Dear PJ:

I posted a while back that I was applying to law school, along with a couple of other Groklawers. I thought you might like to hear that all systems are go, and I'll be heading to law school this fall.

I started following Groklaw in May of 2004. I had already been a Linux user for a while, but I hadn't closely followed the SCO saga, or anything else on Groklaw. I assumed reading about any of it in depth would be about like reading my apartment lease. Boy, was I wrong. When a career move gave me more reason to worry about the case, I took more interest, and naturally Groklaw was the place to go.

Being able to read the actual documents alongside a clear analysis was a great learning tool. I was able to find the points you were talking about in the text, and begin to see patterns. Once it wasn't all just magic, it was very interesting. And you already know where that led.

So I wanted to say thank you for all that you've done. I wouldn't be where I am today without Groklaw. Keep it up!

I view such email as the most pleasurable of bonuses in doing Groklaw, one I never thought of when I started, so it's especially enjoyable in that it's unexpected. I am really happy if folks enjoy the law in a way they never did before and when he writes that he began to see patterns... well, that is something I was hoping for, when I started Groklaw, and so I feel satisfied. Seeing those patterns is the joy of the law to me too. I wish I had time to explain what I find so interesting in the Anna Nicole Smith case, for example. I've been following that for years, but it's in another area of law, and one is all I can handle on Groklaw. Probate law is fun, because people are hilarious about money. They want it, and that's that, so I find the fact patterns intriguing, almost like a movie.

I hesitate to identify the area of law we concentrate on at Groklaw, because of all the connotations and controversy, but what we talk about mostly here is IP law. By the way, "intellectual property" doesn't mean copyright law, patent law, etc. except if you are speaking loosely. Intellectual property, in the law, means the product of the mind, what you think up or create, such as a play or a song or a wonderful idea. Because you can make money from such, a body of law surrounds these things, so that you can do as you want with what you create, and folks can work out differences regarding such creations and inventions. So there is copyright law to cover software or your play. Or patents to cover the cotton gin or whatever. Someone got a patent on a dinosaur-shaped pizza tray. No. Really. Look it up. Patent No. D383,358. Here's the description:

Claims

The ornamental design for a dinosaur shaped pizza tray, as shown and described.
Inventors: Hassen; Abdo Al (West Covina, CA)
Assignee: Dinosaur-Us Family Entertainment Centers, Inc. (Glendora, CA)
Appl. No.: 049897
Filed: February 2, 1996....

Description

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the dinosaur shaped pizza tray of the claimed design, the bottom plan view being a mirror image thereof;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a right side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view thereof; and,

FIG. 5 is a left side elevational view thereof.

Hilarious, no? To me, that is no more stupid than patenting software, which is at its most fundamental a kind of math. "Sir, I would like to patent 1 + 1 = 2." They actually submitted a drawing of the tray, and it does look a little like a dinosaur. As a kid, I was forever making cookies and bread that looked like animals, and I still have those old and dear cookie cutters, so I should probably let the UPTO know about my grandmother's prior art. And yes, at seven, I thought she was highly inventive and nonobvious. I was positively dazzled by her. Imagine, a gingerbread man!

So, anyway, "IP law" means the bundle of categories, to a lawyer. I understand that for the lay person, though, it isn't always so clear, and I've seen how SCO used the phrase and now we find out, it didn't mean much in the end, did it? But it sure sounded serious in the beginning.

But, yes, I do find the law fascinating, and I'm glad if that comes across to others.

I wish him the very best in his new career, and I know you do too. I do believe it will help to have attorneys with a technical background. I have asked him to be sure to report back from time to time, so we can learn along with him, as he has a moment or two free. He won't have many such moments, though. But I think it would be fun to hear from those of you that do go to law school how it looks from a geek perspective.