Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Planes, patents, profits High Over Kitty Hawk, Looking for a Profit. In their day, the Wright brothers' achievement was barely recognized, and their motives far from visionary. By Paul Hoffman. [New York Times: Opinion] Brilliant. On the other hand: In the end, the advance they made in flight technology was quickly squandered. European aviators lost little time in following the Wrights into the air. The brothers did receive a patent on their stabilization system in 1906, and they spent years trying to enforce it on both sides of the Atlantic. They were particularly zealous in going after American infringers [~] and the divisive, protracted court battles may have slowed down the commercialization of the plane on this side of the Atlantic. As one government official in 1917 put it, the brothers' lawsuits caused the country to fall "from first place to last of all the great nations in the air" [~] not exactly the stuff of legends. And the patent madness continues to this day. 1:01:36 PM    comment []  trackback []

'Sustained Ability' - Fetzer, Fetzer, read all about it! [Fast Company]: The Good Earth | by Alison Overholt Paul Dolan is no woolly-headed idealist. The head of Fetzer Vineyards is a fierce competitor who happens to believe that sound environmental and social practices are also good business. It's all part of his "triple bottom line" approach. Fetzer's been a committed leader in the sustainabile business movement, and in the shift of a growing number of California wineries -- quietly, without publicity, fanfare or labels -- to organic production. Why? Because organic agriculture -- in the hands of good farmers who know how to read and dance with their land -- produces better food, better soil and better farmers. (That could be part of why the organic market is growing at 20% per year.) Dolan: Include sustainable practices in the decisions that you would have to make anyway. 12:00:59 PM    comment []  trackback []