Get a Grip
Posted on July 02, 2008 in Generic biologicals
Getting a good grip from the start is the key to both pitching a baseball and appropriately-managing Major League Baseball's intellectual property. Consider the following from a recent National Law Journal article: According to [plaintiff CDM Fantasy Sports'] lawyer, Rudy Telscher, MLB Advanced Media is expected to decrease "significantly" the number of companies offering its officially licensed fantasy games, therefore denying fantasy leagues the right to use information like player statistics without a license. But CDM is challenging MLB's authority to license anybody, Telscher said, and is specifically seeking to use player statistics without MLB's permission. He said CDM doesn't dispute that it needs an MLB license for trademarked products such as team logos. But statistics are in the public domain, like telephone numbers, he argued. "All we need is the player statistics and we believe we have the right to use them because they're public information," said Telscher of Clayton, Mo.'s Harness, Dickey & Pierce. "The Supreme Court has held that mere raw data where creativity is not involved is not something that would be protected by copyrights. ... I don't see how anyone could argue that player names and stats are something that are protected by copyright." . . . . Attorney Mike Mellis, in-house counsel for MLB Advanced Media, declined to comment on the suit. Jim Gallagher, senior vice president, corporate communications for MLB Advance Media, said that baseball officials are not claiming exclusive rights to player statistics. But if a company is trying to use those statistics as a means of financial gain, he said, then MLB has a legal right to demand a license for their use. "Player statistics are in the public domain. We've never disputed that," Gallagher said. "But if you're going to use statistics in a game for profit, you need a license from us to do that. We own those statistics when they're used for commercial gain." Gallagher demonstrates that when your attorney declines to comment, you probably should as well. Sorry, Jim, but public domain status means that information can be used by anyone for any purpose; the public domain isn't divided into commercial and non-commercial sections. Black's Law Dictionary (7th Edition) describes "public domain" as: "2. The realm of publications, inventions, and processes that are not protected by copyright or patent. Things in the public domain can be appropriated by anyone without liability for infringement." In essence, MLB is seeking to sell what it does not own, hoping to steal first base. Any tee-baller can tell you they can't do that. Back in school, the older kids often tried to trick the younger ones into believing that they needed tickets to climb the stairs or use the bathrooms. Of course, those things are open to all and no tickets are required; the big kids knew that but sought to trade on the naivete of the littler ones for fun and profit. If the big kids at MLB sincerely believe that they can sell tickets to what's open to all, in this case it's not the little kids who are the naive ones. [Update] Labels: Law, Sports
Tags: mlb, public, statistics, kids, domain
DMN & DOJ: So Much For the Silver Star
Posted on June 28, 2008 in Medical care
Get ready Dallas County officials. You are not going to get a silver star or a pat on the back. You are going to taken to federal court by the United States Department of Justice for this pattern of deliberate indifference. You will then either fight the Department of Justice (foolish) or you will enter into a verifiable consent decree with them (wise) wherein you will agree to do all of the things you should have been doing all along. Your day of reckoning awaits. Enjoy the ride. Federal report says needs to clean up its act Dallas County: Inquiry finds problems with medical care, sanitation 08:44 AM CST on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 By JAMES M. O'NEILL / The Dallas Morning News Federal officials noted serious lapses in medical care for inmates and numerous sanitation problems at the Dallas County Jail after investigating the troubled facility, county officials said. Dallas County officials said they were disappointed by the negative feedback they received from U.S. Justice Department investigators, who spent a week at the jail last month. The Sheriff's Department has started acting on some of the Justice Department's recommendations to improve jail sanitation: cleaning out shower drains and planning to purchase warmer blankets so inmates won't block air vents. The Justice Department plans to return for further inspections this month. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards, meanwhile, is touring the jail this week as part of its annual inspection. The commission gave the jail failing grades the past two years. County Judge Margaret Keliher laid some blame for the federal criticism on the University of Texas Medical Branch, which had handled jail health care for the past three years until its contract ran out March 1. Parkland Memorial Hospital now oversees jail health care. She said that the problems cited to her by Justice Department inspectors during an exit interview after their visit were first noted more than a year ago in an expert's report to county commissioners. That report noted that it sometimes takes weeks for inmates to receive medications for chronic physical illnesses and for mental illness. "I was disappointed to find out that UTMB was not doing a better job with health care, including mental health" in light of all the attention the problem has received in the media in the past year, Ms. Keliher said. Funding, staff concerns UTMB officials noted that they had told county officials more than a year ago about the need for at least 50 more staffers to improve medical care at the jail but had to run the operation without any appreciable increase in funding or staff. County commissioners did vote to increase the health care budget by $9 million for the fiscal year that began in September. Most of that, though, will pay for improvements that Parkland has in the works. In addition, Dr. Owen Murray, UTMB's chief physician executive, said the medical branch has worked with Parkland during the past six months to add nurses and staffers to screen for tuberculosis. He said UTMB and Parkland also worked together to add paramedics to conduct medical screening in the jail's book-in area. Previously, jail guards without medical training conducted medical screening and often failed to identify prisoners with medical or mental health needs. County commissioner Maurine Dickey said the county also received poor marks from the Justice Department for jail sanitation, particularly in areas that house the mentally ill. Working overtime In response, the Sheriff's Department has had maintenance staff working overtime to clean out shower drains in the jail. "The medical was something we don't control, but the sanitary issues, that's our fault," said Jesse E. Flores, the Sheriff's Department's executive chief deputy. "Sometimes it takes somebody to kick us in the butt and tell us to wake up and do what needs to be done. I'm optimistic that in the long run we'll be a better department for all of this." The Justice Department also recommended that the jail no longer have inmates do their own laundry, to "ensure proper cleanliness of the inmate uniforms." The change would also improve sightlines for jail guards, since inmates would no longer hang uniforms to dry from balconies. Clothing changes Inmate clothing is changed twice a week under state guidelines. The Justice Department recommended that clean clothing be provided three times a week. The change would require the Sheriff's Department to purchase additional clothing. As a result, officials plan another change that will save money in the long term
Paging Dr. Moe, Dr. Larry, Dr. Curly
Posted on June 27, 2008 in Medical care
Interesting proposal from Dallas Commissioner Maurine Dickey dealing to Craig Claybrook at Dallas Home page.........a hearth amidst the Dallas County Jail. “Not identical is this a grievous report thanks to the jail, it is a common people safety drum,” she stated. “The gathering is at risk each shift we van a prisoner to Parkland Parking place. The prisoner sits handcuffed additionally shackled amidst the waiting room with everyone else. Lone epoch, a prisoner grabbed the detention officer’s gun furthermore started shooting the other past.” Ms. Dickey renders what she is mitigation publicly, having served hypothetical the Parkland Range as five years. She is too all told familiarized with hots potato at the jail. Construe following application, dating back to at least 1998, has revealed massive questions at the jail, predominantly on the modes of mental health understanding, medical understanding, along with sanitation hitchs. It sounds face it a good inkling to me. I wonder how the math gears out. Perhaps Grits whereas Breakfast, our Austin research-meister, can weigh medially can do this. Is it mortal all over successfully tween contrary metro jails? How do we station a jail hangout? Resolution the interval of grasp be so lousy at Motel Hell that DSO fixed purpose plus be staggered transporting inmates to a better equiped facility?