Tag: Negotiation

  • Jefferson v. Patent Trolls: Postcolonial history

    Jefferson v. Patent Trolls: Postcolonial history

    In the last post, we took a look at the She-Hulk’s patent confrontation. In this post, we will move away from superheroes and look at Thomas Jefferson’s own encounter with patents, according to Jeffrey Matsuura, the author of the book Jefferson vs. the Patent Trolls. Before we begin, it’s important to mention that Thomas Jefferson…


  • She-Hulk: Patent smash!

    She-Hulk: Patent smash!

    Like it or not, the Incredible Hulk smashes stuff. The Hulk at his core wants to defend the innocent from harm, but he also causes an enormous amount of suffering as he lays waste to anything in his berserk path. Patent litigation can feel like a collision with the Hulk. Both patent owners and alleged…


  • Everest: Traverse intellectual property licensing routes

    Everest: Traverse intellectual property licensing routes

    “Yeah, mate, I know, but you’ve got to keep on moving.” These were the words from Mount Everest’s Basecamp to Rob Hall, an expedition guide who was out of reach of rescuers. Rob had radioed that his hands were freezing and that he had to de-ice his mask. Basecamp, searching for ways to get Rob…


  • Bridge of Spies: Pre-mediation conference avoids being left out in the cold

    Bridge of Spies: Pre-mediation conference avoids being left out in the cold

    In Stephen Spielberg’s movie Bridge of Spies, Tom Hanks portrayed Jim Donovan, an attorney who engaged in an historical negotiation. During the Cold War, Jim was enlisted by the CIA to be the negotiator in an exchange of accused spies. This exchange took place on the Glienicke Bridge spanning between East Germany and West Berlin. However,…


  • Pirates of Penzance: A most ingenious conflict paradox

    Pirates of Penzance: A most ingenious conflict paradox

    In Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Pirates of Penzance, Frederic, a pirate apprentice, was faced with a “most ingenious paradox.” A paradox is a situation with two competing sides that appear as a contradiction. The Pirate King explained the paradox to Frederic. Frederic was bound by contract to serve the Pirate King as an…


  • Finding Vivian Maier: Exposing conflict like a street photographer

    Finding Vivian Maier: Exposing conflict like a street photographer

    Street photographers have an eye for seeing reality from new perspectives. Just as film is exposed to light, street photographers can teach us how to expose our understanding to the reality of our conflicts. The documentary Finding Vivian Maier from John Maloof gives an inside look at a 20th century street photographer, Vivian, who was a…