Outside the Beltway

New technology doesn’t mean that the laws don’t apply.

However you feel about the Redskins name, the decision to retroactively repeal their trademarks is troubling on many levels.

Those who tattoo celebrities want to be be paid when their tattoos appear in the media.

It’s that time of year again.

Economic growth in the first quarter was so weak, we nearly fell into a recession.

The DOD says Walmart was violating its trademarks.

It’s simple: We just have to define the problem and then solve it.

Most peer-reviewed research is crap.

Thanks to a Federal District Court Judge, most of Sherlock Holmes is now in the public domain.

Once dominant atop the smartphone market, Blackberry seems to be counting out the days until its demise.

One of the iconic speeches in American history is copyrighted.

There are over 1,000 Executive Branch positions requiring Senate approval. That seems excessive.

A song written when Grover Cleveland was President is still protected by Copyright Law. That makes no sense at all.

It’s going to be another eventful month for the Supreme Court.

The US Senate wants to know why Apple and other big technology companies are paying so little into the US Treasury.

“Who owns Sherlock Holmes?” The answer is . . . complicated.

The death of Hostess Brands is a lesson in what is supposed to happen to failed companies in a free market.

American politicians are using China as a scapegoat for America’s problems.

A Pirate Party leader has been policing illegal downloads of her copyrighted book.

Apple has won a huge victory in the smart phone patent wars. If the news reporting is accurate, the outcome doesn’t pass the common sense test.

President Obama set off a firestorm by claiming business owners didn’t build “that.”

Sometimes, the law can be an ass.

An object lesson in the problems with our intellectual property laws

Tom Brokaw isn’t happy with Mitt Romney’s latest ad, which use of a 1997 NBC news report on Newt Gingrich’s ethics.

Members of Congress are responding to the protests against SOPA and PIPA by withdrawing their support for the bills.

Wikipedia’s English language site will be offline for 24 hours tomorrow to protest two controversial online piracy bills.

Aaron Swartz has been arrested for downloading too many academic journal articles.

A new patent granted to Apple raises once again the question of how far patent protections should extend.

Matthew Yglesias resurrects an argument that should have died off when Napster disappeared.

A new Tim Pawlenty television ad is raising copyright issues rather than, as intended, bringing back memories of the 80s.

Microsoft is making millions from Android phones, despite having nothing to do with designing, marketing, manufacturing, or distributing them.

Go The Fuck to Sleep, the children’s book aimed at parents, has become an Internet sensation and reached #1 on Amazon well before its release owing to a leaked copy.

Academic publishers want to end the Fair Use of scholarly journal articles in the classroom.

The Washington Wizards have gone back to the future with new uniforms that look remarkably like the old Washington Bullets unis.

The Gourds perform “Gin and Juice” at Bumbershoot in Seattle, September 2007.

The Media Bloggers Association has filed an amicus brief against a company which exists for the sole purpose of suing bloggers.

Examining Levin’s examination of the Constitution, jurisprudence, and property rights.

Brief takes on foreign affairs

So, Kodak is suing Shutterfly because it claims to have invented the idea of putting pictures on the Internet.

WikiLeaks domain name service was terminated for violating terms of use.

The American copyright system is broken. Cory Doctorow offers some useful suggestions for fixing it.

Arianna Huffington has become an online mogul by convincing big donors to pay her for content others generate for free. Did she steal the idea?

There isn’t much doubt that China is manipulating its currency for competitive advantage. What can be done about it?

Despite constantly hiring more examiners, the patent application backlog is 728,044 and it takes 6 years to get a decision.