Subject: RE: Visit Preparation
From:    rnelson@walden3d.com
Date:    02/27/2007 04:20 PM
To:      R. Bowen Loftin

Bowen,

Thanks for your comments.

I once read an economist summarize life.  He wrote people play two types
of games: fixed pie games and pie building games.  Fixed pie games are
where if you get a bigger piece of the pie, they you are somehow taking
something from me.  So people who play these games never want anyone else
to have any pie.  Pie building games imply you have an ingredient, and I
have an ingredient, and as long as we both put in our ingredients, we can
make as many pies as we want to.  I always play pie building games, as I
am sure you know.

However, I have spent a lot of time and effort making sure The Knowledge
Backbone(SM), Infinite Grid(SM), Timedex(SM), and Transaction Patterns(SM)
are protected IP.  Doesn't mean I can't or won't talk about them, it just
means when I see them being copied by someone with no published work along
these lines, after I've shown it to them, or after I find out they have
been downloading lots of related stuff from my web site, and they do not
acknowedge the original source, I feel free to play fixed pie games.  In
addition to these specifics, there are several processes and ideas in the
material I've put together which have the potential of being patentable or
commercially successful or possibly even could win a large prize. 
However, unless a patent is applied for, they are commercialized, or are
entered into a contest by some organization with sufficent resources to
properly pursue the opportunity, they are just ideas, and are of
absolutely no commercial value.

Therefore, I want to share all of my ingredients with you and your
colleages to see if there is a fit with any of your ingredients, where the
end in mind is we can make some really big pies.  Not talking about
proprietary items means I would pull many of the pages I've prepared as
back-up for the meeting from the web, or I would have to have a lawyer
with me to make sure I don't say something innovative.  This makes no
sense to be, because then there is no chance to see if there are any joint
pie building ingredients.

Lastly, I realize higher education today is largely fixed pie political
one-up-man-ship game played by big egos, many of whom have their private
commercialization companies on the side.  And I'm still idealistic enough
to believe this can be changed, at least on specific projects, as long as
the value of everyone playing pie-building games is recognized.

What I am attempting to state on page 3 is Texas A&M University at
Galveston, and the related organizations, can have free access to all of
Walden 3-D's IP, as long as it is always acknowledged as Walden 3-D's IP
when it is presented anyplace.  This is normal operating proceedure for
peer reviewed papers, and so I see absolutely no problem.  Secondly, that
TAMU@G has a first right of refusal to patent or otherwhise legally
protect any of the IP which is recognized to be of value, as long as I
have free use of the IP, and we negotiate a reasonable royalty sharing
agreement if patents are licensed to others (10% for Walden 3-D, Inc. is
what is in my mind, which I believe is about one-third what others request
or get).  Thirdly, that if there is something TAMU@G is not interested in
patenting, and W3D thinks it is worth patenting, and if W3D has the
resources to do so, then W3D will still provide a written description of
the proposed Patent to TAMU@G to insure there is no interest before
proceeding with the patenting process.

There is no way to negotiate any of this, unless there are ingredients of
value to existing or planned projects at TA&MU@G or affiliated
organizations.  The only way to know if there are ingredients of any value
is for open and frank discussions between people who trust each other.  I
trust you!  I do not know your colleages, and yet your position insures me
there will not be any blatent violation of my trust.  And because it is
important, with real financial consequeces, I think it is imporant to get
this IP stuff on the table on the front-end of the kind of discussions I
anticipate we will have.

I apologize for not being not knowing how to be more concise in my
response to your comments.  Does this make sense to you?

Where am I going to meet you on Friday, at what specific time, and is it
suit & tie or business casual?

Best Regards,

Roice

> > Roice:
> >
> > Sorry for the delay--there are many alligators in the swamp at this
> > time.
> >
> > We are also looking forward to your visit.  Bill Seitz and Bill Merrell
> > do have some concerns about your third slide.
> >
> > I think it will best at this time if you limit your remarks (etc.) to
> > nonproprietary items.  Nothing we will present to you is regarded as
> > proprietary.  It will be best if the two Bills get acquainted with you
> > without having to worry about any issues of intellectual property at
> > this time.  Then we can see where the path takes us.
> >
> > With best regards,
> >
> > Bowen
> >
> > R. Bowen Loftin, Ph.D.
> > Vice President and Chief Executive Officer
> > Professor of Maritime Systems Engineering (TAMUG)
> > Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering (TAMU)
> > Texas A&M University at Galveston
> > P.O. Box 1675
> > Galveston, TX 77553-1675
> > 409-740-4403
> > 409-740-4407 (fax)
> > loftin@tamug.edu
> > www.tamug.edu