Intellectual Property: A Definition

Intellectual property, very generally, relates to the output, which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields. Traditionally intellectual property is divided into two branches:

1) Industrial Property

a) Inventions
b) Marks (trademarks and service marks)
c) Industrial designs
d) Unfair competition (trade secrets)
e) Geographical indications (indications of source and appellations of origin)

2) Copyright

The protection of intellectual property is guaranteed through a variety of laws, which grant the creators of intellectual goods, and services certain time-limited rights to control the use made of their products. Those rights apply to the intellectual creation as such, and not to the physical object in which the work may be embodied.

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Private data bunkers

On the other hand are the data bunkers of the private sector, whose position is different. Although these are fast-growing engines of data collection with a much greater degree of dynamism, they may not have the same privileged position - although one has to differentiate among the general historical and social conditions into which a data bunker is embedded. For example, it can safely be assumed that the databases of a large credit card company or bank are more protected than the bureaucracies of small developing countries.

Private data bunkers include

    Banks

    Building societies

    Credit bureaus

    Credit card companies

    Direct marketing companies

    Insurance companies

    Telecom service providers

    Mail order stores

    Online stores


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Global hubs of the data body industry

While most data bunkers are restricted to particular areas or contexts, there are others which act as global data nodes. Companies such as EDS (Electronic Data Systems), Experian, First Data Corporation and Equifax operate globally and run giant databases containing personal information. They are the global hubs of the data body economy.

Company

Sales in USD billions

Size of client database in million datasets





Equifax





1,7





360





Experian





1,5





779





Fist Data Corporation





5,5





260





EDS





18,5









(not disclosed)

(Sales and database sizes, 1998)

The size of these data repositories is constantly growing, so it is only a matter of time when everybody living in the technologically saturated part of the world will be registered in one of these data bunkers.

Among these companies, EDS, founded by the former US presidential candidate Ross Perot, known for his right-wing views and direct language, is of particular importance. Not only is it the world's largest data body company, it is also secretive about the size of its client database - a figure disclosed by the other companies either in company publications or upon enquiry. After all, the size of such a data base makes a company more attractive for potential customers.

For many years, EDS has been surrounded by rumours concerning sinister involvement with intelligence agencies. Beyond the rumours, though, there are also facts. EDS has a special division for government services. EDS does business with all military agencies of the US, as well as law enforcement agencies, justice agencies, and many others. The company also maintains a separate division for military equipment In 1984, the company became a subsidiary of General Motors, itself a leading manufacturer of military and intelligence systems. EDS is listed by the Federation of American Scientist's intelligence resource program as contractor to US intelligence agencies, and prides itself, amongst other things, to respond to the "rise of the citizen as a consumer".

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Bulletin Board Systems

A BBS (bulletin board system) is a computer that can be reached by computer modem dialing (you need to know the phone number) or, in some cases, by Telnet for the purpose of sharing or exchanging messages or other files. Some BBSs are devoted to specific interests; others offer a more general service. The definitive BBS List says that there are 40,000 BBSs worldwide.

Bulletin board systems originated and generally operate independently of the Internet.

Source: Whatis.com

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User tracking

User tracking is a generic term that covers all the techniques of monitoring the movements of a user on a web site. User tracking has become an essential component in online commerce, where no personal contact to customers is established, leaving companies with the predicament of not knowing who they are talking to. Some companies, such as Red Eye, Cyber Dialogue, and SAS offer complete technology packages for user tracking and data analysis to online businesses. Technologies include software solutions such as e-mine, e-discovery, or WebHound

Whenever user tracking is performed without the explicit agreement of the user, or without laying open which data are collected and what is done with them, considerable privacy concerns have been raised.

http://www.redeye.co.uk/
http://www.cyberdialogue.com/
http://www.sas.com/
http://www.spss.com/emine/
http://www.sas.com/solutions/e-discovery/inde...
http://www.sas.com/products/webhound/index.ht...
http://www.linuxcare.com.au/mbp/meantime/
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Blaise Pascal

b. June 19, 1623, Clermont-Ferrand, France
d. August 19, 1662, Paris, France

French mathematician, physicist, religious philosopher, and master of prose. He laid the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities, formulated what came to be known as Pascal's law of pressure, and propagated a religious doctrine that taught the experience of God through the heart rather than through reason. The establishment of his principle of intuitionism had an impact on such later philosophers as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Henri Bergson and also on the Existentialists.

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