I just finished the episode where Sisko hallucinates that he's a science fiction writer in the 1950s and all of the cast are different people he knows. Wonderful, profound and disturbing.

Orphan Black - wow.

I 2nd this. One of the *smartest* shows ever. Attention conservation notice: the rest of this post discusses what the "intellectual property" brand coded into the clone's gene's accomplishes legally.

I'm pretty sure the "intellectual property" gene sequence does not give the neolutionist the claim the show thinks it does. Yeah, there is real Supreme Court precedence that patenting a gene sequence gives the patent holder a monopoly on medical tests that detect diseases revealed by that gene sequence. And even unintentional planting of patented crops is a violation of patent or copyright, and reproduction of patented organs is illegal copying.

But I suspect the fact that soybeans can be owned and people can't still has legal implications even under our reactionary Supreme Court. Even ignoring this (and who knows what our courts would do in such a case), Neolution faces three complications: the gene sequences are the result of illegal experiments. Also since the clones are over 20, any patents have expired. Neolution probably never filed patents in the first place because of the illegality. The third is the least important: there can be intellectual property protection for an invention without filing the patent, but (as a non-lawyer playing lawyer) I think the patent expiration is a killer, and I think illegal development one may have some weight as well. But it is a work of fiction, and I don't object to exaggerating how bad a bad law is for the sake of the story.

And even though the show exaggerates, intellectual property laws really have evolved in a very bad direction, especially biological inventions - either from genetic modification or bred the old fashioned way. Way too restrictive, and way too much corporate control.

And the show always takes me by surprise. That Allison's hubby really was the monitor was something I always thought might be. But Mrs. S working for Neolution really surprises me. I'm kind of hoping she represents a third force or someone who went rogue and turned against them long ago. And took Kiera cause she considers herself better qualified to hide her than Sarah. But this show is completely capable of having her be one of the bad guys.

I will be incredibly sad if Mrs S turns out to be one of the bad guys.

Whether or not an expired patent on a human being would hold up in court, I think the more important point was that the contracts were entirely bogus, and any security or freedom they appeared to offer would have been an illusion. Leekie never intended to stop spying on his clones.

I will be incredibly sad if Mrs S turns out to be one of the bad guys.

Yes.

I'm not too happy about Cosima's symptoms, either.

Maybe there are good guys. Ones who know what's up, I mean.

Someone said that they wondered if Beth was sick and that was the final straw for her to kill herself. If the clones may have homicidal tendencies or risk of grave illness...hmmm.

You mean - that they are programmed to die once they become aware of their clonedom?

No. I wonder if there is a flaw in the replication process - not only related to the lung disease (which we've seen referenced and Cosima has it).

But also a personality flaw as well. Beth had serious mental health diagnoses that were not only situational, Allison is troubled at the very least watching her former friend die.

Heh. The Intellectual Property aspects are where I finally had my susupension of disbelief shattered. Not the clones, not the multi national conspiracy, not one actress playing a dozen things... but the IP is where I went "this is abusurd".

I'm still game-on, however.

Whether or not an expired patent on a human being would hold up in court, I think the more important point was that the contracts were entirely bogus, and any security or freedom they appeared to offer would have been an illusion. Leekie never intended to stop spying on his clones.

The contracts were always entirely bogus. That bugged me too. You can't have a legally enforcable contract for an illegal act. I can't go into court and sue my drug mule because she ran off with my coke. Good thing none of the clones went to law school or that whole episode couldn't have happened.

Again, I'm still game-on. I don't care that much that they are running loose with intellectual property law. If medical people could take it on ER for a decade (I knew some who called it "ER-ROR"), I can hack it.

But Mrs. S working for Neolution really surprises me. I'm kind of hoping she represents a third force or someone who went rogue and turned against them long ago. And took Kiera cause she considers herself better qualified to hide her than Sarah. But this show is completely capable of having her be one of the bad guys.

She left the photo in the birth-mom's bag, didn't she? I think that's a sign of "rogue force for good".

I was a little surprised that Sarah didn't secure Kiera before she told them to stick it. I'll attribute it to her being completely whipped from the events of the day. Because I'm still game-on.