers of Catan: 7
I play board games: 793
I play computer games: 15,900
I play video games: 41,100
I play games: 147,000
I play monopoly: 554
I play settlers of catan: 100
computer games are good: 928
computer games are bad: 417
video games are good: 10,800
video games are bad: 13,800
board games are good: 245
board games are bad: 3
monopoly is good: 864
monopoly is bad: 642
settlers of catan is good: 140
settlers of catan is bad: 1
halo/halo2 is my favorite game: 990/361=1351
scrabble is my favorite board game/game: 627/99=726
risk is my favorite board game/game: 103/140=243
chess is my favorite board game/game: 48/136=184
monopoly is my favorite board game/game: 38/110=148
trivial pursuit is my favorite board game/game: 26/41=67
go is my favorite board game/game: 9/55=66
diplomacy is my favorite board game/game: 7/3=10
settlers of catan is my favorite board game/game: 4/4=8
Memoir '44 is not a simulation: 16
Memoir '44 is a simulation: 15
How to cheat + board games: 787
How to cheat + computer games: 30,700
How to cheat + video games: 62,600
I always lose + board games: 504
I always win + board games: 1,420
I hate losing + board games: 376
i always win + computer games: 2,030
i always lose + computer games: 1,530
I hate losing + computer games: 565
i always win + video games: 1,910
i always lose + video games: 1,890
I hate losing + video games: 893
i always win + monopoly: 1,010
i always lose + monopoly: 698
i always win + settlers of catan: 213
i always lose + settlers of catan: 179
board games + better than sex: 18,900
computer games + better than sex: 10,300
video games + better than sex: 30,800
I'd rather be playing + board game: 534
I'd rather be playing + computer game: 430
I'd rather be playing + video game: 536
monopoly + good gift: 647
settlers of catan + good gift: 278
board game + good gift: 1,010
computer game + good gift: 488
video game + good gift: 936
Yehuda (1,620,000; Yehuda Berlinger: 876)
computer game OR computer games: 2,200,000
video game OR video games: 9,750,000
monopoly: 25,100,000 (monopoly + game: 7,200,000)
settlers of catan: 893,000
I love Monopoly: 1,780
I like Monopoly: 1,520
I don't like Monopoly: 348
I hate Monopoly: 576
I love Settlers of Catan: 177
I like Settlers of Catan: 205
I don't like Settlers of Catan: 4
I hate Settlers of Catan: 7
I play board games: 793
I play computer games: 15,900
I play video games: 41,100
I play games: 147,000
I play monopoly: 554
I play settlers of catan: 100
computer games are good: 928
computer games are bad: 417
video games are good: 10,800
video games are bad: 13,800
board games are good: 245
board games are bad: 3
monopoly is good: 864
monopoly is bad: 642
settlers of catan is good: 140
settlers of catan is bad: 1
halo/halo2 is my favorite game: 990/361=1351
scrabble is my favorite board game/game: 627/99=726
risk is my favorite board game/game: 103/140=243
chess is my favorite board game/game: 48/136=184
monopoly is my favorite board game/game: 38/110=148
trivial pursuit is my favorite board game/game: 26/41=67
go is my favorite board game/game: 9/55=66
diplomacy is my favorite board game/game: 7/3=10
settlers of catan is my favorite board game/game: 4/4=8
Memoir '44 is not a simulation: 16
Memoir '44 is a simulation: 15
How to cheat + board games: 787
How to cheat + computer games: 30,700
How to cheat + video games: 62,600
I always lose + board games: 504
I always win + board games: 1,420
I hate losing + board games: 376
i always win + computer games: 2,030
i always lose + computer games: 1,530
I hate losing + computer games: 565
i always win + video games: 1,910
i always lose + video games: 1,890
I hate losing + video games: 893
i always win + monopoly: 1,010
i always lose + monopoly: 698
i always win + settlers of catan: 213
i always lose + settlers of catan: 179
board games + better than sex: 18,900
computer games + better than sex: 10,300
video games + better than sex: 30,800
I'd rather be playing + board game: 534
I'd rather be playing + computer game: 430
I'd rather be playing + video game: 536
monopoly + good gift: 647
settlers of catan + good gift: 278
board game + good gift: 1,010
computer game + good gift: 488
video game + good gift: 936
Yehuda (1,620,000; Yehuda Berlinger: 876)
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Old friends
After making contact with my favorite Israeli blogger, David Bogner, aka Treppenwitz, it turns out that his wife is an old friend of mine from college (she's not old; I just haven't spoken to her in about ten years or so).
What a weird coincidence. What a small Jewish world.
Then I noticed that the other Jewish blog I really liked (aside from Jewlicious), Israelity, has as contributors both David and another old friend of mine: Rachel Jaskow, who has her own blog, Elms in the Yard.
Yehuda
What a weird coincidence. What a small Jewish world.
Then I noticed that the other Jewish blog I really liked (aside from Jewlicious), Israelity, has as contributors both David and another old friend of mine: Rachel Jaskow, who has her own blog, Elms in the Yard.
Yehuda
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