Patent law is bogged down in the minutia of claims construction. Claim construction is central to every patent dispute, but it has not provided the hoped-for certainty or notice to competitors. Quite the contrary: disputes about the importance of inventions and the scope of patents have been replaced by labyrinthine wrangling over words written by lawyers. The flaws of claim construction result largely from the problems attending quot;peripheral claims,quot; that is, claims that purport to set the outermost boundaries of patent rights. In this paper, we argue that the way for the patent system to move ahead may be by looking behind, to the practice of quot;central claimingquot; that was prevalent before 1870, and which was used in many countries through the late twentieth century. Rather than relying on the illusion of peripheral quot;fence posts,quot; patent law may do better to once again look to stability of central quot;sign posts.quot; We examine the failure of peripheral claiming, the benefits of central claiming, and several hybrid measures that might be adopted, either in the process of moving from fence-posting to sign-posting, or as improvements over the current system that still stop short of fully adopting central claiming.

In Deuteronomy 19:14 God commanded "You shall not move your neighbor's boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you shall inherit in the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess it." Very similar commands concerning landmarks are found in five other places in the Bible. Figuratively the landmark is God's Word. In a culture dominated by deconstructionist philosophy, we are being taught that right and wrong are nothing more than archaic superstitions that a dwindling few cling to and seek to impose upon a society that has outgrown them. From that chaos and moral void, Fence Posts shouts out the commission that God has given to men to be that boundary between right and wrong. Throughout the book you will learn: - That scripture defines how God establishes his boundaries - How God uses His men as the fence posts of those boundaries - About the importance of the family to the prosperity of a culture So, come and learn to be the landmark that God has called you to be as a man in your family, job, and community.

"Remember, life is a marathon and not a sprint. Train yourself to go the distance." The homespun wisdom that young Paul Cummings received while he and his granddad talked beside an Arkansas fence post has enriched his life beyond measure. Now he shares with us a treasure-trove of nearly two hundred inspiring insights into human nature and bedrock American values, a precious memento from a time that seems to have receded from memory. Yet as you will soon discover, a grandfather's good sense and warm-hearted words never lose relevance--especially in today's fast-paced world. Grandfather Cummings' thoughts are a family treasure. Now they can be your family treasure to pass down through the generations.