Trade Secrets and Intellectual Property - Do You Own What You Think You Own?

A recent case involving a dispute between the famous Mayo Clinic and a former employee, a physician, has been in the legal news. Mayo and Dr. Peter Elkin are battling about who owns the rights to a software program that Dr. Elkin participated in developing. According to a report from The National Law Journal (published on March 9, 2010 on Law.com), the case is headed to trial after the trial court denied summary judgment to both parties.

The software in issue helps manage medical information and puts it in a clear and understandable format. According to a report in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (published on March 16, 2010 on the paper's web site), both sides agree that the software has great economic value.

Delving into the merits of the Mayo/Elkin dispute is beyond the scope of this article. The nature of the dispute, however, raises a fundamental question that often rears its head in trade secret, copyright and other intellectual property litigation: Do you own what you think you own?

The vision of recent college graduates (or dropouts) writing software or developing other technology in a storefront office or a garage is a modern variant of the American Dream of rising from rags to riches. Such efforts are not necessarily mere pipe dreams. In fact, modern technology and decreasing barriers to entry probably make it more possible than ever for an entrepreneur to achieve at least a modicum of financial success, if not becoming the next billionaire.

In many instances, friends will work together in developing technology or another invention. Sometimes, entrepreneurs will "partner" with another company for a particular purpose. In some instances, an investor will come into the mix.

In each instance, if intellectual property rights are not documented properly, the possibility of a future dispute becomes very real. Further, the possibility of a future dispute or lawsuit increases in direct proportion to the success of the venture. Put more bluntly, it is not likely that anyone will fight over worthless technology. It is very likely, however, that disputes will develop over valuable technology, as shown by the dispute between Mayo Clinic and Dr. Elkin.

When inventors or entrepreneurs believe they have developed, invented or written something valuable, it is critically important to consult an experienced attorney before entering into any relationship with a third-party business "partner" or an investor. It is equally important that persons working together document their respective rights and obligations regarding the technology, writing or invention.

This is definitely not a situation where inventors, entrepreneurs or investors should try to go it alone or use Internet forms. Do not assume that every lawyer has the necessary experience or expertise to prepare proper documentation.

When the documentation is not properly prepared, the resulting litigation can, from a lawyer's standpoint, be very interesting. The litigation will certainly be very expensive. At this point, however, the client is surely kicking himself for not having documented things properly on the front end.

This all boils down to yet another example of what readers of my prior articles will recognize as the Prime Directive: It costs far less to deal with a legal problem on the front end than trying to sort things out on the back end, particularly through litigation. The Prime Directive particularly applies to intellectual property rights.

How To Resolve Medical Bill Collections

Overwhelmed and under paid, and to top it off you have to deal with medical bill collections. No one wants to deal with collections departments, however if you know how to negotiate you may be able to resolve your unpaid hospital bills.

The goal of the collector is to recover the money owed or work out a payment arrangement. If your goal is to do the same, here are some helpful steps:

Be polite and let the collector know you want to pay the bills, however you don't have the means for paying off medical bills balance now. Provide all information required to show financial hardship to qualify for a payment plan on your unpaid hospital bills. Make a reasonable monthly offer for the payment plan, however always give a lower number than you can afford to pay. The collector is going to request you pay more than the number you provide. Doing it this way gives you an affordable amount and gives the collector what they want. If possible set up post dated payments extending out three months at a time. This prevents monthly calls from the collector. If you have about 40% of the money you owe in total, make a settlement offer to the collector. Medical bill collections will settle your debt for a lump sum payment, less than the amount owed. If you have the means to do this follow these golden rules: Get the settlement offer in writing. It must include balance, settlement amount accepted and date to be paid by. After you pay the settlement amount follow up with collector and get a settlement paid letter, showing you satisfied the terms of the agreement. This is proof that you paid off the debt for a less amount, if future calls continue attempting to collect on the unpaid portion.

In the event that you cannot make monthly payments or a settlement on your medical bills collections, you may want to consult with a bankruptcy attorney for advise on a permanent resolution.

Heart Health: Five Things You Need To Know About Your Heart

The heart is one of the most important organs in your body, and in some ways the most familiar; we know we have to keep it healthy to live well, most of us know someone who has had a heart problem or even a heart attack, and it's one of the few organs that we can actually feel as it functions (just put your hand in the middle of your chest!). But there are some things that you may not know about your heart that can help you understand why it's so important.

1. Athletes actually appear to have smaller hearts. The heart is a muscle, as are your biceps. But while striving for big muscles might be an athlete's visible goal, on x-ray a really good athlete's heart looks SMALLER than average. That's a sign of an efficient heart - a heart that pumps blood well squeezes very hard to send as much blood as possible to the body with every beat. An enlarged heart, in contrast, may indicate that the heart's having to work too hard because of muscle damage or the increased effort of moving blood through clogged arteries.

2. The "lub-dub" that your heart makes when beating is the sound of heart valves closing. The human heart has four chambers with valves - little one-way doors - between them. If the heart is working correctly, you hear "lub" when blood first enters the heart and 'dub" after it leaves. If doctor hears a 'swish" or "gurgle" - murmurs - instead of a thump, that may be a sign that the valves aren't working as well as they should. Extra sounds (lub-dadub) sometimes indicate uncoordinated valve action (indicating heart injury) but it may be just be the sign of a young and athletic heart.

3. The heart needs blood, just like all your other organs. The heart fills with blood and then pumps the blood to the body about once a second or more. But it doesn't take nutrients and oxygen directly from the blood before pumping it; instead it pumps the heart through a series of blood vessels called arteries. Each organ has groups of arteries that deliver oxygen and nutrients to it - including the heart! These are called "coronary" arteries; if these arteries are narrowed or damaged, the heart may have trouble receiving the nutrients and oxygen it needs to live.

4. Heart cells (myocytes) are precious. Unlike skin, which quickly heals after most injuries, if heart cells are injured or killed during a myocardial infarction (or "heart attack") they are difficult to repair or replace. For many years, in fact, it was believed that you only had one set of myocytes, and once damaged, they could never be replaced. Recent research suggests that there may be cells in the heart (stem cells) that can develop into myocytes if needed, but how they are triggered and how long it takes them to repair damaged tissue isn't known. It is known however that heart damage is difficult to overcome, so prevention is an important part of taking care of your heart.

5. Your heart is a piece of electronic equipment. Myocytes use electrical signals as a means of communicating with one another and coordinating the beating of the heart. The flow of electricity is recordable by an electrocardiograph (ECG). An ECG of a damaged heart can be comparing the flow of electrical waves in the heart to waves in the normal heart to determine what sort of damage has been done. In addition, if there is significant damage to the electrical communication between heart cells, an artificial pacemaker (usually called a pacemaker) may be implanted in the heart to coordinate the electrical signals used and keep the heart beat regular and coordinated. Many hospitals request that cell phones not be used in certain locations in the hospital because of artificial pacemakers - in rare cases, cell phones have been known to interfere with the functioning of pacemakers. Pacemaker users are recommended to use their cell on the opposite side from where their pacemaker is implanted.

Kajstura J, "Myocyte growth in the failing heart," Surgical Clinics of North America Volume 84, issue 1, p 161-177, 2004

von Harsdorf, R. "Regenerative capacity of the myocardium: implications for treatment of heart failure," Lancet, Volume 363, issue 9417, p 1306-1313, 2004

Myerson, S. and Mitchell, A, "Mobile phones in hospitals," British Medical Journal, Volume 326, pages 460-461, 2003

Off Grid Batteries

Off grid batteries are becoming a hot topic. Unless you know how to make a sustainable off grid battery, you won't be able to become self-sufficient. Renewable energy only requires a little effort, so why not try? Pre-war off-grid batteries were commonplace but now they seem to have slipped out of our everyday parlance.

People with little money are always looking for ways to save, just like me. I decided to find out how to get the best out of my off-grid battery. I then made up my mind to source free batteries which I could rejuvenate. With a bit of good advice, it wasn't a big problem to find free batteries to rejuvenate. In actual fact, several businesses in my area were falling over themselves to get rid of their old batteries.

I got hold of old batteries to rejuvenate without paying a dime. I then had to find out how to give them an overhaul and make them work for another few years. You see, these guys were only getting rid of their old batteries and passing them on to me because they didn't want the expense of disposing of them themselves. Great for me, but I needed the requisite know-how.

So how could I rejuvenate these off grid batteries and make them into into something I could work with on my renewable energy, off-grid drive?

Well, I just looked about on the web and found some off-grid sites which explained everything. Some were good and several others less than good.

One of these off grid sites explained how, like me, they hated to see waste and wanted to produce free energy. It also went into how to procure and rejuvenate off-grid batteries. That was enough for me, but let me relate to you what this type of site should explain to you.

If you want to go off-grid, you need to understand and get knowledge of your power supply (wind, water or solar), your generator and your off-grid batteries. These are the three essentials. To be honest, off-grid batteries are simple to get hold of and overhaul. A quick browse of the internet will give you more advice than you could dream of.

Have we dealt with off-grid batteries properly? Probably not. Let's assume I have.

If so, let's go on to your power source. Why not consider wind power? I don't want to push you down that road, but there are several advantages over solar power.

Solar power is, in fact, far more difficult to harness than wind power and batteries do feel that. Batteries need a fairly regular charge and wind power supplies this charge more consistently than trying to draw energy from the sun. Both systems need to be positioned correctly, of course, but research has proven than wind requires less technical savvy than solar panels.

Basically, that means that setting up a wind system is cheaper and easier than a solar system which is always better for your off-grid battery system. A consistent charge to your battery is exactly what you want.

What do you want me to say? Go for wind rather than the sun to make your off-grid battery the best it can possibly be.

Go For a Spa Day Today

Around the world, spa days are alluring the attention of weary travelers, the overworked as well as anyone else who is in need of pampering. These hot spots are generally nestled among remote areas, mountainous which are surrounded with rural serenity. A spa day is the perfect blend of luxurious spa experience together with a full service resort and hotel.

Natural hot springs, Spring-fed mineral baths, a relaxing Jacuzzi experience as well as mud baths are only a couple of amenities that you'll find at a Day Spa. Hot springs are known for their magical healing powers and are said to sooth as well as comfort achy joints, muscles, and offer an overall feeling of wellness.

For a day spa guest who wants to get complete spa experience, a beauty as well as facial salon is available in almost all facilities. From pedicures to manicures together with an array of skin treatments, you will find everything under one roof here. A spa day is not restricted to an adult; even kids can reap its benefits. Other activities out here include snacks, arcades, as well as other fun activities.

If you are planning to pay a visit to a Day Spa, then make sure to book an appointment in advance. Ensure familiarizing yourself with the hours of operation, walk in policies, cancellation policies to name a few of the Day Spa.

Above all, make sure to take into consideration the price tag as well. For instance, you need to take into consideration the actual expenses as well. However, in general the price tends to vary from one location to the other and also depends on the amenities that you choose. You can carry out an online search to gather information about the price lists.

Most people love spending their time at a day spa because they want to come out of their hectic life and pamper themselves with something relaxing or rather soothing. So, if you too are one amongst those who is in hunt of luxurious treatments, just go ahead and place your bookings. I am sure with the right treatment you'll soon rediscover yourself.

Regular Practice Is A Simple Way Parents Can Help Their Children Learn Mathematics

Arithmetic is one of the starting points for learning mathematics. But children start to learn about numbers, the foundations of Arithmetic, once they are a few months old and certainly once they begin to speak. One, Two and Three are words and concepts which are common to English and Arithmetic.

Almost all children know the difference between one or two chocolates, especially if they are only given one and a friend two.

It is often said that children don't know the concept of zero or none, I suspect this is untrue

"If you don't eat your tea you'll get no afters" is something that any child can understand - even worse "There's none left your brother ate it all."

So your children will build up an understanding of numbers and counting from everyday life before they even go to school. You can improve their learning by talking about numbers and asking simple questions.

How many bags of chocolates will I need to buy if you have three friends round and you have one each?

This may be simple stuff but it's the repetition of simple questions that builds knowledge and makes it second nature.

Arithmetic and mathematics is about using symbols to come up with answers without counting physical objects. To be any use maths has to give us the same answers as we would get from actually counting real objects (cups, ice creams or bars of chocolate). This suggests a simple strategy:

Start just counting physical objects Then write corresponding arithmetic down whilst counting physical objects Finally just write down arithmetic.

If your children get stuck with just the arithmetic:

either go back to physical objects or encourage them to use their imagination to "see" physical objects

How many years does it take to be able to speak and read? Maybe only one or two years to say "mama, dada and cat" but probably at least 15 to be able to read and recite Shakespeare.

How many years does it take to learn to play the piano or be great at sports? Again probably 10 or 15 years. This isn't to say that progress can't be made after a year or even a week, but success takes time and practice. Practice to learn the skills in the first place and then continued practice to maintain them. Even world class musicians continue to practice and practice the basics such as scales, for without regular practice skills and knowledge tends to fade away.

Many people expect success to come quickly and easily, only to get disappointed and give up when they find this doesn't happen. In many ways the key to success is to be able to continue to practice without undue expectation, over time success will come.

At school learning times tables is seen as a key milestone. When people talk about learning times tables they really mean being able to recall times tables facts quickly and accurately. This requires:

practice to learn and understand in the first place regular revision or practice to keep skills up and knowledge fresh

"Little and Often" is a great technique for learning,a few minutes every day means that sessions are not so long as to be boring and not so far apart that what has been learned gets completely forgotten by the next session.

So what does this actually mean?

Just spend a few minutes every day asking times table questions. Five minutes should be ample. How about on the way to school?

Does it have to be every day? No, but it does have to be regular and once you start missing days you don't have to miss too many before your sessions aren't regular anymore.

Five minutes may not seem a lot, but in UK the school day is about 6 hours long with about 1 hour taken for lunch and breaks. That leaves 5 hours or 300 minutes. If there are 20 pupils in the class and the teacher shares their time equally between the pupils that is only 15 minutes of undivided attention each.

I'm sure parents wouldn't think it strange to teach their children how to count why do they think it is strange to help them learn their times tables? Rather than be a teacher why not be a practice buddy?