THE A2 BALANCE How the city has maintained its traditional charm while staying relevant in today's world. 9 SEE THE STATEMENT, INSIDE ON HNDE TE& Y N Y46 F EE(RA RE)) Ann Arbor, Michigan Wednesday, September 21, 2011 michigandaily.com UNIVERSITY RESEARCH U.S. patent reform bill could aid inventors University President Mary Sue Coleman meets students outside her home on South Univeresity Avenue during her annual open house yesterday. Coleman greets hundreds of students. at annual open house Changes could have positive impact on 'U' entrepreneurs By ANDREW SCHULMAN Daily StaffReporter A legislative overhaul of the nation's patent system, signed into law en Friday by President Barack Obama, could foster innovation and entrepreneurship at the University and throughout Michigan. The America Invents Act will create a new, fast-track option to shorten the patent review pro- cess from three years to one year. This comes as a part of an effort, to reduce the current backlog of 700,000 patent applications and synchronize the American pat- ent system with systems in other countries. University experts said the new system will increase patent quality and minimize pat- ent litigation, which could sig- nificantly aid entrepreneurs and small businesses. The changes - which Obama praised ina Sept. 16 White House press release as "the most sig- nificant reform of the Patent Act since 1952" - were "overdue," said Doug Neal, managing direc- tor of the University's Center for Entrepreneurial Programs. Neal said the three-year wait time between patent filing and issu- ance was not reasonable amid today's fast-changing innova- tions. "That's sort of a lifetime for entrepreneurs," Neal said. "Everything is very urgent, and we're dealing with real-time competitive issues and real-time innovation in customer needs ... I can't underscore enough the value of time to an entrepreneur." The reforms could also poten- tially spur job growth and inno- vation by discouraging patent litigation among inventors, Neal said. In the past, legal disputes over the rights to patents have inflicted a "big cost" on entrepre- neurs and inventors, he said. Prior to the reforms, two inventors who submitted similar patent applications at the same See PATENT, Page 5A President talks to students an extra hour at South University home By JOSEPH LICHTERMAN Daily News Editor University President Mary Sue Coleman smiled and greet- ed students, including one who told her he wanted Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to speak at Spring Commence- ment, at her on-campus home yesterday. Two other students representing student entrepre- neurial group MPowered gave Coleman a T-shirt, which she said she'd wear while riding her bike. The students were among the hundreds who waited in line for more than an hour yes- terday afternoon for the oppor- tunity to spend a few moments with Coleman at her annual open house. Coleman fielded a wide array of questions from students who wanted to know everything from whether she actually lives in the President's House at 815 South University Ave., where the open house was held (yes, she does), to whether Coleman received a note left at her front door last winter in which the writer asked for a snow day. (Coleman got the let- a See avideo piece about this story on Mchtgaa~algto ter, but there was no snow day.) The event was scheduled to last an hour, but Coleman, standing on the patio in her lush backyard, continued to greet students an hour after the open house was scheduled to end. In an interview with The Michigan Daily after the See COLEMAN, Page 5A GREENING THE 'U' Ann Arbor 350 petition calls - for solar panels on Big House Office of Campus Sustainability: Installation on stadium unlikely By CHELSEA LANDRY For the Daily The Big House might be one of the largest stadiums in the country, but one group wants to also make it one of the most environmentally friendly. The Ecology Center, an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit group, started a project called Ann Arbor 350, which aims to con- vince the University to install solar panels on Michigan Sta- dium. Though the project has been met with a mixed response from the University, the group started a petition calling for the installation and has collected more than 530 signatures as of last night. A similar petition was also started on www.change.org and has garnered about 3,000 signatures in 15 days. Ann Arbor 350 has a goal of reach- ing 10,000 signatures on its petition, according to the proj- ect website. University alum Monica Patel, who organized the Ann Arbor 350 petition, said though the Ecology Center cannot determine the exact feasibil- ity of the project, Patel is urg- ing University officials to show support for using solar energy. "(We want) to use the Big House as a tool for education about the industry," she said. Though many of the sup- portive comments on the online See SOLAR, Page 3A UNIVERSITY ALUMNI Recent University alumni beginning start- up ventures without business degrees LSA freshmen Haley Monaghan, Alexis Cobau and Michael Maas eat lunch in the North Quad dining hall yesterday. Cobau said lunch time is very busy at North Quad, and she often has trouble finding an open seat. North Quad dining hall lacks lunch time seating Alum starts websit for free streaming of movies, shows By K.C.WASSMAN Daily StaffReporter University alum James Nor man knew most of his life that h wanted to be an engineer. But h was also certain that he wante to run his own business. Though these might seem like different career choices, for Nor- man they aren't exclusive. Nor- man, who graduated from the College of Engineering in 2005, is one of an increasing number t of students decidingto pave their own way without a traditional business education - a trend the - University has also recognized. e Erik Gordon, associate direc- te or of the Zell Lurie Institute d for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Ross School of Business, said the institute encourages gradu- ates with different degrees to be entrepreneurs. "If there's one message that students should get is that we don't care what school you're in," Gordon said. "Most of our (programs are) for anyone who's interested in entrepreneurship." Amy Klinke, assistant director for small business initiatives in the Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering, See STARTUPS, Page SA Students sit on floor due to overcrowding By ADAM RUBENFIRE DailyStaffReporter Sitting on the floor of the North Quad dining hall during lunch one day last week, Engi- neering freshman Matt DeFore dipped his spoon into a bowl of soup by his feet. DeFore, who sat on the floor after an unsuccessful search for a seat at a table, bemoaned the challenge of eating off the ground without spilling his soup. The dining hall staff told him the area was over capacity and that he would have to sit on the floor - a recent problem at the bustling dining area in North Quad, which debuted last fall. DeFore said he is disappoint- ed with North Quad's handling of the occupancy of the dining room, which has a maximum capacity of 197 patrons. "I think it's very poor, espe- cially because how new this place is," DeFore said. "I feel like they should expand it." In a statement released to The Michigan Daily yesterday, University Housing spokes- man Peter Logan responded to concerns that the dining hall is often overcrowded. Logan wrote that throughout most of the week, about 700 to 800 people eat lunch in North Quad between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Dur- ing dinner service each day See NORTH QUAD, Page SA WEATHER H: 68 TOMORROW LU: 49 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM 'U entrepreneurial institute ranks among top five MIcHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS/THE WIRE INDEX AP NEWS. 3A ARTS.............6A Vol. CXXIINo.12 OPINION.................4A SPORTS...........7A 2011TheMichigan Daily N EW S ..............SA THE STATEMENT.,......1.1B michigandaily.com A*