Thursday, June 21, 2012

What is Austerity?


Austerity

In economics, austerity refers to a policy of deficit-cutting by lowering spending often via a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided.[1] Austerity policies are often used by governments to try to reduce their deficit spending[2] and are sometimes coupled with increases in taxes to demonstrate long-term fiscal solvency to creditors.[3]
Supporters of austerity predict that under expansionary fiscal contraction (EFC), a major reduction in government spending can change future expectations about taxes and government spending, encouraging private consumption and resulting in overall economic expansion.[4]
Critics argue that, in periods of high unemployment, austerity policies are counter-productive, because deficit cutting reduces GDP (which, Paul Krugman thinks, typically means less tax revenue to pay off the debt); and that short-term stimulus is necessary to deal with deficits in the long-term.[5]
"Austerity" was named the word of the year by Merriam-Webster in 2010.[6]

Reasons for undertaking austerity measures

Typical effects

Theoretical considerations

Controversy

The "Age of Austerity"

Word of the year

Examples of austerity

See also

References

External links

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Who is the world's most prolific inventor?



Kia Silverbrook

Kia Silverbrook (born 1958) is an Australian inventorscientist, and serial entrepreneur. He is the world's most prolific inventor with 4,438[1] granted U.S. utility patents as of 11 May 2012. Internationally, he has 9,716[2]patents or patent applications registered at the international patent document database (INPADOC).[a] His inventions are used in a variety of products such as computers, smartphones, LCD screens, digital cameras, robots, digital pens and industrial and office printers.[citation needed]

Early life

Silverbrook was born in 1958 in Australia. In 1977 he started at Fairlight Instruments,[4] the developers of the first polyphonic digital sampling synthesizer, the Fairlight CMI. While at Fairlight, he invented and developed the Fairlight CVI, a real-time video effects computer released in 1984.[5] He remained employed by Fairlight Instruments until 1985.
In 1985, Silverbrook founded Integrated Arts, a parallel processing and computer graphics company using the Inmos transputer. Silverbrook was Managing Director (Australian equivalent of US CEO) of Integrated Arts until 1990.
In 1990 an Australian research subsidiary of the Japanese electronics company Canon was formed, named Canon Information Systems Research Australia (CiSRA).[6] Silverbrook was Executive Director of CiSRA from its inception until 1994.
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Silverbrook Research

In 1994 Silverbrook co-founded Silverbrook Research,[7] an Australian research and development and invention licensing company. He is chairman and CEO of Silverbrook Research, which is the developer of the Memjet[8]printer technology, the Hyperlabel[9] alternative to RFID, and the Netpage[10] digital pen technology, among others. Since 2001, Silverbrook Research has appeared in the annual listings of the top 200 global companies, as ranked by US patents, climbing as high as the 28th rank in 2008.
YearRankU.S. Patents
2001142117[11]
2002145121[12]
2003149122[13]
2004109172[14]
200571247[15]
200642510[16]
200737533[17]
200828608[18]
200945474[19]
201034752[20]
201131812[21]
In 2011 Silverbrook Research was assigned 812 US utility patents, more half of the total of 1,533[22] US utility patents assigned to Australian entities in that year.
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Memjet

In 2002 Silverbrook co-founded Memjet,[8] a printer technology company. When Silverbrook first announced the Memjet technology in March 2007, it was widely thought to be a hoax,[23] as the technology seemed to be implausibly advanced. However, now that printers have been demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2011),[24] and announced by such major companies as LGFuji XeroxCanonToshibaLenovoOcé andMedion the technology has been shown to be real. The Memjet technology has won various awards, including Popular Science's "Best of what's new - 2011" and the Edison Awards 2012 Gold Medal [25][26]

George Kaiser Family Foundation Lawsuit

In March 2012, the George Kaiser Family Foundation (principal investor in Memjet) filed a lawsuit alleging fraud and seeking to gain control of the Memjet patent portfolio, numbering over 4,000 patents.[27][28] Silverbrook's response to the lawsuit characterized it as "part of a hardball commercial negotiation".[29][30]
In May 2012, a settlement was announced under which Memjet will take control of the technology and Kia Silverbrook will remain a special advisor to Memjet. All legal claims between the parties have been withdrawn.[31][32][33].
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International Patents

A search of the international patent document database (INPADOC) reveals 9,662[2] patent documents. The INPADOC database includes patent applications that have not yet been granted, as well as some duplication of patents for different countries, so it gives an overestimate of the number of separate inventions.
Of Silverbrook's patents, 143[34] are assigned to Kodak, 134[35] to Canon, 1[36] to Cintel, and 9,084[37] are assigned to Silverbrook Research.
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Scientific publications

Silverbrook is co-author of a number of papers[38] in the Journal of Chemical PhysicsChemical Physics Letters, and the Journal of Physical Chemistry B. These papers are in the area of carbon nanotubes and the electronic properties of molecular systems.
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Media coverage

  • On 13 December 2005 USA Today published a list of "the top 10 living U.S. patent holders".[39] At the time, Silverbrook was ranked third, with 801 U.S. patents.
  • On 15 October 2007 Condé Nast Portfolio Magazine published an article about "the world's most prolific inventors alive".[40] At the time, Silverbrook was ranked second, with 1646 U.S. patents.
  • On 7 January 2011 The Washington Times published an article titled: "Inkjet, laser, Memjet? Fast color printers on tap".[41] This article discusses the announcement of Memjet printers for the office market at CES 2011.
  • On 10 January 2011 IFI Claims published an article: "Top Global Companies Ranked By 2010 U.S. Patents".[42] This article ranked Silverbrook Research at number 34 in U.S. patents for 2010, amongst all global companies.
  • On 6 May 2011 Business Insider published an article titled: "The Ten Greatest Inventors In The Modern Era".[43] At the time, Silverbrook was ranked first, with 3847 U.S. utility patents.
  • On 9 June 2011 PC Magazine published an article titled: "The Best Inventions of 2011 ... So Far".[44] One of Silverbrook's inventions ("Point and Print", US 7878646) is the first of ten listed inventions.
  • Strutpatent.com has published a list of the top ten inventors for every week, month, and year since 2007. Silverbrook is listed first for each year.[45][46][47][48][49]
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Notes

  1. ^ Difference between numbers of US patents and INPADOC patents is often related to the same invention being patented in several countries, see also patent families
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References

  1. a b Issued US Utility Patents of Kia Silverbrook
  2. a b c Kia Silverbrook Patents registered at INPADOC
  3. ^ US Patent Applications of Kia Silverbrook
  4. ^ Fairlight website
  5. ^ 1984 Billboard magazine article on Fairlight CVI
  6. ^ CiSRA web site
  7. ^ Silverbrook Research web site
  8. a b Memjet web site
  9. ^ Hyperlabel web site
  10. ^ Netpage web site
  11. ^ Top 300 Organizations Receiving U.S. Patents in 2001
  12. ^ Top 300 Organizations Receiving U.S. Patents in 2002
  13. ^ 2003 Top Patent Owners
  14. ^ 2004 Top Patent Owners
  15. ^ Top 300 Organizations Granted U.S. Patents in 2005
  16. ^ Top 300 Organizations Granted U.S. Patents in 2006
  17. ^ Top 300 Organizations Granted U.S. Patents in 2007
  18. ^ Top 300 Organizations Granted U.S. Patents in 2008
  19. ^ Top 300 Organizations Granted U.S. Patents in 2009
  20. ^ Top Global Companies Ranked By 2010 U.S. Patents
  21. ^ IFI CLAIMS® 2011 Top 50 US Patent Assignees
  22. ^ US Utility Patents assigned to Australian entities in 2011
  23. ^ Is Silverbrook's high speed Memjet printer a hoax? Texyt 23 March 2007
  24. ^ Memjet: ink-on with the world's fastest printer Engadget Jan 6 2011
  25. ^ Memjet website awards page
  26. ^ 2012 Edison Awards
  27. ^ Kaiser foundation alleges fraud in lawsuit after $610M investment
  28. ^ Genius Or Scoundrel - Patently, Someone Is Wrong Sydney Morning Herald, 16 April 2012
  29. ^ "Silverbrook returns Kaiser hardball play" Print21, 22 March 2012
  30. ^ "Silverbrook statement cites poor commercialization of Memjet technology in Kaiser lawsuit", Wirth Consulting, 20 April 2012]
  31. ^ Luke Hopewell, "Printing deal secures 300 research jobs"ZDNet, 7 May 2012.
  32. ^ "Kaiser-Silverbrook lawsuit settled, Memjet to get Silverbrook IP Portfolio", Wirth Consulting, 8 May 2012
  33. ^ "Memjet acquires Silverbrook staff under agreement" Print21, 7 May 2012
  34. ^ Silverbrook Patents assigned to Kodak
  35. ^ Silverbrook Patents assigned to Canon
  36. ^ Silverbrook Patents assigned to Rank Cintel
  37. ^ Silverbrook Patents assigned to Silverbrook Research
  38. ^ Scientific papers co-authored by Silverbrook
  39. ^ You really can find identities of top patent holders USA Today, 13 Dec 2005
  40. ^ Masters of invention Portfolio, 15 October 2007
  41. ^ Inkjet, laser, Memjet? Fast color printers on tap The Washington Times, 7 January 2011
  42. ^ IFI CLAIMS Announces Top Global Companies Ranked By 2010 U.S. Patents IFI Claims Patent Services, 10 January 2011
  43. ^ The Ten Greatest Inventors In The Modern Era Business Insider, 6 May 2011
  44. ^ The Best Inventions of 2011 ... So Far PC Magazine, 9 June 2011
  45. ^ List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2007 StrutPatent.com website
  46. ^ List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2008 StrutPatent.com website
  47. ^ List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2009 StrutPatent.com website
  48. ^ List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2010 StrutPatent.com website
  49. ^ List of the top ten US patent grantees for 2011 StrutPatent.com website