DairySight^® IP Providers FAQ

An IP Provider licenses Intellectual Property (IP) for resale by DairySight to DairySight users.  Individuals and businesses with IP that is suitable for inclusion in DairySight are encouraged to approach us and negotiate an agreement, that typically will include royalty payments to the IP Provider. 

Intellectual Property (IP) is a general term for the product of human thought, and covers a very wide range, from literary compositions to management ideas (and beyond).  Certain forms of IP can be protected legally (for example by copyright law).  Other forms can only be protected by secrecy (trade secrets). 

For example, someone might develop a new method for analyzing milk component data to assess adequacy of fiber in a ration, combining a mathematical algorithm for processing data and a graphical format for displaying the result.  Almost any combination of ideas and their development can be referred to as "IP". 

Two key differences are:

1. DairySight is an Internet-only service.  We do not sell stand-alone software.  Users set up an account, then are billed based on usage. 
   
   
2. DairySight is a marketplace (or broker) for information tools.  We bring together data and IP from many sources, for sale to end users. 
   

A few key advanteges are these:

1. Internet delivery means that users always have access to the most recent updates of data and methods, using only an Internet connection and a standard web browser. 
   
   
2. IP can be protected from piracy on a central server.  Only the results (reports) are delivered to the client, not the means of generating them. 
   
   
3. Centralized data means that report designers can use cross-herd and cross-database analysis techniques without the necessity for collecting and merging data sources. 
   
   
4. Flexible billing methods will be available, to match report costs to market demand. 
   
   
5. Overhead costs will be low, allowing mass-market efficiencies and adequate returns to IP and data providers, as well as to DairySight itself, while keeping cost to consumers low. 
   
   
6. Open design will encourage continuous growth and innovation. 
   
   

Secret remedies are unethical, because they violate the requirement for informed consent by the client.  We feel documentation is a requirement for medical tools and remedies, including information tools.  That documentation need not provide enough detail that another can duplicate the methodology, but it must provide enough to permit validation of the technique. 

Contact DairySight PresidentJim Ehrlich, D.V.M. If you have new and useful IP related to dairy herd management, we are eager to hear from you!