The Emperor's New ClothesLine

[Christopher Gonzales]

I have recently discovered in the fine print of my Chicago apartment lease
wording which states that any patents, copyrights, or any other ideas I may
conceive at any time during my enjoyment of the apartment automatically
become property of my landlord.

This would not be too bad except I have already signed away to my employers
my intellectual property rights for my daylight hours.

As you may know, I am very clever, and having a surplus of good ideas, I
would like to prevent my employers and my landlord from sucking the
lifeblood out of my head. Thus I have decided it is in my best interest to
freely toss off my intellectual property in a public forum, like so much
intellectual baggage, in an effort to undermine the potential value of any
intellectual fruit. I apologize for the prattle intended to sink the
company stock, since I sold short, and also for the drivel to avenge my
landlord. If there may be a good idea here or there, I hope some Samaritan
may pick up my work, make good of it, and bring it to the benefit of
greater humankind, like in a book. I just don't want my employers or my
landlord to get their grubby hands in the matter.

This message and the ideas herein are the property of my employers or maybe
my landlord, and they are already squabbling over my fruit, so if you too
want to write a book you'll have to get in with Them.

Chris