Bikram’s basic assertion — that the mere organization of millennia-old forms into a discrete system renders it patentable — seems spurious, and risible if one thinks too hard about it. These are forms, after all, that have been taught by guru after guru after guru in their hidden caves and mountains and secret holy cities in India for literally thousands of years. Yet here comes Bikram swanning along in his Hummer
Entries Tagged as 'patent'
In Your Face®
December 8th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Popular, Trademark
Especially pique-inducing are the obvious modern day capitulations to capitalism, such as McDonald’s largely successful efforts to trademark every word that begins with a Mc
Tags:Facebook·faith·mark·patent·protection
Bang! Bang! You’ve Been Upgraded
December 5th, 2010 · No Comments · Patent, Popular, Technology
Genes. Not Lucky, not Levis, and certainly not your old childhood Wranglers. I’m referring to the scientific code, what the head of the Human Genome Project called The Language of God.
Patented Advice for Girls
November 13th, 2010 · 6 Comments · Arcana, Popular
Apart from generational favorites such as The Bible, or Paul Tillich’s luminous writings, there is really no widely-disseminated guide that teaches young people how to behave in a world gone mad (MTV does not count) . . . . Personally, I find this to be a tragedy.
Tags:Chet Baker·girls·Paris·patent
The Toothbrush Patent, Part One
October 30th, 2010 · No Comments · Arcana, Patent
Whether and how you cleaned your teeth before this time depended principally on sense and sensibility. The primary form of dental hygiene was the mighty toothstick (forefather of our toothpick); to wit, a twig.
The Patented PB & J
August 3rd, 2010 · 3 Comments · Patent, Popular
The lowly peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Who would ever have thought it could evolve (or mutate) into so many different forms — from the peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich (Elvis’ favorite), to the peanut-butter-frosted jelly doughnut, to the Bukowski Tavern’s famous Peanut Butter Burger (with onions)?
Tags:patent·peanut butter
Technological Marvels
April 13th, 2010 · 6 Comments · Arcana, Popular, Technology
Of the many technological innovations that have leapt onto the stage of world commerce and actually changed the way people interact with the world around them every day, there are a few that are so startlingly transformative they actually shock the public into a new frame of perception. I have a few personal favorites that [...]
Tags:book·inventions·patent·Technology
I am a commercial litigator and 
