2,788 research outputs found
Why weak patents? Rational ignorance or pro-"customer" Tilt?
The issuance of weak patents is widely viewed as a fundamental problem in the current US patent system. Reasons that have been offered for the granting of weak patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) include examinersâ ârational ignoranceâ of the patentability of applications and pro-âcustomerâ rules and institutions that create incentives for examiners to grant patents of dubious validity to their âcustomersâ- applicants. In this paper, we study whether US examinersâ behavior in prior art search betrays their assessment of applicationsâ patentability. For a sample of US patents for which applications were also filed at the European Patent Office (EPO), we construct a measure of the fraction of prior art that is missed by US examiners. We find that this measure significantly explains the probability of receiving a patent at the EPO. The results are robust to different empirical specifications. US examinersâ prior art searches indicate that they are, on average, not ârationally ignorantâ. On the contrary, they identify and dedicate more search effort to those applications that seem more problematic, because they bear the burden of proof of non-patentability. Our study offers empirical evidence that a systematic problem of weak patents likely exists, and suggests that the problem may be more strongly attributable to the pro-applicant rules and policies than to examinersâ ignorance. The current prevalence of weak patents does not appear to be caused at the margin by lack of resources at the USPTO.Weak patents, Rational ignorance, cited prior art, missed prior art, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,
Intergenerational solidarity, proximity to parents when moving to independence, and returns to the parental home
Research on leaving home among young adults has mainly focused on the timing of departures rather than the distance that young adults move when they leave the parental home and establish independent households. We draw on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) Transition to Adulthood Supplement (TAS) (2005â2015) and the Geospatial Match Files to examine the relationship between intergenerational solidarity and the distance of young adults' first independent household. We also examine whether intergenerational proximity is associated with the likelihood of returning home. The results indicate that young adults from high SES families tend to move farther, while those who have children and a close relationship with their mothers tend to stay nearby. Living far from the parental home deters home returning only for young adults who do not have a close relationship with their mothers
Patents versus patenting: implications of intellectual property protection for biological research
A new survey shows scientists consider the proliferation of intellectual property protectionto have a strongly negative effect on research.patents, biology, intellectual property, material transfer agreements
Neural basis of language switching in the brain: fMRI evidence from KoreanâChinese early bilinguals
AbstractUsing fMRI, we conducted two types of property generation task that involved language switching, with early bilingual speakers of Korean and Chinese. The first is a more conventional task in which a single language (L1 or L2) was used within each trial, but switched randomly from trial to trial. The other consists of a novel experimental design where language switching happens within each trial, alternating in the direction of the L1/L2 translation required. Our findings support a recently introduced cognitive model, the âhodologicalâ view of language switching proposed by Moritz-Gasser and Duffau. The nodes of a distributed neural network that this model proposes are consistent with the informative regions that we extracted in this study, using both GLM methods and Multivariate Pattern Analyses: the supplementary motor area, caudate, supramarginal gyrus and fusiform gyrus and other cortical areas
Color Image Segmentation with Genetic Algorithm for In-field Weed Sensing
This study was undertaken to develop machine vision-based weed detection technology for outdoor natural lighting conditions. Supervised color image segmentation using a binary-coded genetic algorithm (GA) identifying a region in Hue-Saturation-Intensity (HSI) color space (GAHSI) for outdoor field weed sensing was successfully implemented. Images from two extreme intensity lighting conditions, those under sunny and cloudy sky conditions, were mosaicked to explore the possibility of using GAHSI to locate a plant region in color space when these two extremes were presented simultaneously. The GAHSI result provided evidence for the existence and separability of such a region. In the experiment, GAHSI performance was measured by comparing the GAHSI-segmented image with a corresponding handsegmented reference image. When compared with cluster analysis-based segmentation results, the GAHSI achieved equivalent performance
Classification of Broadleaf and Grass Weeds Using Gabor Wavelets and an Artificial Neural Network
A textureâbased weed classification method was developed. The method consisted of a lowâlevel Gabor waveletsâbased feature extraction algorithm and a highâlevel neural networkâbased pattern recognition algorithm. This classification method was specifically developed to explore the feasibility of classifying weed images into broadleaf and grass categories for spatially selective weed control. In this research, three species of broadleaf weeds (common cocklebur, velvetleaf, and ivyleaf morning glory) and two grasses (giant foxtail and crabgrass) that are common in Illinois were studied. After processing 40 sample images with 20 samples from each class, the results showed that the method was capable of classifying all the samples correctly with high computational efficiency, demonstrating its potential for practical implementation under realâtime constraints
An experimental vital signs detection radar using low-IF heterodyne architecture and single-sideband transmission
Supply and Demand for IS Faculty: A Longitudinal Study
The supply and demand of IS professors shifted in the last decade. Understanding the fluctuation of the IS faculty job market is a critical success factor for future planning and recruitment efforts. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study that monitored the supply and demand of IS professors between 1992 and 2004. Data, primarily from the AIS and ICIS placement services, were analyzed to identify the trends in this market. Other relevant issues such as the composition of IS faculty position applicants, supply of IS doctorates, and trends in IS professor salary are also discussed. The paper concludes with recommendations to business and IS schools based on the findings
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