The “process” of patenting: Why should we care about a potential U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bilski v. Doll?

In Bilski v. Doll, the U.S. Supreme Court is called to define one of the categories of patent-eligible subject matter, “process” patents. In 2008, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the category has a narrow meaning, and that to be eligible for a process patent under 35 U.S.C. § 101, the invention must involve a machine or apparatus or involve a transformation to a different state or thing, ultimately rejecting the patent application as unpatentable subject matter. The patent applicants have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to determine two issues: first, the meaning of “process” in 35 U.S.C. § 101 and whether the lower court properly relied on a “machine-or-transformation” test, and second, the test's potential conflict with 35 U.S.C. § 273, which provides protection for “method[s] of doing or conducting business.” The Court's decision could change the way that research and business are done, and patent protection for such investments. Parts 1 and 2 of this article address Bilski directly and what is and is not in dispute. Part 3 addresses the “machine-or-transformation” test, while Parts 4 and 5 address reasons not to adopt such a test.     

Automated consent through privacy agents: Legal requirements and technical architecture

The changes imposed by new information technologies, especially pervasive computing and the Internet, require a deep reflection on the fundamental values underlying privacy and the best way to achieve their protection. The explicit consent of the data subject, which is a cornerstone of most data protection regulations, is a typical example of requirement which is very difficult to put into practice in the new world of “pervasive computing” where many data communications necessarily occur without the users' notice. In this paper, we argue that an architecture based on “Privacy Agents” can make privacy rights protection more effective, provided however that this architecture meets a number of legal requirements to ensure the validity of consent delivered through such Privacy Agents. We first present a legal analysis of consent considering successively (1) its nature; (2) its essential features (qualities and defects) and (3) its formal requirements. Then we draw the lessons of this legal analysis for the design of a valid architecture based on Privacy Agents. To conclude, we suggest an implementation of this architecture proposed in a multidisciplinary project involving lawyers and computer scientists.     

新城疫病毒cDNA文库的构建研究

本文报道了用人工合成的28聚寡核苷酸为“引物”,以强毒株新城疫 病毒(NDV)基因组PNA为模板,在逆转录酶作用下成功地合成了NDV- cDNA。后者经琼脂糖凝胶电泳观察,其大小约为0.5～14kb。从凝胶上收集 大于1.0kb以上的cDNA,用Hpa Ⅰ对其进行限制性酶切,然后将酶切片段克隆到pBR322的ScaI位点上,得到的克隆产物即为构建的NDV-cDNA文库。经用少量文库转化E.Coli HB101,得到氨苄青霉素敏感而四环素抗性的转化菌落(Amp基因因外源DNA的插入而失活)。从随机挑出的5个转化菌株中提取重组质粒,经琼脂糖凝胶电泳检测,其插入片段的大小分别为0.8～3.0kb不等。说明所构建的NDV-cDNA文库有效。     

Bite motivation of sharks reflected by the wound structure on humans

Bite wounds on humans have rarely been comparatively analyzed, and the behavior leading to such bites is virtually unknown. Nevertheless, the behavior of a shark is reflected in the bite structure and should be an essential part of shark-accident analysis. This paper compares 3 nonfatal accidents on humans, caused by bull sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, that occurred within a 12-month period in the same area of the Bahamas. Examination focused on wound analysis and accident reconstruction to determine the most likely bite motivation of the sharks. Two sharks targeted the left calf areas of the victims; another one bit the back area of a person. Although both calf bites had a very similar appearance, examination concluded that one of them showed the same triggering behavior as for the shark who inflicted the very different-looking back bite. Those 2 bites were competitive, whereas the other calf bite was initially of exploratory nature, turning into a stress-related bite.     

Frame the Consolidation Debate with a Sound Argument: A Reply to a Response

The most persuasive argument in favor of city–county consolidation has been—and remains—economic development through the formation of a strong and attractive regional community identity. Empirical evidence consistently demonstrates that appeals to voters based on reducing inner-city/suburban socioeconomic inequity and enhancing administrative efficiency are a recipe for failed consolidation campaigns.     

Limitations of rational-choice institutionalism for the study of Latin American politics

This article analyzes the analytical limitations of rational-choice institutionalism for the study of Latin American politics. Adherents of this approach have made important contributions by analyzing topics that Latin Americanists traditionally neglected, such as the political impact of electoral rules and the processes of legislative decision-making. But rational-choice institutionalism has difficulty explaining the complicated, variegated, and fluid patterns of Latin American politics. It overemphasizes the electoral and legislative arenas and—in general—the input side of politics; it overestimates the importance and causal impact of formal rules and institutions; it does not explain the origins of political change and often suggests a static image of political development; it offers an incomplete analysis of institutional creation by neglecting the importance of political beliefs; it cannot fully account for crisis politics; and it puts excessive, analytically arbitrary emphasis on “microfoundations.” The article questions whether these limitations can successfully be overcome, arguing that rational-choice institutionalism—while an important addition to the debate—is not inherently superior to other approaches applied in Latin American Studies. Kurt Weyland is associate professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of two books—Democracy without Equity: Failures of Reform in Brazil (Pittsburgh, 1996) andThe Politics of Market Reform in Fragile Democracies: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela (Princeton, 2002)—and of numerous journal articles on democratization, market reform, social policy, and populism in Latin America. His current research focuses on the diffusion of policy innovations across countries. I would like to thank Barry Ames, James Booth, Ruth Collier, Marcelo Costa Ferriera, Wendy Hunter, Mark Jones, Fabrice Lehoucq, Scott Mainwaring, Gerardo Munck, Anthony Pereira, Tim Power, Ken Roberts, Charles Shipan, Richard Snyder, Donna van Cott, and two anonymous reviewers for excellent comments.     

Pakistan,India, China,and the United States: Energy,Climate Change,and National Security

This article focuses on the interplay of energy, climate change, and national security issues in Southwest Asia, using the newer definition of “national security” to include energy security, economic development, and climate change, as well as traditional security focusing on the military aspects.