Patents For Power

In an era when knowledge can travel with astonishing speed, the need for analysis of intellectual property (IP) law—and its focus on patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and issues of copyright—has never been greater. But as Robert M. Farley and Davida H. Isaacs stress in Patents for Power, we have long overlooked critical ties between IP law and one area of worldwide concern: military technology. This deft blend of case studies, theoretical analyses, and policy advice reveals the fundamental role of IP law in shaping how states create and transmit defense equipment and weaponry. The book probes two major issues: the effect of IP law on innovation itself and the effect of IP law on the international diffusion, or sharing, of technology. Discussing a range of inventions, from the AK-47 rifle to the B-29 Superfortress bomber to the MQ-1 Predator drone, the authors show how IP systems (or their lack) have impacted domestic and international relations across a number of countries, including the United States, Russia, China, and South Korea. The study finds, among other results, that while the open nature of the IP system may encourage industrial espionage like cyberwarfare, increased state uptake of IP law is helping to establish international standards for IP protection. This clear-eyed approach to law and national security is thus essential for anyone interested in history, political science, and legal studies.

Introduction -- Defining the public interest in the US and European patent systems -- Confronting the questions of life-form patentability -- Commodification, animal dignity, and patent-system publics -- Forging new patent politics through the human embryonic stem cell debates -- Human genes, plants, and the distributive implications of patents -- Conclusion

Knowledge, Patents, Power offers a sophisticated analysis of patenting practices in the early modern Dutch Republic and their detailed legal framework, as well as the uses of expert knowledge not only in producing inventions but in evaluating them for patent purposes.

The best hope for peace and prosperity in our world is the expansion of information, and, as such, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was created to process an infinite amount of information. As men and women continue to perfect AI, monitoring its evolution can be both enlightening and unnerving. This book showcases the immense utility of AI and its “superhuman” characteristics. Without a doubt, patents play an important role in the remarkable progression of AI, exposing pioneering innovations that stimulate future improvements. From 1987 to 2017, at least one hundred and fifty patents with the phrase “artificial intelligence” in the title were granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This important book provides an easy-to-read summary of such patents. Within many of the summaries, there are inventor profiles and news articles that are insightful and thought-provoking. Pioneering inventors hail from China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia, and Taiwan. Prominent organizations include Amazon, Disney, Ford, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Sony. Throughout the book, diverse quotes present the emotional impact of Artificial Intelligence. In reverence to Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1954), widely considered the father of AI, this book explores fascinating aspects of computing machinery that can process information to the nth power in a blink.