“Technology-driven innovation has for decades forced legislators to revisit intellectual property law. But in the past 12 months, Napster and its peer-to-peer brethren have made the distribution and protection of intellectual property in a digital world the most contentious legal debate in recent memory. As co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, professor Pamela Samuelson sits at the academic center of that discussion. She recently sat down with Business 2.0 Online to share her thoughts on a range of subjects, including copyright law on the Internet and how to amend the process of issuing business method patents.”

“Given the current economic uncertainty, we can’t think of a more appropriate time to celebrate the top companies in the world. Seriously. Now is the time for the best public companies, many of which we first championed as startups, to reveal their strengths. After all, as Stanford Business School professor Jeffrey Pfeffer says in our story on corporate cost cutting, ‘When times are good, a jackass can run a successful company, and we’ve seen that lately.’”

“Visit the Chelsea office of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and you’re likely to hear a lot about ‘walking the brand.’ Stroll from one end of the 150,000-square-foot floor to another and you’ll pass photo studios, test kitchens, Web operations and the Martha by Mail catalog business. It’s the realization of Martha Stewart’s insistent synergy drive, one she’s accomplished while other media companies have stumbled.”

“When droves of dot-coms were closing, often the only notice their employees had were the padlocks adorning their office doors when they got to work one morning. These folks were lucky if they could retrieve their personal affects, much less lay claim to any severance pay. But among established companies announcing layoffs these days, the counterintuitive concept of ‘competitive severance packages’ is actually emerging. Companies realize that the way they compensate laid-off employees sends as much of a message to members of their current and future workforce as salary levels and benefits packages.”

“On Monday morning, you’ve got to face the CFO and defend your budget. It would sure help if you could argue that past IT expenditures have increased the productivity of your company before you explain why your budget should go up this year. Well-prepared is well-armed, so here CIO presents two sides of the heated productivity debate. You can quote Edward Yardeni, chief investment strategist at Deutsche Banc Alex.Brown, to prove that investing in IT does enhance the productivity of your workers and will continue to do so. And you’ll be prepared for those pesty counterarguments by reading the perspective of Robert J. Gordon, the Stanley G. Harris professor in social sciences at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.”

“Here are 3 powerful marketing tactics you can use to get more sales the next time you advertise. All 3 work for any business. And you can use them effectively on the Internet or in traditional media.”

“Last week I wrote about factors companies should consider when deciding whether or not to join an e-marketplace. But that is really only half the picture. When a company decides that it wants to become part of an e-marketplace, it must then assess the viability of the available e-marketplaces in its industry.”

“In an online-exclusive Q&A, the Amazon CEO offers his thoughts on Ravi Suria, explains why there never was an SEC investigation and reveals the first thing on his mind when he wakes up every morning.”

“Times have changed since Henry Ford made the River Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan, into the ultimate in vertical integration, with iron ore going in one end and shiny Model A’s coming out the other. Now vertical dis-integration is the order of the day — in autos, handheld computers, pharmaceuticals, ink-jet printers, health foods, cameras, microchips. The company with the brand name or a clever marketing idea isn’t necessarily the one with the factory. Why put capital into a factory when you can put it into something much more valuable — like a brand?”

“Here are 3 powerful marketing tactics you can use to get more sales the next time you advertise. All 3 work for any business. And you can use them effectively on the Internet or in traditional media.”

“‘Secrets of Silicon Valley’ is a shocking expose of the hidden downsides of the Internet revolution and a funny and moving meditation on America’s love affair with technology. Told without narration, the film chronicles a tumultuous year in the lives of two young activists grappling with rapid social change and the meaning of globalization on their own doorsteps.”

“Mergers and acquisitions are big business, but they’re also a dangerous business. Obstacles can arise at every juncture, as Ariba and Agile, Verizon and Northpoint, and Novell and Cambridge discovered recently. As the tech economy continues to expand and diversify, companies will keep merging with and acquiring other businesses in order to quickly incorporate new technologies and tap new markets.”

“[David] Weinberger’s epiphany in “The Hyperlinked Organization” chapter of The Cluetrain Manifesto is simple: Businesses don’t consist of slots on an org chart or entries in a database. Businesses are made up of people. And people define and organize the business by continually discussing, literally and metaphorically, what their company is really all about.”

“The Web may not be the next answer to the oil well, but, as many entrepreneurs have discovered, a smart business plan and hard work can go a long way toward creating a sustainable online venture. Here, a special report on companies that are making it on the Web, dot-com alumni who are parlaying the Internet experience into lucrative new careers, and a former fast-track firm that’s in the process of reinventing itself.”

“In a tech-driven economy, speed matters most. Which means CEOs have to move faster than ever to please investors — and to save their own jobs.” See also: Squeeze Play: 1 Week as CEO.