Month: March 2017

Merging Man and Machine

Posted on by michael

Written By: Sachin Patel

The intersection of man and machine is a reoccurring theme in sci-fi films, but one may wonder if these stories are tales written to entice curious minds about the great unknown, or is it actually futuristic foreshadowing? Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a believer in the latter. Over the past few years Musk has discussed the idea of humans “merging” with machines in the near future as a way to ensure that humans are not rendered obsolete.[1] Unlike the creative minds of Hollywood whose scientific feat stops at their pen, Musk has been devising ways to make his idea reality. To do this, Musk plans to use a “neural lace” which integrates AI in the human brain. This would allow users to communicate their thoughts to computers at incredibly fast speeds.[2] If this can in fact be achieved, it would lead humans farther along the spectrum of innovation and advancement to a place where we can compete with AI on a more leveled plane. Continue Reading →

What’s Really Being Watched When You Turn on Your TV

Posted on by michael

Written By: Jennifer V. Nguyen

In 2015, ProPublica, an independent newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public’s interest, published an article regarding TV manufacturer Vizio’s data collecting practices. [1] The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) brought a suit against Vizio, which settled last week (February 6, 2017) for $3.7 million ($1.5 to the FTC and $2.2 million to New Jersey). [2] Continue Reading →

A Gene-Editing Patent Dispute – What Does It Mean?

Posted on by michael

Written By: Charles Cheng

Is this just another ordinary patent dispute? Time will tell. A high profile patent dispute between the University of California, Berkeley and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has just concluded a year-long proceeding called interference proceeding at US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).[1] On February 15, 2017, PTAB announced its decision after both parties presented their oral arguments before a three-judge panel in December 2016.[2] The proceeding was to determine which party has actually “invented” a gene-editing technology called CRISPR-cas9.[3] Continue Reading →

Patent Trolls Storm The Podcasting Industry

Posted on by michael

Written By: Fletcher Alford

Podcasting has become a lucrative business. The increasing popularity of podcasts has in its wake advanced an army of patent trolls. Comedian and acclaimed podcaster, Adam Carolla recently commented, during a patent lawsuit, that these trolls “Make a business of buying technology that they didn’t create and then find ways to sue to extract money.”[1] Many in the podcasting industry will likely agree. Consider the source: In the podcasting world, Adam Carolla is a pioneer. He began his first podcast in February, 2009 and shot to the number 1 spot on iTunes by the third episode. [2]From March, 2009 to March, 2011, Adam’s podcast received nearly sixty million unique downloads, and won a Guinness World Record for the most downloaded podcast ever.[3] Even with such verified success though, not everyone was a fan.

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