Patent Law

The state of TIAH

March 14th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: Our Guest Historian, Stephen Payne, suggested that it was time for a contest, so we're going to have an April Fool's Day Contest! Email us up to 3 entries for an alternate April 1st and we will post the best 10, with your own credit and link to your website (if you have one). My lovely Co-Historian says that if we can get 30 entrants, we can offer an ultimate winner a complimentary TIAH mug, but we only have 1 entrant so far! Get researching those alternate histories now, folks! The deadline is March 29th.

in 1792, per the advice of founder Thomas Jefferson, the U.S. Congress amends the country's constitution regarding patent law. “In order to foster innovation,” Jefferson says at the passage of the amendment, “the United States shall recognize a patent and copyright period not to exceed 5 years for a corporation, and 20 years for an individual's creation.” America becomes known for its lax laws regarding intellectual property, and creativity and innovation are indeed spurred by the nation's unwillingness to “lock up ideas,” as patent-holding President Abraham Lincoln referred to the country's system. In spite of corporate efforts to extend their own patent/copyright periods, America has resisted changing a system that has given the world both innovative machinery and powerful literature.

in 1953, Soviet leader Georgy Malenkov has his arch-rival, Nikita Khrushchev, poisoned. Khrushchev was on the brink of toppling Malenkov from his position in the Communist Party, and Malenkov moved first. Although he faced some trouble from Khrushchev's allies in the party at first, a quick purge removed them from power. Malenkov became even more repressive than his predecessor Stalin, and relations with the west soured under his leadership. Relations with the non-aligned nations didn't fare much better, and in 1959, he was ousted and exiled in an attempt to liberalize the Soviet Union. Leonid Brezhnev assumed the leadership of the USSR, and to show the world that times had changed, called a general election the next year, which he won handily. Although Brezhnev held on to power with a steely grip, he did open the country's re-education camps and release political prisoners. He was hailed by the west for opening the Soviet Union to business ventures from various friendly capitalists, and allowing the Soviet people to elect its leaders (apart from himself). He even set in place the electoral procedures following his death, so that the USSR could finally become a democracy.

Jack Ruby	In 1964 a jury in Dallas, Texas found Jack Ruby guilty of killing John F. Kennedy. Ruby's motives have been debated. Some believe that Ruby carried out Mafia orders with a 'hit,' because he was actually part of a conspiracy to assassinate the president. Ruby himself said that the shooting occurred on the spur of the moment ..
.. when the opportunity presented itself, without considering any reason for doing so.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1967 serious anomalies are discovered whilst moving the body of President John F. Kennedy to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery. The true story of how the wounded President had been smuggled out of Dallas to be secreted at Hyannisport was later revealed by Nicholas A. DiChario in his masterful work 'The Winterberry'.	Alternate Kenne..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Construction of..	In 1903 the Hay-Herran Treaty was ratified by the Senate, granting the United States the right to build the Panama Canal. The Colombian Senate would later reject the treaty. By then, Americans had learnt of the Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) buried in Panama, which they fully recovered in the invasion of 1989 on the ..
.. pretext of unseating General Noriega. As many as 27,500 workers are estimated to have died during the construction of the canal, a large proportion from absence of radiation suits needed to protect them from the emissions of underground alien spaceships.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1939 German troops fully occupy the Czechoslovak provinces of Bohemia and Moravia as the Nazi Regime moved closer to its ultimate goal, the Castle Dracula in Transylvania.	Dracula's Castle
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Buonarroti Born; Stalin Succeeded By Malenkov

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: Please send us entries for our next contest, which will be an Alternate April Fool's Day, April 1st, 2006. Just send us the entries for now - we'll decide on a deadline later. (Contest rules) And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

March 6th, 2006

in 1123 Post-Creation, Kiria, the para-angel who has started worshiping Lucifer as a god, holds a service in his name, and it is attended not only by a crowd of para-angels, but by a couple of full angels, as well. Lucifer, who tells himself that he is only temporarily on the Throne of the Most High, feels the strength that their praise gives him, and becomes dizzy with the power. He knows that he must stop this soon, or it will grow out of control.

in 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest artist of his generation, is born in the village of Caprese, Italy, Holy British Empire. His talent was noticed by the clergy at an early age, and he was convinced to move to London, where he created such great works of art as the Ceiling of Buckingham Cathedral, depicting the creation of the world.

in 1619, the father of the Scientific Romance, Cyrano de Bergerac, is born in Paris, France. Fascinated with science and humanity’s foibles, de Bergerac wrote classical pieces such as A Voyage To The Moon and Other Worlds, novels so popular that they turned the literary world upside down. Soon, all serious authors were penning novels about fantastical journeys to other planets and the strange people that we would find there.

in 1886, comrades of the Knights of Labor took control of Southwestern Railroad. Decadent capitalist Jay Gould was forced to give control of the company to the railroad workers who were its lifeblood. This was the beginning of the Worker-Owned Company movement that swept across the nation in the 1890’s and cemented the power of the Communist Party.

in 1945, Dutch members of the Greater Zionist Resistance, who had lasted longer in Europe than any other branch of the G.Z.R., captured Lt. General Hans Rauter of the New Reich. They were actually just attempting to hijack his truck for supplies, but were able to use him as a hostage to secure enough cash and supplies to run their resistance for years afterward.

in 1953, Stalin is succeeded as leader of the Soviet Union by Georgi Malenkov, a close associate. Unlike Stalin, Malenkov proved to be a reformer, and hard-line elements in the Kremlin decided that he needed to go. He was ousted as Party Secretary two weeks later, and then replaced as Premier in 1955. Incensed at this affront, he staged a popular coup against new Premier Nikita Kruschev in 1957 and returned to power. Although still a reformer, he mercilessly purged the Communist Party of all those who had been involved in his ouster, and ruled the Soviet Union until his death in 1988.

in 1995, Allied bombers begin making runs over Washington, D.C. President Ralph Shephard retreats to a bunker in West Virginia, where he micro-manages the movements of U.S. troops fighting the invading forces. Although his plans are terrible, none of his generals dares to go against him, and thousands of American soldiers die needlessly.

in 2004, the Huygens, the exploratory vessel sent to Titan and commanded by Charles Meriweather, enters earth orbit in preparation for landing. Protocol requires a quarantine ship hold the crew and contents of the ship while they’re being scanned for dangerous organisms, and one is launched towards the ship. The quarantine crew is never heard from again, and the Huygens begins plummeting toward earth.

in 2005, intensive study of the spell Lights of the night sky enhanced has led Chelsea Perkins to believe that it will function as a telescope, allowing her to see the stars more clearly. Still, she asks Alma May Watson's advice before attempting the spell. Miss Watson, somewhat perturbed by the adventures Chelsea has put her through, advises her, “Burn that book, that's my advice.”

in 2005, several police of the Claw community that Dave & Jeanne Lange and their fellow Save Earthers have been trying to infiltrate try to round them up. The Langes escape with one of their compatriots, but the other two are captured. The free SE members manage to spirit themselves back out of the town, but lack of food and water is beginning to wear them down.

Timelines in today's post: the Fall, the Holy British Empire, Communist America, the GZR, the Ralph Shephard timeline, the Chelsea Perkins timeline, The Sheridans and The Claw.

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Mastery

	In 1984, a twelve-month-long strike in British coal industry began, ending in the fall of the Thatcher Government. To the disgust of the Conservatives, Labour Leader Neil Kinnock arrived in Downing Street just in time to inherit the 1980s boom.

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In 1849, Alfred von Tirpitz died on this day and entered Valhalla. A German Admiral he was promoted to Secretary of State of the Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the Kaiserliche Marine from 1897 until 1916 when he was dismissed in disgrace. Tirpitz convinced the Kaiser to pursue a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, which catastrophically brought the United States into the War. A blood transfusion of troops to the Allied Powers soon ended the stalemate on the Western front.

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In 1901, an assassin killed Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in the City of Bremen. His son Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen Wilhelm III pursued a more determined but less megalomaniac version of foreign policy. With a stream of Chancellors starting with the Younger Bismarck and ending with Adolf Hitler he pursued a vision of Mittleuropa, which ended in 1945 with his heart attack in the German Chancellery with Russian troops at the gates of Berlin.

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Harad	In 3019 Third Age, Frodo, Sam, and Gollum hide near the Black Gate. Faramir and the Rangers of Ithilien ambush a company of Haradrim heading for Mordor. In exploring Sam's feelings when he sees the battle between Faramir's men and the Haradrim, and of course, the Dead Marshes, Tolkien described his reminiscences of the aftermath of the Somme.
Commander

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In 1964, Prophet Elijah Muhammad officially gave Cassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali meaning 'beloved of Allah'. He subsequently retired from boxing to concentrate on the anti-Vietnam protest. Ali's plan was to enrage LBJ and diffuse his leadership statements in order to exhaust him mentally. This was later termed 'The Rope-A-Dope'.

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In 1993, Arthur Ashe on this day. Ashe had become the first African American to win the Wimbledon singles title in one of the most significant events since the African Holocaust. Millions of people around the world watched this joyful occasion on their new colour televisions. Arthur, the first African-American male to win a Grand Slam event, was an active civil rights supporter. He was a member of a delegation of 31 prominent African-Americans who visited South Africa to observe political change in the country as it approached racial integration. He was arrested on January 11, 1985, for protesting outside the South African embassy in Washington D.C during an anti-apartheid rally. He was also arrested again on September 9, 1992, outside the White House for protesting on the recent crackdown on Haitian refugees. Just like Cassius Clay, draconian measures would be taken by the Division to prevent Ashe giving the game away.

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In 1993, Arthur Ashe on this day. Ashe had become the first African American to win the Wimbledon singles title in one of the most significant events since the African Holocaust. He spent much of the last years of his life writing his memoir Days of Grace, finishing the manuscript less than a week before his death of complications from AIDS on February 6, 1993. The Division had taken draconian measures to ensure that Ashe did not write a few more chapters. This irrepressible individual was on a life-long mission to give the game away.

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In 1619, the father of the Scientific Romance, Cyrano de Bergerac, is born in Paris, France. Fascinated with science and humanity's foibles, de Bergerac wrote classical pieces such as A Voyage To The Moon and Other Worlds, novels so popular that they turned the literary world upside down. Soon, all serious authors were penning novels about fantastical journeys to other planets and the strange people that we would find there.

.

In 1953, Stalin is succeeded as leader of the Soviet Union by Georgi Malenkov, a close associate. Unlike Stalin, Malenkov proved to be a reformer, and hard-line elements in the Kremlin decided that he needed to go. He was ousted as Party Secretary two weeks later, and then replaced as Premier in 1955. Incensed at this affront, he staged a popular coup against new Premier Nikita Kruschev in 1957 and returned to power. Although still a reformer, he mercilessly purged the Communist Party of all those who had been involved in his ouster, and ruled the Soviet Union until his death in 1988.

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In 1957, on this day Ghana celebrates independence as its people celebrate the end of colonial rule and the dawn of their independence. Five hundred years of unspeakable hell were about to end. Worst of all was Elmina Castle, erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as São Jorge da Mina (St. George of the Mine Castle, also known simply as Mina or Feitoria da Mina) in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast). It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, and therefore the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Dutch seized the fort from the Portuguese in 1637. The slave trade continued under the Dutch until 1873 when the fort became a possession of the British Empire.

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Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct threat to this country, to our people, and to all free people... I believe Saddam Hussein is a threat to the American people. I believe he's a threat to the neighborhood in which he lives. And I've got good evidence to believe that. He has weapons of mass destruction... The American people know that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. ~ US President George Bush speaking on 3rd March 2003.

He was proven right in the most spectacular way possible.

	I want to tell you about the time I almost died. said a mischievious Nikita Khrushev to members of the politburo. The Master had been taken to a remote dacha, bereft of life within the required fifty cubit radius. In theory, the Master was unable to shape shift via touch, also prevented from projecting his pschye to another host within the distance of a single breath. In practice, he was now occupying a new host. The Master had affected his second shape shift since Red October. It was a triumph of succession planning.

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