Democratizing data

See AP report Government posting wealth of data to Internet. Remember when President Clinton's USPTO head fought the creation of a USPTO database?

Does anyone remember the efforts of Carl Malamud to create the patent database? See "There's Always Something There To Remind You", Intellectual Property Today, page 49 (May 2003) and IP issues for small businesses

**Separately, in the realm of "pay for news"

After Three Months, Only 35 Subscriptions for Newsday's Web Site -->

That astoundingly low figure was revealed in a newsroom-wide meeting last week by publisher Terry Jimenez when a reporter asked how many people had signed up for the site. Mr. Jimenez didn't know the number off the top of his head, so he asked a deputy sitting near him. He replied 35.

Michael Amon, a social services reporter, asked for clarification.

"I heard you say 35 people," he said, from Newsday's auditorium in Melville. "Is that number correct?"

Mr. Jimenez nodded.