Week 4 EOC: Death Race Jeopardy

Having been on a game show for the Game Show network, I was pretty stoked to play the Death race Jeopardy game in class. The experience as a whole was pretty cool and engaged the entire class.

The game we played today was fun and informative. It gave us a chance to review patent information from out textbook and form teams to compete in the Jeopardy Game. It was tough at times because some people didn’t really ask easy question/answers in their game, so the class as a whole was scrambling to find the correct solution.

As part of critiquing the game, it was somewhat unfair because at the beginning the teams could cheat from each other and simply write down whatever the other teams answer was. We finally got more competitive and started writing small on the board so the other teams couldn’t cheat.
I learned a lot about court cases, like the Graham v. John Deere supreme court case created the guidelines for determining when an invention in “nonobvious”.

Also, GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) is among the most important international trade treaties in our history, thus having a large effect on U.S. patent law.

Patents help to protect our inventions and designs, thus the case of double patents can become tricky. I learned that a double patent is actually not allowed under the patent laws, and actually both patents can be invalidated. Ultimately a lawyer and patent reference books can become your best friends when it comes to protecting your inventions, designs and unique ideas.

Week 3 EOC: Jeopardy: Challenges and Opportunities

I have actually been on a game show myself, though it was not Jeopardy. I found the task of creating the questions and answers for this assignment fun, at first, then tough as I worked my way past the “easy questions”. There are just so many legal definitions to patents and intellectual property right laws that can get very confusing.

Part of the challenge was training my brain to think backwards in an “answer question” response. This person talks like that regularly. What is, I talk like that regularly? Hum, see how confusing this can get? Talking in riddles is tough. Talking in riddles about patents is, let me phrase it in the form of a question: What is a mind fuck?

Once I was thinking backwards and forwards all at the same time, I came down to my last column of answers. Since I was out of creative juice, I decided to give answers about common acronyms that are associated with Patent Law. For example,”This organization, WTO, was created for the purpose of enforcing the intellectual property and other trade agreements.” Followed by the answer, “What is the World Trade Organization?

Another type of answer/question I put into the board was as follows, “The “filing date” of a patent will generally cause the patent to expire this many years from the date of filing.” The answer, formed as a question, is: What is 20 years?

I hope my game is selected for the class to play, however I must admit, that my answers/questions are somewhat difficult if you didn’t do the reading. But then again, simply filling in the “game show” power point was enough submersions into Patent Law that most will probably do somewhat okay if they were to play my game.

Week 2 EOC: What do I think of lawyers?

I come from a family of lawyers and tend to sympathize with them and the bad rap they have. After all is said and done, I do respect the work that lawyers do on behalf of their clients. The flip side of my response is that I also believe that the laws we abide by govern a society that infuses inequity among its citizens; so when a lawyer goes to bat for their client, there is a very good chance that no one “wins”.
To further expound on this idea, I would assert that lawyers are known as ambulance chasers because they will sue anyone for monetary damages. Depending on their compensation percentage of the settlement awarded, usually they walk away with a lot of money. In my opinion, based on the hours a lawyer works and the risk they take, they still make too much money.

One would think that if a lawyer lived by a more strict moral code, the percentage they take as payment would be less. Could they possibly ask for a lesser percent? After all, they were not wronged by another, but simply stand up on behalf of those who aren’t “in the know” on how to defend themselves in a court of law.

Ultimately, in our society the laws need to be re-evaluated in order to help protect our citizens. What can you sue for, how much can you sue for, etc etc. Also, the amount of education one receives tends to dictate how much one can earn for an annual salary. Lawyers tend to have more hours spent at a university where they learn the law, versus (as an example) a Communication Degree that requires less than half the hours required.

The society we live in would lead you to believe that just because the lawyer spent more money and time on his/her education that they deserve more money….I disagree. The amount of money you make should not necessarily reflect your education, because ultimately everyone is not allotted the same opportunities as others.

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

My fascination with interiors and design borders on the level of obsessive. There is a seemingly constant dialogue that runs inside my head about original ideas I have, critiques of other designs, and the direction of where design is heading. I am using my undergraduate degree in Interior Design to help build my marketable skills as a designer and am using it to move me forward in a marketplace that is constantly changing. This evolution that is design continues to fuel my fascination and appreciation of it all. I look forward to making my mark on this world through my collaboration with others. The future is very bright.