Mattel claims "`irreparable harm' from the publication of the bypassing software, which it said sought to destroy the market for its product by rendering it ineffective." Well, yeah... that is the point.

Software Co. Sues Hackers: "They also offered a small ``cphack'' utility for ``people oppressed by Cyber Patrol'' that, when run on a parent's computer, reveals the password that blocks questionable Web sites - and also discloses the product's entire list of more than 100,000 Internet sites deemed unsuitable for children."

"A bill introduced Wednesday would give the 17-member panel 18 months to review current privacy laws and make 'recommendations on whether additional legislation is necessary.'"

GOP Wants Privacy Commission: "Two congressmen want to create a federal privacy commission that would decide what new regulations should apply to American companies.

What a waste of an article. I tend to expect better from Salon then an article falling into the "The Only Good Idea Is A New Idea" fallacy.

And thus goes the entire Salon article. I have two questions:

  1. If the idea isn't new, why does that make it bad?
  2. Where in Bezos' essay does he claim that his proposals are new? (The word "new" shows up twice, neither of them describing the proposal.)

"'This is really nothing new,' says Randy Lipsitz, partner at Kramer, Levin, Naftalis and Frankel. 'He's not the first person to have spoken out against the patent system.'"

Salon Technology | Patently Bezos: "When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos laid out his proposals for reforming the patent system last week, patent experts reacted with the same lack of enthusiasm the bookseller's competitors showed when it won a patent on its customer-referral program. After all, Bezos' plan, like some of his company's e-commerce patents, did not sound all that novel to people familiar with the subject."