1. Abolish software patents. Software is not by the original definition of patents a patentable entity. Nothing should ever be covered by both copyright and patent.
2. The recent addition of a prior art registry should help fix a lot of the bogus patents. Anyone can freely register 3 prior art examples per patent, no matter the status of the patent.
3. Set guidelines for legal interuptation for trademark, copyright, and patents. Apple should not be able to use design patents to slow competition. Design patents were allowed to prevent companies from trying to rip each other off. So a company that makes fake Rolexes and sells them as Rolexes would be in violation. Samsung's tablet which they clearly market as their own device, would not infringe the iPad.
So I guess my next question is how do you maintain any structure? Employers expect students to have certain skills when they get certain degrees. How do you ensure that students meet an expected criteria in their educational progress? Are the engineering programs ABET accredited? How do you propose a variable educational path to the State Board of Education?
Unfortuneately many schools only recognize publishing as a measure of faculty worth. RIT used to be focused on providing the best hands-on education we could. Now we have decided to become a premier research institution. Sadly, that will probably be at the expense of our educational values.
I agree that students should be more involved in planning their own education. In the 10+ years I have spent at RIT, the best students were always the ones who sought knowledge on their own without having to always be led.
1. Abolish software patents. Software is not by the original definition of patents a patentable entity. Nothing should ever be covered by both copyright and patent.
2. The recent addition of a prior art registry should help fix a lot of the bogus patents. Anyone can freely register 3 prior art examples per patent, no matter the status of the patent.
3. Set guidelines for legal interuptation for trademark, copyright, and patents. Apple should not be able to use design patents to slow competition. Design patents were allowed to prevent companies from trying to rip each other off. So a company that makes fake Rolexes and sells them as Rolexes would be in violation. Samsung's tablet which they clearly market as their own device, would not infringe the iPad.