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Hotel Transylvania and Won’t Back Down

Dracula (Adam Sandler) is the owner and operator of Hotel Transylvania, a high-end resort for monsters to get away from all things dangerous, namely pitchfork-wielding humans. And on the eve of his daughter Mavis’ 118th (Selena Gomez) birthday, he has invited some of the world’s most infamous monsters including Frankenstein’s monster and his bride, Eunice (Kevin James and Fran Drescher); Wayne and Wanda Werewolf (Steve Buscemi and Molly Shannon); Murray the Mummy (Cee Lo Green); Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade); Bigfoot; the Blob and more to come celebrate. When an oblivious American backpacker, Jonathan (Adam Samberg), stumbles upon the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis, it’s up to Dracula to protect and rescue her from falling in love with him before it’s too late.

Hotel Transylvania, Bravo DesignNick Pinkerton of The Village Voice writes, “In Hotel Transylvania, a comic Dracula still kills. The character design is uniformly delightful, and some of the biggest laughs come from simply hitting the audience unawares with irresistibly hysterical establishing shots.”

Rating: PG // Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family // Runtime: 1 hr. 31 min. // Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez and Steve Buscemi // Directed by: Genndy Tartakovsky // Written by: Peter Baynham, Robert Smigel, Todd Durham, Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman // Produced by: Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation // Distributed by: Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Releasing

Won’t Back Down chronicles the journey of two determined women, a struggling working class mother (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and a veteran teacher (Viola Davis), who will stop at nothing to transform their children’s failing inner city school that staffs inadequate teachers who regularly pass students who cannot read or write just to get rid of them. And against all odds and a countless number of obstacles, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and futures of their children.

Won’t Back Down, Bravo DesignRex Reed of The New York Observer describes Won’t Back Down as a “film that deserves to be seen, savored, debated and given serious attention.”

Rating: PG // Genre: Drama // Runtime: N/A // Starring: Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Holly Hunter // Directed by: Daniel Barnz // Written by: Brin Hill, Daniel Barnz // Produced by: Walden Media and Gran Via Productions // Distributed by: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

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The Good, the Bad, the Patent System

Apple's Patent War, Bravo DesignWith the first of many lawsuits between Apple and Samsung over, resulting in a $1.05B verdict awarded to Apple pending a potential appeal and a million miles of red tape, this decision represents just one battle in a war being fought between the two companies in courts around the world, which will likely continue on for years to come. For those who haven’t kept up with the suing/countersuing fiasco, in as few words as possible, Apple and Samsung, referred to jokingly as “Samesung,” are currently embroiled in 50 some odd lawsuits in 10 different countries where each alleges that the other has willfully infringed on proprietary tech and design features. At the behest of Bravo Design, Inc.’s esteemed web developer, Matthew, we’ve decided it’s time we talk about patent law and consider the direction in which it’s headed.

To provide some background on the subject, the word patent comes from the Latin litterae patentes, meaning an open letter, and it refers to those used by medieval monarchs to confer rights and privileges (Reuters). And though patents have been used in various countries at various times, they’re generally attributed to having first been established in Italy with the Venetian Statute of 1474, which encouraged “men of great genius, apt to invent and discover ingenious devices” to enrich society by sharing their genius. It goes on to say, “if provisions were made for the works and the devices discovered by such persons, so that others may see them could not build them and take the inventor’s honor away, more men would then apply their genius, would discover, and would build devices of great utility and benefit to our Commonwealth.” In return, the government would grant a monopoly for a limited amount of time that excluded all others from making, importing or selling the newly patented invention. The idea is that during this exclusion period, a patent holder would be able to recoup exorbitant research and development (R&D) costs and, eventually, turn a profit. Today, in an industry like pharmaceuticals, though somewhat contentious, the full cost of bringing a new drug to market from discovery through clinical trials to approval is astronomical with estimates starting from hundreds of millions of dollars to well past the $1 billion mark. In regards to individual inventors, well-before Forbes appraised his net worth at around £1 billion, James Dyson designed 5,127 prototypes before he perfected the cyclone vacuum cleaner and completed the DC01, the fastest-selling vacuum cleaner ever made in the United Kingdom. How long did that take? 15 years.

So if patents protect and encourage innovation by providing incentives, which in turn benefits the population at large, what’s the problem?

Well, part of that answer goes back to fundamental economics, which states that monopolies are bad for society. Generally speaking, monopolies typically maximize their profits by producing fewer good and selling them at a higher price, which creates a deadweight loss (DWL) to society as output is well below its optimal level. In a Pareto efficient economic allocation, no one can be made better off without making at least one individual worse off. If we thought of this in terms of pizzas where the going price is $10, the demand is going to decrease from a high demand if they’re free to zero demand if they cost $100. In a perfectly competitive market with many pizzerias, they’re priced at $10, and everyone who receives more than $10 worth of utility (economics’ speak for satisfaction) will buy one. But if there’s only one pizzeria, they’re probably going to charge whatever nets them the greatest profit. If hypothetically that’s $50, that excludes every consumer who receives less than $50 worth of utility from a pizza, which would pretty much be everyone I know. The DWL is then the economic benefit foregone by these customers due to monopoly pricing.

Michael Heller dubbed the term the Tragedy of the Anti-Commons to describe the phenomenon in which useful and affordable products are prevented from entering the marketplace. In economics, the Tragedy of Commons refers to the exhaustion of shared resources (e.g., clean air, water, arable land, etc.) by individuals acting out of their own self-interest, despite their knowing and understanding that doing so is suboptimal in the long-run. In the Anti-Commons, the opposite occurs. When lots of property owners have to gain permission before a resource can be used, the result is that the resource tends to be chronically under utilized. This can happen when patent thickets, “dense webs of overlapping intellectual property rights that a company must hack its way through in order to actually commercialize new technology,” stifle innovation (Carl Shapiro).Patent System, Bravo DesignWith regards to technology, because the marketplace changes so quickly, developments depend on the ability to freely and quickly reuse and combine to build on. To programmers and developers, proprietary software patents are about as appealing as patents on part of the English language would be. It prevents not only innovation, it leads to lock-ins that few can use, and no one can innovate on without licensing fees that drive up the cost of creation. The Honorable Richard A. Posner, the judge who famously dismissed Apple’s suit against Motorola, warns that: “This prospect gives rise to two wasteful phenomena: defensive patenting and patent trolls. Defensive patenting means getting a patent not because you need it to prevent copycats from making inroads into your market, but because you want to make sure that you’re not accused of infringing when you bring your own product to market. The cost of patenting and the cost of resolving disputes that may arise when competitors have patents are a social waste. Patent trolls are companies that acquire patents not to protect their market for a product they want to produce — patent trolls are not producers — but to lay traps for producers, for a patentee can sue for infringement even if it doesn’t make the product that it holds a patent on.” Horace Dediu sums this up best when he describes “legal hit squads” as what “sustains incumbents rather than facilitate[s] entry.”

None of this is to say that the patent system should be abolished altogether. That probably wouldn’t be the right answer even if it were an option, but there are some questions that need answering like, how much incentive is required to induce creators into innovating? Are 20-year patent terms really appropriate given the rate at which technology evolves? And lastly, and maybe most importantly, does the problem lie in patent law itself or with what’s allowed to be patented? Despite our anxieties and our concerns about the economy, unemployment and competition elsewhere, we should be proud that our country is a leader because of its ability to create and innovate better than any other, and that has a lot to due with how we incentivize inventive activity because innovation lays the foundations for future growth. We just need to figure out how to best protect that for inventors and consumers alike.

Photo Credits:
Bloomberg Businessweek, Smartphone Data, IHS Isuppli Research, Bayraba.com, Techdirt and ThePatentBook.com

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Trouble with the Curve

Trouble with the Curve, Bravo DesignAn aging Atlanta Braves baseball scout named Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) is given one last opportunity to prove his worth to the organization, who sees him as unable to adapt to changes in the business. His boss and friend Pete (John Goodman), who doesn’t want to see him let go, asks his daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), against his wishes, to join him on the trip which could be his last if he can’t make the right call.

Trouble with the Curve, Bravo DesignAlong the way Gus reconnects with Johnny (Justin Timberlake), a rival team’s scout who has a friendly history with Gus, who also takes an interest in Mickey.

Pete Hammond of BoxOffice.com writes, “Clint Eastwood and a superb cast hit it out of the park in Trouble with the Curve, a great entertainment filled with heart, humor, family drama and fantastic acting.” HSX is predicting that the film will open somewhere around $15.6M in its debut weekend.

Rating: PG-13 // Genre: Drama // Runtime: 1 hr. 51 min. // Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman // Directed by: Robert Lorenz // Written by: Randy Brown // Produced by: Malpaso Productions // Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

 

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Five Things Marketers Can Take Away from Politics

As we approach the finish line of yet another election, millions of Americans are gearing up to head to the polls to exercise their right to vote. And while it may seem as though presidential elections have become decided largely by likeability versus policy or competency, that might not be as surprising a change as it seems. In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debates in what proved to be a key turning point in both of their campaigns. An estimated 70M viewers tuned in. Nixon, who had not yet recovered from a two week long hospital stay, looked pale, sickly, was about 20 pounds underweight and tired from having campaigned until just a few hours prior to the broadcast. Kennedy, by contrast, having spent the early part of September campaigning in California, was tanned, confident and well rested. Nixon later wrote, “I had never seen him looking so fit.”

Those who heard the broadcast on the radio pronounced Nixon the winner, but those who watched it on TV thought otherwise. They focused on what they saw and not what they heard. What they saw was a candidate who was frail and sickly who was very obviously discomforted by his younger opponent’s smooth and charismatic delivery. Of their four debates, the consensus is that Nixon won bouts two and three, and that the two men drew in debate number four, but it was too late. Between the first and second debates, it was reported that there was a drop off in 20M some odd viewers. As a result, Kennedy, who had been trailing by a small deficit up until this point in the campaign, gained a little bit of traction that gave him a slight lead. And in November, he was elected the 34th President of the United States.

While you and I might not see eye-to-eye on how things should shake out come November, we can probably agree that since the first televised debates, politics have become increasingly focused on the marketing component as opposed to the policy aspect. Listed below are a few pointers taken straight from the political arena that marketers can use in their daily grind. If nothing else, it might help should you decide to run for office one day.

Anticipate

Whether it is a candidate, issue or product, the ability to change rapidly and respond effectively is character of resilience. Successfully running a business extends past identifying consumers’ needs to anticipating how that might evolve in the future. Take the time to plan for the ups and downs, and you’ll be better prepared to navigate through the unknown and capitalize if and when opportunity knocks.

Be Consistent

The best way to avoid flip-flopping back and forth on an issue is to clearly define your messaging early on. This requires a well thought out plan as well as both courage and conviction. The problem, both in the private sector and in politics, is that messaging focuses more on winning than on being sincere. Stick to your guns here. And if you happen to be wrong, own up to it.

Use Multiple Channels

While the Internet and social media have changed advertising and marketing by and large, candidates are known for utilizing every channel available (TV, radio, outdoor, e-mail, bumper stickers, buttons, etc). Politicians play for keeps, and that means reinforcing their position in the minds of constituents at every opportunity possible. Finding out who you want to target and where they’ll be is half the battle.

Measure Your Progress

Political candidates know if they’re ahead or behind and by exactly how much. If you want to be successful, you need to figure out what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong. If certain forms of content are performing better than other types, stick to what works instead of expending precious time on something that doesn’t.

Be Transparent

John Adams wrote, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right and a desire to know.” In a world filled with bloggers; Tweeters; and ever connected social media users, consumers and constituents alike want to know where their money is going and if the companies they support are operating ethically so be forthright.

It’s pretty clear that the coming election will make for one of the most heated in recent memory. If you haven’t registered to vote or aren’t sure if your registration is current, you can check here to see. If you need to register or have questions about voting, this should help.

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Resident Evil: Retribution

As the T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into flesh eating zombies, Alice (Milla Jovovich) fights alongside the resistance while unveiling more of her mysterious past. The chase for those responsible for the outbreak takes her from Tokyo to the States to Moscow culminating in a revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true.

Resident Evil, Bravo DesignLinda Barnard of The Toronto Star writes, “It’s all about the thrill of the kill, and Resident Evil: Retribution doesn’t disappoint in that department. Writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson knows that this is a franchise that works, so why tinker? He stuffs 100 pounds of gore into a five-pound sack and keeps jamming it in. Not content to stick with simple impalements and jetting arcs of blood, Anderson ups the ante with x-rays that show bones breaking and hearts being ripped from arteries as the blows land.”

HSX and FilmGo both forecast that Resident Evil: Retribution will earn around $26M-$27M this weekend though I’d like to point out that through out the course of the franchise, each sequel has done better than the movie preceding it. Afterlife, the fourth and most recent in the series, opened at $26.6M, but Retribution is being shown in fewer theaters. I predict that the movie will open in excess of estimates but shy of the $30M mark.

Rating: R // Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi // Runtime: 1 hr. 35 min. // Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory and Michelle Rodriguez // Directed and Written by: Paul W.S. Anderson// Produced by: Davis Films/Impact Pictures (RE5) and Constantin Film International // Distributed by: Screen Gems

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Yelp and What It Can Do for Your Business

If you had the chance to read my entry, “One Year,” you’ll know that I’m, more or less, in the middle of moving from one apartment to the next. This go around, I’ve done my due diligence as best I can. I researched where I’d like to live in the city. I tore through the listings on Craigslist for longer than I’d like to admit, and I’ve visited ones that stuck out to get a feel for the property and the neighborhoods themselves. Finally, I went through the reviews on ApartmentRatings.com and Yelp to see what both former and current tenants have to make a more informed decision. It’s a funny thing to trust someone you’ve never met, and may have absolutely nothing in common with, with a personal decision. But according to a study published by Search Engine Land, approximately 72% of consumers surveyed said they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. 72%.

This summer marked Yelp’s eighth birthday. And in that time, the company has gone from having a handful of employees to over 1,000 of them and has 61M users in 17 different counties. With millions of contributed reviews, it might not be too much of a stretch to say that the site has become one of the most authoritative resources for finding great local businesses, no matter what you’re searching for.

For those of you who own, operate or are running the online marketing efforts for your business, you might want to spend some amount of time getting a little more familiar with Yelp. If you haven’t unlocked your business account, you can do so here. It’s free, and it only takes a couple of minutes. Why? Because it’s free, and it only takes two minutes. Well, that and the fact that in the second quarter of this year, 78M people visited Yelp to find businesses and make purchase decisions. Without an account, you might be missing out on a ton of potential business; especially, if you’re in the food and service industry. That being said, it might be most useful for businesses that serve the general public (B2C), but it sure doesn’t hurt if you’re a B2B and have a page. Once you do set one up, you can insert your business’ information, add photos, use it to create deals for visitors who use Yelp to find you, message customers and view how your page is doing in terms of traffic. Keep in mind that Bing is now using Yelp’s application programming interface (API), most likely as a result of Google’s incorporation of Zagat into its own, and will show content including: snippets, photos, business attributes, etc. in local searches so having a presence on Yelp translates to having one anywhere else the API is used.

Additionally, you’ll be able to respond to reviews that may not be especially favorable, either publicly or privately. Inevitably, everyone eventually gets one so try not to take it too personally. This presents an opportunity to fix things with a dissatisfied customer and improve that review. I’m a stickler when it comes to customer service so seeing a company go out of their way to provide a better experience the second time around, when it’s so much easier to ignore the fact, is huge. If you find yourself getting too hung up over reviews, you may have to delegate the task to someone who can serve as the point of contact and will manage your online reputation. Do not do this. Ultimately, reviews should serve as a feedback mechanism. Positive ones will let you know what you’re doing right, and less than sparkling ones will let you know what you need to work on. If you feel like a review violates Yelp’s terms of service, you have the option of flagging it for evaluation.

You might notice that it might seem as though reviews sometimes disappear. What actually happens is that they sometimes get filtered. Yelp has an automated review filter that prevents people, or businesses, from spamming fake reviews to boost ratings and/or to undermine their competition. The ones that don’t end up making the cut and get filtered typically originate from accounts that don’t have additional reviews published. Jeremy Stoppelman, the CEO of Yelp, writes, “If they [slanted reviews] were allowed to occur, they would erode trust…which would reduce the usefulness of the site for both consumers and the good businesses that rely on the positive word-of-mouth they’ve earned.” Without authentic, trustworthy reviews to depend on, Yelp is little better than the phonebook. If you’re a Yelp user who isn’t very active, give back to the community by submitting reviews when you can. That’s something on my list of things to do.

Once you have your page set up and ready to go, focus on providing great customer service. If you consistently put your best foot forward, your customers are bound to notice. And hopefully, the positive reviews you earn in the process will help you attract new customers because those who discover your business online are much more likely to share their experience with others online.