Our Intellectual Property Laws Are Out of Control

Did you know that prior to the 17th century monarchs and their assigns would issue decrees forbidding anyone other than their chosen vendors to sell certain products or services? Monopolies were granted for marketing of such trivial items as perfume and playing cards. In 1624, Parliament passed a law banning monopolies except as a reward for inventors. That bit of trivia is part of an article by Glenn Reynolds in Popular Science. He continues that during the drafting of the U.S. Constitution you find similar thinking. "Thomas Jefferson opposed all government-granted monopolies, but James Madison argued that while monopolies generally are bad, there is a place for patents and copyrights. In the end, the Patent and Copyright Clause (Article I, Section 8) empowered Congress '[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.'" It's a short article, but an interesting read about how the current patent and trademark system is breaking down.

Posted August 6, 2013

ConductRF Precision RF Test Cables MAESTRO - RF Cafe Website

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...