OSI-EDU-WG Meeting Notes from 27 May 2014

Participating

Joseph Potvin
Ken Udas

Discussion Notes

1 & 2. The FLOW Syllabus Video Series  Episode 1: Contraints on the Flow of Ideas

1. We discussed arrangements for General "project" aspects of the video without regard really to the substantive aspects (i.e. the fact that this would be about the software patentability issue). It's a complex topic that will be summarized in a concise 3-minute video.  Ken and Cindy will propose a date/time for online discussion to determine what's realistic in terms of calendar time and commitment time, resourcing, etc.  Once we get organized on the plan, it can be turned around in probably a couple of weeks.  Working in a distributed collegial fashion on this is encouraging for all.

2. Here is a draft description for: "The FLOW Syllabus Video Series  Episode 1: Contraints on the Flow of Ideas"

Basic Concept:

Produce in June 2014 a 3 or 4 minute instructional video to explain the major issues addressed in the US Supreme Court case CLS Bank v Alice Corp. This will become part of the learning module based on the section "Constraints on the FLOW of Ideas" (i.e. patents). But in June it will also be useful to leverage the prominence of the CLS Bank vs Alice Corp case, whichever way the court goes, to bring attention to OSI's FLOW Syllabus. That case will be decided (it appears so far) in June. Details: http://www.c-span.org/video/?318684-1/supreme-court-decision-patent-law See also Item 3 in the OSI-EDU-WG recent meeting notes: http://osi.xwiki.com/bin/Projects/OSI-EDU-WG-notes-25mar-through-13May2014

Thematic Summary:

The very high profile "CLS Bank v. Alice Corporation" case will be decided by the US Supreme Court in June, which is the same month we're planning to officially launch "Version 2.0" of the FLOW Syllabus. The 3-to-4 minute video will clearly explains the central ideas and issues of the case, meeting several complementary objectives:

• It would become a re-usable educational asset of the FLOW Syllabus itself;
• Leverage the newsworthiness of that supreme court decision to get the video picked up (CC-by, of course) and used by business news and IT news media all over the world, in addition to educational organizations.
• Of course, leverage both of the above as a way to indirectly publicize the launch of Version 1.0 of the FLOW Syllabus and its purposes (eg within the video, letting viewers know where/how to learn more).
• Since it would be CC-by, invite others to adapt/extend the video, as well as to consider creating additional videos for inclusion in the FLOW Syllabus.

Towards high quality content, we have some excellent audio already, which JPotvin recorded with prosumer equipment during delivery of the initial workshop for the Swedish firm Ericsson. Reference is given to the following two audio files in our section on "Real-World Patent Court Cases": http://osi.xwiki.com/bin/Projects/draft-flow-syllabus#HRealWorldPatentCourtCases

• Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on 20-Year Artificial Monopolization of Computational Ideas ("Software Patents"): What do we learn from the CLS Bank v. Alice Corporation case? Dan Ravicher is Executive Director of the Public Patent Foundation http://www.pubpat.org/Board.htm

• Audio File (pending):Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on 20-Year Artificial Monopolization of Computational Ideas ("Software Patents"): The Open Invention Network (OIN) and The Future of Patent Non-Aggression Pacts Keith Bergelt is the chief executive officer of Open Invention Network (OIN) http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/press_management.php

For these and other discussion interviews with top lawyers, JPotvin had the phone audio patched directly into a Tascam DR-100mkII stereo, 24-bit, 96kHz dual-battery recorder, and the room audio picked up with a good PZM microphone http://tascam.com/product/dr-100/ http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/microphones/pzm.html
We have conditional permission form all of the interviewed lawyers to make use of the recording. The understanding is that at some point we would produce a draft, let them review and approve/remove the sections we'd use from what they said.
The audio files are not currently posted on the site, as they have not yet been edited from the raw files. Creating podcasts or videos was out of scope for what JPotvin was contracted to do last June. But he considered that high quality audio explanations of the key ideas would probably be very useful later on. Anyways videos with such content are better with something other than talking heads.  Altogether he recorded a dozen top lawyers during his work with Ericsson, on all the key topics of the FLOW Syllabus. So once we've done the first one, if the WG and production team find this interesting and useful, we can create more as a series.

Context:

Here is the Communications Strategy for The FLOW Syllabus    
http://osi.xwiki.com/bin/Projects/The+Communication+Strategy+of+the+FLOW+Syllabus
For an inspiring source on FLOW as our visual and linguistic metaphor, see video on this page: http://osi.xwiki.com/bin/Projects/About+FLOW+and+RENT+Relationships  This video is produce by NASA, and most likely we can get permission from them to make use of sections of it as a significant visual theme on our video. NASA is a contributor to free/libre/open.

External Review:

Some external review during script-writing and production  can be helpful.  JPotvin met with a national-level TV&radio journalist in Canada who agreed to look over and informally share some comments on our script. She did recommend that for a video, we should make sure we let the images do their work of carrying the message. For something like what we're doing, the visuals can be metaphorical or illustrative, whereas in radio or podcasts, the script will tend to be denser and there's need to create mental images.

3. Project Completion Report (March-April 2014)

Here is the draft draft of the "project completion report" that the OSI asked JPotvin to prepare, prior to the launch of a
"new" working group with a June 2014-June 2015 duration:
http://osi.xwiki.com/bin/Projects/OSI-EDU-WG%3A+Months+1+%26+2+%28March-April+2014%29+Project+Completion+Report

4. The New Working Group Charter (June 2014-June 2015)

Coming soon is a proposed new charter for the June 2014-June 2015 working group. Parts of it are drafted. JPotvin will send that later in the week.  It will be very valuable to have input from the Educators team regarding how the Syllabus should evolved most effectively.

Notes prepared by:

Joseph Potvin
Chair, OSI Working Group on Management Education About Free/Libre/Open Methods, Processes and Governance
jpotvin@opman.ca
 Mobile: 819-593-5983