Google buys patents from IBM

As far as I know, patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon.

Google has gained hundreds of patents from IBM as it continues its intellectual property spending spree. It has acquired 188 patents and 29 applications, adding to the 1,000 it purchased from IBM last summer.

The spokesman of Google expressed that acquisition those patents can enhance its patent portfolio and increase its competition in the market, even Android would not been threatened by anti-competitive of Microsoft, Apple and other companies easily.

If you desire your innovation to become stronger, prepare more weapons for it now!!

And here is the news: http://hk.news.yahoo.com/google買ibm專利-025003364.html

Copyright protection as the reason to stop pedestrians from taking pictures

As a headline in a local Chinese newspaper (Apple Daily Hong Kong), Dolce & Gabbana stopped pedestrians from taking pictures of their shop in Canton Road, Kowloon and the explanation offered was 'copyright protection'. According to the newspaper, these pedestrians were walking in the sidewalk about 4 metres away from the shop, and whenever they pointed their camera towards the shop, they were stopped and the staff or the security guard blocked the view of the cameras.

The reporters of the newspaper had further tested out other shops selling luxury goods in the area and only Dolce & Gabbana really watched out for anyone with camera near their shop.

Local lawyers were quoted that display of a shop facing the street are subject to photographic snapshot by pedestrians in public area, such as the sidewalk of Canton Road.

Actually this is a very innovative way to use 'Copyright Protection' and 'Protection of Intellectual Property' to restrict the right of those walking in the sidewalk of a busy street in Hong Kong.