Patents

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    Google News: Patent News

  • Motorola settles patent dispute suit - Chicago Tribune

    6 Nov 2009 | 7:30 pm
    Motorola settles patent dispute suitChicago TribuneMotorola Inc. and a Silicon Valley wireless network company have settled a patent dispute more than two years after the Schaumburg-based technology giant Aruba, Motorola Settle Patent DisputeeWeekMotorola and Aruba resolve patent disputes and plan collaboration on the all Trading Markets (press release)Motorola and Aruba Networks Announce Collaboration on the All-Wireless CNNMoney.com (press release)Reuters -PR-USA.net (press release)all 35 news articles »

  • A Math Geek's Ride to the High Court in Landmark Patent Fight - The American Lawyer

    6 Nov 2009 | 5:06 pm
    ReutersA Math Geek's Ride to the High Court in Landmark Patent FightThe American LawyerBernie Bilski and Rand Warsaw were just a couple of "math geeks for hire" from Pittsburgh when they applied for a patent in 1997. U.S. top court to hear business method patent caseReutersSoftware companies eye key patent case in Supreme CourtAsbury Park PressAbandoning software patents?Patently-OEETimes.com -Forbes -Am Law Litigation Dailyall 19 news articles »

  • Samsung Pays $1.3 Billion for Patent Licenses to Qualcomm - Softpedia

    6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm
    AFPSamsung Pays $1.3 Billion for Patent Licenses to QualcommSoftpediaAccording to the phone manufacturer, the agreement includes the use of Qualcomm's CDMA, WCDMA and OFDMA patents for the following 15 years. Samsung To Pay 1.3b For Patent UseUberGizmo (blog)Samsung will pay $1.3 billion for Qualcomm patent licensesUnwired ViewQualcomm's Patent Throne Becomes a Little Less ComfortableMotley FoolTelecoms Korea -InformationWeek -Trading Markets (press release)all 217 news articles »

  • Court Transfers Part of Patent Case Involving Microsoft to Texas - Corporate Counsel

    6 Nov 2009 | 1:25 pm
    Court Transfers Part of Patent Case Involving Microsoft to TexasCorporate CounselA Delaware federal judge's transfer of part of a patent infringement case involving software giant Microsoft Corp. to the Eastern District of Texas is the and more »

  • Kappos Talks Patent Reform at USPTO Inventors Conference - IPWatchdog.com

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:52 am
    IPWatchdog.comKappos Talks Patent Reform at USPTO Inventors ConferenceIPWatchdog.comThe 14th Annual Inventors Conference is presently ongoing at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia. Keith Bergelt: The Case for Market Based Patent ReformCNBCUSPTO unveils fast-track patent planInventors DigestKappos: Change is coming to patent officeThe HillFierceCIO -Genetic Engineering News (press release) -EasyBourse.comall 16 news articles »
 
 
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    Boycottnovell.com

  • IRC: #boycottnovell @ FreeNode: November 6th, 2009

    Roy Schestowitz
    6 Nov 2009 | 5:22 pm
    Read the log Enter the IRC channel now To use your own IRC client, join channel #boycottnovell in FreeNode.

  • Links 06/11/2009: Great Mandriva 2010.0 Reviews; Thunderbird 3 RC Comes Soon

    Roy Schestowitz
    6 Nov 2009 | 5:12 pm
    Contents GNU/Linux Distributions Devices/Embedded Free Software/Open Source Leftovers Virtual Interfaces: When One IP Isn’t Enough GNU/Linux GNU/Linux: Virtualbox for solving a common small business problem. We have all heard the GNU/Linux naysayers posit that, “No one will use Linux until (insert application name here) runs natively on Linux.” Other than the fact that this is almost pure hyperbole there is some kernel of truth there. This article demonstrates one solution. DOS to UNIX/Linux Translation (DOS to Linux Cheat Sheet) The following are some of the most commonly used…

  • Gnote Would Fit Nicely in Ubuntu 10.04 (Default Install)

    Roy Schestowitz
    6 Nov 2009 | 5:33 am
    Summary: One reader’s thoughts about the advantages of putting Gnote in the next release of Ubuntu GNU/Linux FEDORA (Red Hat) has already promoted Gnote as a replacement for Tomboy and Jeremy Allison opines that Tomboy has no place in the default install, let alone the repositories [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. A reader has just sent us the following: I notice that among the dependencies for Ubuntu [9.10], is a choice of Gnote or tomboy. * There aren’t any interface reasons to use Tomboy over Gnote, since Gnote is a port of Tomboy to an open source programming language. * There aren’t…

  • Vice President of MSN AdCenter Rumoured Out, Microsoft Labour Moves Abroad, Microsoft Grasping Onto “Open Source”

    Roy Schestowitz
    6 Nov 2009 | 5:06 am
    Summary: Considerable trouble inside Microsoft and a shift towards less expensive workforce is also accompanied by attempts to pollute the #1 competitor, Free software MICROSOFT’S latest demoralising announcement (additional layoffs) has been covered quite widely and Boycott Novell was probably first to report it, thanks to comments from Mini-Microsoft’s blog (a reader alerted us about an insider leaking the date). After this latest round of layoffs one can find many more links in Mini-Microsoft’s blog, but more important are the many comments there, including a majority…

  • What Microsoft’s Brad Silverberg, Bill Gates, and Al Capone Have in Common

    Roy Schestowitz
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:56 am
    Summary: Groklaw analyses the personal contributions of Brad Silverberg and Bill Gates to crimes against Novell BACK in January we published the text of a Comes vs Microsoft exhibit [PDF] whose page can be found here. Groklaw now has an analysis of it, which is nicely weaved together with news from the WordPerfect case. Novell and Microsoft have each filed summary judgment motions in the antitrust litigation about WordPerfect that Novell brought against Microsoft. In addition, we find out what happened regarding the Bill Gates deposition. And neither party can find certain documents that…
 
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    Anticipate This

  • They Invented What? (No. 152)

    Jake Ward
    28 Oct 2009 | 12:33 pm
    U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,931:  Halloween backpack. JMW Note:  Wishing all a Happy and Safe Halloween 2009! What is claimed is: 1. A Halloween backpack for a child comprising:           a hollow container having an outer surface, said hollow container adapted to be worn as a backpack on the back of a child,           means for releasable mounting of said hollow container on said back of said child,          a hollow chute mounted onto said hollow container, said chute defining a passageway along said chute between a frontal chute opening in said chute and an aperture…

  • They Invented What? (No. 151)

    Jake Ward
    15 Oct 2009 | 10:33 am
    U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,531: Synthetic eye simulating eyeball movement. I claim: 1. An artificial eye which when mounted on the head of a toy figure appears to follow an observer as he changes his angular orientation with respect to the eye, said eye comprising:           A. a transparent case having a generally spherical form, so mounted on the head of the figure as to expose its convex frontal section and to conceal its rear section;           B. a spherial ball mounted concentrically at a fixed position within the case and having a distinctive color; and           C.

  • New USPTO Website (No Longer Beta!)

    Jake Ward
    12 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm
    As we had earlier reported, the USPTO had been working on a beta version of a new USPTO web site.   Well, as of today, the new website has gone live. (See www.uspto.gov).    According to the USPTO, the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) had been working to incorporate comments and feedback from internal and external users on the beta version, in order to make the website more user-friendly.  The website has also been organized based on tasks that visitors perform on a regular basis.  Having used the beta version of the USPTO website a number of times, we agree that…

  • They Invented What? (No. 150)

    Jake Ward
    7 Oct 2009 | 6:19 pm
    U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,263:  Portable bath capsule. I claim: 1. A capsule for administering bed baths, comprising;           an elongated sheath of strong, flexible, fluid tight material dimensioned to accomodate and completely enclose the entire body of the patient excepting the head;           said sheath having a neck opening capable of being closed reasonably tightly about the neck of the patient;           said sheath having a elongated opening dimensioned to admit the body of the patient and said elongated opening having means for fluid tight closure thereof;…

  • Proposed Changes to USPTO Examiner Count System.

    Jake Ward
    30 Sep 2009 | 9:53 pm
    Yesterday, the USPTO announced a proposal to change the examiner count system.  The examiner count system determines the time a patent examiner has to complete a patent examination and how much credit is given for each stage of the examination.  The proposal was developed by a task force comprised of senior managers in the USPTO and leadership of the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA), the union that represents patent examiners. Per this press release, the proposed changes are designed to: •  Set the foundation for long-term pendency improvements. •  Increase customer…
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    Intellectual Property Updates

  • USPTO Expands and "Enhances" First Action Interview Pilot Program

    Bill Heinze
    19 Oct 2009 | 7:34 am
    Effective October 1, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is expanding and "enhancing" the original First Action Interview Pilot Program which ended on June 28, 2009.    Under the Enhanced First Action Interview Pilot Program ending April 1, 2010, the examiner will conduct a prior art search and provide the applicant a pre-interview communication, which is a condensed preview of objections or rejections proposed against the claims.  Within 30 days from the issue date of the pre-interview communication, the applicant must either…

  • FTC Revises Guides Governing Endorsements and Testimonials

    Bill Heinze
    13 Oct 2009 | 2:51 am
    The Federal Trade Commission has issued revisions to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials, which will take effect on December 1, 2009 under16 C.F.R. Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising: Notice Announcing Adoption of Revised Guides

  • TGIF for Religion and Intellectual Property

    Bill Heinze
    9 Jul 2009 | 8:38 am
    On July 7, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI published his third encyclical letter titled "Caritas in veritate" (Charity in Truth) which, among other things, states that "On the part of rich countries there is excessive zeal for protecting knowledge through an unduly rigid assertion of the right to intellectual property, especially in the field of health care.  At the same time, in some poor countries, cultural models and social norms of behaviour persist which hinder the process of development.    In response, the Intellectual Property Owners…

  • Evidence of Intent to Use Before the US Trademark Office

    Bill Heinze
    8 Jul 2009 | 12:36 pm
    The latest issue of The Trademark Reporter includes Sandra Edelman's timely and informative article on bona fide intent, entitled "Proving Your Bona Fides - Establishing Bona Fide Intent to Use Under the U.S. Trademark (Lanham) Act," 99 Trademark Reporter 763 (May-June 2009).   According to the TTABlog, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's recent decision in Honda Motor Co., Ltd. v. Friedrich Winkelmann, 90 USPQ2d 1660 (TTAB 2009) [precedential], brought the bona fide intent issue to the forefront for many trademark practitioners. There the Board sustained Honda's…

  • Website "Means" Requires Algorithm Disclosure

    Bill Heinze
    20 May 2009 | 10:31 am
    In Ex parte Catlin, __ Westlaw __ (U.S. PTO Bd. App. & Int. February 3, 2009)(precedential), the Board held that a method claim for implementing an on-line incentive system that recited "providing, at a merchant's web site, meansfor a consumer to participate in an earning activityto earn value from a merchant" was invalid for indefiniteness under 35 U.S.C. Section 112, second paragraph, where the application failed to disclose any algorithms that transformed the disclosed general purpose processor to a special purpose computer programmed to perform…
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    Just A Patent Examiner

  • Limited Time Offer

    4 Nov 2009 | 4:20 pm
    Effective Sunday, November 8th, the Office's Revised Count System Initiatives will go into effect, except for those initiatives that will require updates to the Office's software systems.Most significantly, that means that the new provisions for the docketing of RCEs will come online.The following initiatives will be effective this Sunday:* Certification and Recertification* Patent Examiners' Work Credit* Changes in Docket Management Policies* Patentability Determination and Hoteling Waiver* Examiner-Initiated InterviewsThe specifics of these initiatives were discussed in this earlier…

  • Director's Blog: Now with Feedback!

    2 Nov 2009 | 7:59 pm
    The Director has been posting weekly to his blog, on a variety of subjects.Two weeks ago, he posted on the union's adoption of the proposed new count system.---I wanted to take this opportunity to express my thanks to POPA's membership for voting to adopt the changes to the count system proposed by the task force. These changes were long overdue and represent a major step forward in re-tooling a system that hasn't been updated in more than 30 years. For the sake of both the examining corps and patent applicants, change was necessary.I decided to move forward with the changes the task force…

  • Latest News from the Office

    20 Oct 2009 | 7:40 pm
    A few quick notes about the goings on of late at the Office.The USPTO's new website went online on October 8th.The Office has withdrawn its proposed Continuation Rules Changes. You can read about it at Patently-O and 271. Also, the USPTO's press release.Dr. Triantafyllos Tafas, one of the plaintiffs in the case, doesn't want the earlier district court ruling vacated. Read about it at at Patently-O and IP Watchdog.The USPTO's First Action Interview Pilot Program has been expanded to allow more applications to qualify. They also refined and simplified the procedures. You can read about it at…

  • Partnering in Patents

    13 Oct 2009 | 4:20 pm
    The AIPLA is in town again this week for their Annual Meeting.As part of that Annual Meeting, they will be holding the 16th incarnation of Partnering in Patents, 'An Open Dialog Between the USPTO and the Bar' tomorrow afternoon.These sessions take place at the USPTO, giving the PTO and attorneys the opportunity to get together and have an exchange of ideas.I've attended the sessions in the past whenever my schedule has allowed. I've very much enjoyed them, and found the presentations and especially the comments/questions from attorneys to be most enlightening, helping me to better understand…

  • The Count System Version 2.0

    2 Oct 2009 | 6:57 am
    The Office on Wednesday afternoon notified the examining corps of the details of their proposal for a new count system. The Broad BrushThe new count system includes the following elements:Count System Changes and More Time for Examiners: The proposed changes will give examiners more time overall, more time for a first action on the merits, and time for examiner-initiated interviews, while diminishing credits for RCEs and providing consistent credits for transferred or inherited amendments. Process Changes: These will increase work credit certainty for examiners, increase fairness to…
 
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    IPKat - news and fun for everyone!

  • Friday favourites

    6 Nov 2009 | 4:01 am
    There's something new-ish on the IPKat's sidebar: a blogroll of weblogs which are in some way or other connected with the IPKat or its various authors. To his slight alarm, the Kat notes that this feature, which comes as a standard Blogger gadget, has its own rather idiosyncratic approach towards updating itself -- so he's watching to see if, like much of the things that go wrong on the blogosphere, either (i) it cures itself or (ii) a kindly reader tells the IPKat how to cure it.The IPKat need hardly remind his regular readers of the multitudinous meetings listed in the Forthcoming Events…

  • “Because I told you before, ooohhhhh you can’t do that”

    5 Nov 2009 | 9:51 pm
    Fans of The Beatles will recognize the title of this piece as a line from The Beatles’ song “You Can’t Do That” -- and that is exactly what EMI’s labels, including Capitol Records, told BlueBeat.com when it filed a federal lawsuit against them in the US on Tuesday.EMI filed the copyright infringement and unfair competition suit against BlueBeat.com, their sister site BaseBeat.com, their Santa Cruz-based parent company Media Rights Technologies and the CEO Hank Risan for making available the entire Beatles catalogue listed at $0.25 (15p) per track, which is below what a potential…

  • Haulm Sweet Haulm for the Grimme Reaper?

    5 Nov 2009 | 10:21 am
    Some good folk would say that quite enough has already been said about Tuesday's Patents Court for England and Wales ruling of Mr Justice Floyd in Grimme Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG v Derek Scott (trading as Scotts Potato Machinery [2009] EWHC 2691 (Pat), an earthy tussle over rights in machines for separating potatoes from weeds, earth, clods, stones and haulm. Grimme alleged patent and design infringement.Right: nothing to do with potatoes, this is actually a machine for recovering costs ...Scott denied infringement and counterclaimed for (i) invalidity and (ii) ungrounded threats…

  • Metatags, adwords, killing kittens and the cat-dog dichotomy

    5 Nov 2009 | 7:50 am
    Last Sunday the IPKat carried a note by his good friend Uli Hildebrandt of a recent German appellate decision on liability for links and adwords. This piece, "Liability for links and adwords, German style -- and a visit to Google Translate", has attracted a lively comment from another of the IPKat's good friends, none other than fellow blogger Maximilian Schubert (Austotrabant). Writes Maximilian: "Of Cats and Dogs -- or the Difference Between Keyword Advertising and Meta TagsActually, I do think making a proper distinction between Keyword Advertising and Meta Tags is important in law; below,…

  • You thought your legal qualification would save you from a job stacking shelves ...?

    4 Nov 2009 | 6:59 am
    The IPKat is keeping an eye out for further developments in the litigation between the popular Guernsey-based UK high-street optician chain Specsavers and Wal-Mart's UK presence Asda, in a row over alleged trade mark infringement and copycat advertising. According to Times Online, Specsavers says Asda's use of the slogan "Be a real spec saver at Asda” is calculated to mislead customers and damage its business. It also objects to the use of Asda's logo (left) which, it maintains, is confusingly similar to its own (right).Yesterday Mr Justice Kitchin (Chancery Division, England and Wales)…
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    Patent Baristas

  • ACLU/PUBPAT Gene Patent Challenge Moves Ahead

    Stephen Albainy-Jenei
    3 Nov 2009 | 10:48 am
    A federal district court said that the ACLU et al. suit challenging the patentability of gene patents can go forward. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), and a whole host of others have filed a lawsuit challenging patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer claiming that the patents are illegal and restrict both scientific research and patients’ access to medical care, and that patents on human genes violate the First Amendment and patent law because genes are “products of nature.” The lawsuit,…

  • IPCC: Behind The Scenes Look At Patent Cases

    Stephen Albainy-Jenei
    27 Oct 2009 | 7:19 pm
    At the BIO’s IPCC Conference today, attendees were treated to a look at pending cases that concern biotech. John Dragseth, a Partner at Fish & Richardson, gave an overview of the Mayo v. Prometheus case after filing a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court just hours earlier.  The Federal Circuit, reversing the district court, upheld Prometheus’s patent claims covering a process for correlating the level of certain chemicals in a patient’s blood with the patient’s health. Earlier, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Laboratory Corp. of Am. Holdings v.

  • Patent Reexamination in the Life Sciences

    Stephen Albainy-Jenei
    27 Oct 2009 | 6:22 am
    At today’s session of BIO’s IPCC Conference, Gregory Morse of the Central Reexamination Unit of the US Patent and Trademark Office gave a presentation of the process for handling re-exams.  Comparing ex parte and inter partes, Morse showed that the time for processing to first action is inching up although inter partes proceedings have not been around enough to give a good picture.  He did say that the branch typically is made up of the best of the best examiners so quality of examination and proceedings is very high. Chad Shear of Fish & Richardson pointed out that the time…

  • BIO IPCC Meeting Starts Off With Some Advice From Circuit Judge Michel

    Stephen Albainy-Jenei
    26 Oct 2009 | 7:12 pm
    BIO’s Intellectual Property Counsel Committee is holding its Fall Conference and Committee Meeting got off to a great start today.  The meeting started off with an IP Counsels Committee Business Retreat – a day-long meeting where we members could discuss cutting-edge IP issues affecting the biotech industry. During this time we develop policies and positions for BIO’s Board of Directors to review. The Business meeting was chaired by Thomas Kelley, Patent Counsel with Monsanto Co. The IP Amicus Subcommittee got a chance to meet with Chief Judge Paul Michel for advice on how to…

  • Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Amended Bill Banning Pay-For-Delay Settlements

    Stephen Albainy-Jenei
    23 Oct 2009 | 1:36 pm
    The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass a compromise version of the bill by members Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) banning pay-for-delay settlements that keep generic drugs off the market. The “Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act (S.396 RS)” is an attempt to reduce the anti-consumer practice of brand-name drug manufacturers using pay-off agreements to keep cheaper generic equivalents off the market by making the practice illegal. Under these pay-off agreements, brand name drug companies settle patent disputes by paying the generic drug manufacturer…
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    Patent Docs

  • Bilski CLE Options

    Patent Docs
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:54 pm
    On Monday, November 9, 2009, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in In re Bilski, and two CLE providers plan to offer same day or next day coverage of the proceedings. Practising Law Institute (PLI) will be offering same day coverage on its Patent Practice Center blog. Gene Quinn, the editor of the Patent Practice Center blog and founder of IPWatchdog, Inc., and John White, the Director of PLI Patent Professional Development and a patent attorney with Berenato, White & Stavish, LLC, will be filing reports throughout the day. PLI will also offer an audio briefing entitled: "Bilski…

  • CLE on Avoiding Inequitable Conduct Claims

    Patent Docs
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:48 pm
    Managing IP and Lexis Nexis will be offering a free web seminar entitled: "Avoid Patent Unenforceability Claims Due to Inequitable Conduct" on November 12, 2009 from 12:00-1:30 PM (EST). J. Timothy Meigs of BD Technologies, Lawrence Sung of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, and Jeffrey Lindeman of Nixon Peabody LLP will provide tips for conducting the business and legal affairs associated with research and development to minimize the risks that an inequitable conduct defense will be lodged in litigation. The panelists will also address the following topics: • The present standards for the findings of…

  • Follow-on Biologics News Briefs - No. 9

    Patent Docs
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:59 pm
    By Donald Zuhn -- Patient Groups Back Senate and House Committee FOB Legislation In September, twenty-seven patients' groups sent a letter to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), expressing their "strong support for the inclusion of a regulatory pathway for biosimilars in the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009." The groups urged Congress "to identify the appropriate balance between access, patient safety, and the need for continued innovation," and noted that they "were heartened to see…

  • Biotech/Pharma Docket

    Patent Docs
    4 Nov 2009 | 9:31 pm
    By Suresh Pillai -- Mayo Seeks Supreme Court Review in Prometheus Labs Case Following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's ruling that Prometheus Laboratories' method patents were valid under In re Bilski, the Mayo Clinic has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling. The patents-in-suit, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,355,623 and 6,680,302, claim methods for calibrating dosages of drugs used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The Mayo Clinic had originally used tests obtained from Prometheus, but Mayo, having designed its own test internally and intending to sell this…

  • House Health Care Bill Includes Biosimilar Licensure Pathway

    Patent Docs
    3 Nov 2009 | 9:59 pm
    By Donald Zuhn -- Last Thursday, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) introduced the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) in the House of Representatives. The 1,990-page bill, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ), George Miller (D-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Pete Stark (D-CA), and Henry Waxman (D-CA), includes a section (§ 2575) providing for the establishment of a licensure pathway for biosimilar biological products. With regard to the issue of interchangeability, the bill states that a biological product (i.e., follow-on biologic or biosimilar)…
 
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    Patent Law Blog (Patently-O)

  • Patent Prosecution Tips: Drafting Preambles

    Dennis Crouch
    6 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pm
    In a recent posting on Patently-O, I asked for advice on whether it is a better practice to use a generic preamble (e.g., "A method comprising") versus a more detailed preamble (e.g., "A method for content selection of digital media stored in a memory…., the method comprising"). Ron Slusky has provided his suggestions in this guest post. Ron's two-day seminar based on his book Invention Analysis and Claiming: A Patent Lawyer's Guide is being offered in Philadelphia on November 16-17. By Ron Slusky Any extra word in a claim "can and will be used against you…

  • Patently-O Bits and Bytes

    Dennis Crouch
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am
    Pirates: The EU Parliament now has two members from the Swedish Pirate Party. The Pirates platform is based on weakening copyright laws and eliminating patents. The first line of the party website reads: "The Pirate Party wants to fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens' rights to privacy are respected." [LINK] Billion Dollar Trade Secret Trial: The top semiconductor manufacturer in Taiwan (TSMC) sued the top mainland China semiconductor manufacturer (SMIC) for stealing its trade secrets (in state court in California). The jury…

  • Abandoning software patents?

    Dennis Crouch
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:16 am
    Editorial by Ciarán O'Riordan, Exective Director of End Software PatentsScope On Monday, November 9th, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Bilski's business method patent. Being the first review of patentable subject matter since 1981, this decision could make the rules for decades to come. The court will review the 2008 ruling of the CAFC which created the "particular machine or transformation" test. This test, depending on who's reading it, could significantly narrow the scope for patenting software ideas. The Supreme Court isn't obliged to rule on the…

  • Trademark Cancellation: Presumption of Validity includes Presumption of Acquired Distinctiveness for Marks Registered under Section 2(f)

    Dennis Crouch
    5 Nov 2009 | 11:31 am
    Cold War Museum v. Cold War Air Museum (Fed. Cir. 2009) In 2004, the appellant registered the service mark THE COLD WAR MUSEUM under Section 2(f) after providing evidence that the mark had acquired distinctiveness through "substantially exclusive and continuous use in commerce for at least the previous five years." Three years later, the Air Museum filed a cancellation proceeding. In that proceeding, the TTAB cancelled the mark based on its finding that the mark was merely descriptive of the service being provided. On appeal, the Federal Circuit reversed TTAB and instead held that…

  • Federal Circuit: When are Subsidiaries Covered in a License Agreement?

    Dennis Crouch
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:12 am
    Imation v. Koninklijke Philips Electronics (Fed. Cir. 2009) At its heart, this case is simply one of contract interpretation. Philips and Imation (via 3M) had originally cross-licensed a set of patents relating to CD and DVD technology. The agreement expired in 2000, although the licenses themselves were irrevocable and continued. After 2000 several subsidiaries were formed (GDM and Memorex), and Philips argued that those companies activities were not licensed because the companies were formed after expiration of the agreement. On appeal, the Federal Circuit held that the later-formed…
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    Peter Zura's 271 Patent Blog

  • Which Patent Office Does It Best? Survey Says: "The EPO"

    Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog
    4 Nov 2009 | 2:53 pm
    Joff Wild at the IAM Blog reported on an on-going benchmarking survey being conducted by IAM magazine and Thomson Reuters on various patent-related topics.  Recently they asked questions to various professionals regarding patent quality at the larger patent offices.IN-HOUSE SURVEY RESULTS:Examination Quality is "Excellent" or Very Good"EPO - 70%USPTO - 56%JPO - 54%KIPO (Korea) - 25%SIPO (China) - 18%Overall, Patent Quality Has Improved/Stayed the Same/Gotten WorseEPO:  improved = 26%, stayed the same = 71%, got worse = 3%USPTO: improved = 23%, stayed the same = 61%, got…

  • BPAI Gives Green Light to Nixing "Black Box" Software Patents Under 35 USC 112

    Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog
    3 Nov 2009 | 8:58 pm
    Ex Parte Rodriguez, Appeal 2008-000693, October 1, 2009 (Precedential Opinion)The application was directed to a computer-based system and method for configuring and verifying a "structurally variable and complex system."  Exemplary claim 1 reads as follows:1. An apparatus comprising: a system configuration generator configured to generate a random system configuration file of a structurally variable and complex system; a system builder configured to (i) build a system level netlist and (ii) generate system parameters in response to said random system configuration file; and a simulation…

  • Patent Officials: "Worst Is Yet To Come"

    Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog
    28 Oct 2009 | 11:49 am
    From today's EurActiv.com:Gerard Torres of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) said an analysis of patent filings at his organisation suggests there is usually a lag of about one year between a recession and its effect on patent filings. "The current recession is typical in this manner, as monthly patent filings did not begin to display weakness until late 2008, early 2009. This may mean the worst is yet to come in terms of the decline in patent filings. Total patent filings are expected to be down by about 1% to 2%," he said. The EPO acknowledged that a similar picture is…

  • USPTO Looks to Reduce "Stress" of Data Delivery, Seeks High-Volume Dissemination for Future

    Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog
    27 Oct 2009 | 10:02 am
    Currently, the USPTO is looking to unload about 2 petabytes (i.e., 2000 terabytes) of patent-related data sets to an outside vendor in an effort to segregate public data from the examiner systems, and to make "virtually all public information from the USPTO accessible on the Internet. " Importantly, the PTO wants to make this information free of charge to the public, including current pay-for-service data products (e.g., XML Grants). Also, this change appears to be part of a longer-term "data dissemination solution" for allowing high-volume dissemination.These data sets include:•…

  • Study Concludes U.S. Would Benefit From EPO-Style Opposition

    Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog
    26 Oct 2009 | 10:11 am
    Professors Stuart J.H. Graham and Dietmar Harhoff published a paper recently that analyzed the potential effects of a post-grant review procedure (opposition) in the U.S. One particularly interesting aspect of their paper is the comparison of litigated U.S. patents versus their EU counterparts. The paper found that:• EPO opposition rates of the twins of U.S. litigated patents are about 3 times higher than for non-litigated patents (20% versus 6%). Not surprisingly, EPO applications relating to litigated patents are broader in scope, have more claims, contain more references to earlier…
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    The Invent Blog

  • Podcast recommendation: Grammar Girl

    nipper
    3 Nov 2009 | 7:09 am
    As science majors, patent attorneys/agents aren’t typically thought of as being masters of the English language, particularly with respect to using correct grammar.  Solution:  start taking short grammar lessons by listening to the Grammar Girl podcast (subtitled “Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing”).  Plus, it is highly entertaining. A couple of episodes my readers would find interesting: Comprise vs. Compose.  An excellent explanation of the term “comprise” and its “proper” meaning according to the grammar police, and how the phrase…

  • Google Wave Tips and Tricks

    nipper
    22 Oct 2009 | 7:15 pm
    A group of my local (Boise) geek friends have been using Google Wave to share Google Wave tips and tricks with one another was we each kick Wave’s tires.  Here are some of the most useful tips/tricks that have come out of that ongoing conversation: 1.   The “Files” button in the lower right doesn’t work unless someone has already uploaded a file.  The “Files” button is not used to upload files (yes, very illogical).  To upload a file, you need to click on the paperclip icon.  Note:  you can’t see the paperclip icon until after you start a new…

  • Patenting Schrödinger’s cat

    nipper
    21 Oct 2009 | 8:02 pm
    Not quite Schrödinger’s cat, but close.  I won’t spoil it for you…see the 12:01 Tuesday patent blog post Be All You Can’t Be: Army Patent Ambushed by Friendly Fire for the story. Related posts:Patenting Legal Methods Interesting… Attached for your consideration is The Patent Office Meets...

  • To Staple, or Not to Staple?

    nipper
    21 Oct 2009 | 2:53 pm
    Nom nom nom nom My office is slowing going paperless, doing a number of things including scanning all paper files to PDF when we close them. One little insight that those of you whom are not yet paperless should consider:   staples. To scan a file to PDF, all papers in it must first be unstapled.  The kicker is that the task of unstapling the file takes almost as much labor as scanning the file.  Believe it, or not. Thus, even if you know you are years (or decades) from going paperless, it makes sense to institute an “Everyone Should Use Less Staples” policy.   Before you…

  • USPTO considering opening access to public patent/trademark data?

    nipper
    12 Oct 2009 | 9:01 pm
    According to the notice: Due to overwhelming interest from the patent and trademark community, the USPTO has scheduled a second public meeting to be held Monday, October 19th from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Pacific time at the San Francisco Public Library located at 100 Larkin Street (at Grove), San Francisco, CA 94102-4733 in the Latino/Hispanic Community Room B. As with the first public meeting, the purpose is to address questions about the Request for Information (RFI). The full details of the Data Dissemination RFI, along with registration information and information from the first…
 
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    Patent Prospector

  • One Upmanship

    6 Nov 2009 | 3:59 pm
    Inventors and small companies, flush with money burning a hole in their pockets, regularly file an excess of crappy patent applications. Belatedly recognizing this inviolable fact, the patent office now promises to shoot you in the head faster if you'll shoot yourself in the foot first. Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos has announced the agency intends to launch a pilot program that will give small entity inventors having two or more patent applications currently pending greater control over the priority in which their applications…

  • License Crossed

    3 Nov 2009 | 2:05 pm
    Philips and 3M inked a patent cross license in 1995. The next year, 3M spun off Imation. The agreement, which granted license to subsidiaries, continued. In 2003, Imation formed a joint venture that created GDM. In 2006, Imation acquired Memorex. In 2007, Imation filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a finding that GDM and Memorex are licensed subsidiaries under the agreement. The district court ruled against Imation, and so Imation appealed. Imation v. Koninklijke Phillips et al (CAFC 2009-1208, 1209) precedential This is a basic contract dispute, governed by state law. In this case,…

  • Blow Job

    6 Oct 2009 | 1:42 am
    GE blew Mitsubishi into the ITC for infringing wind turbine patents 5,083,039; 6,921,985; and 7,321,221. Mitsubishi was initially found in violation for '039 and '985. Then the political breeze blew in. ITC's Office of Unfair Import Investigations (OUII), assigned to represent the public interest, disagreed with the initial finding. The OUII petitioned the full commission to blow the matter away. Now two Senators are breaking wind over it. Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore, with vested interests in wind power, are urging an airing out by the ITC. A Mitsubishi wind turbine…

  • Claim Aneurism

    3 Oct 2009 | 12:10 am
    Edwards Lifesciences sued Cook over four patents claiming intraluminal grafts to treat aneurisms. The claimed invention was construed to require a "malleable wire," which the accused products lacked, having instead "self-expanding wires." Hence non-infringement. In summary judgment. Affirmed on appeal because the specification narrowly disclosed the claimed invention, which the prosecution history corroborated. Edwards Lifesciences v. Cook and W.L. Gore & Associates (CAFC 2009-1006) precedential The asserted patents, all sharing a common specification: 6,582,458;…

  • The One That Got Away

    1 Oct 2009 | 10:13 pm
    Leland Stanford Junior University and Cetus researched HIV in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Written "agreements provided Cetus with licenses to technology that Stanford created as a result of access to Cetus's materials." In December 1991, Roche bought the part of Cetus's business involved in that research [the PCR division], and started making HIV detection kits. Stanford filed the parent to the patents at issue in May 1992. In 2005, after getting multiple patents in the family, Stanford sued Roche for infringement. Roche's winning counter-punch was that Stanford lacked standing.
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    Patent, Copyright and Trademark Blog

  • Indiana Jonesing

    6 Nov 2009 | 7:22 am
    Dear Rich: I am a filmmaker and am preparing to make a corporate promotional film for a well known life insurance company in which the chairman will be depicted as a fedora wearing, dusty leather jacket clad character, potentially with a whip, who will recover a stone artifact from a temple of some kind. After recovering the stone he will use its power to do little more than clear the skies and raise some smiles. He may walk over a rope-bridge or use a foxline to reach the other side of a gauge, there is also a chance he may escape in a plane ... but he will be freshly shaven, and will not…

  • How Much Public Domain Can You Eat?

    5 Nov 2009 | 9:51 am
    Dear Rich: I am creating a computer program that requires a lot of line art. I found a series of books ('Scan This Book', 'Scan This Book Two', and, of course, 'Scan This Book Three') that display excellent public domain line art. The legalese at the beginning of the book states that all of the art is copyright free, but that the selection and layout is copyrighted. My program has nothing to do with distributing clip art, and I do not need to use the layouts used in the books. If I were to use most of the art from these books, would I be infringing on the author's/publisher's copyright? Would…

  • Can You Copyright A Blog?

    4 Nov 2009 | 7:43 am
    Dear Rich: Can one copyright one's blog? I'm guessing yes. How does one go about it? Does each daily blog entry need to be registered? Or does one simply forego formal registration and note Copyright (c) at the bottom of each blog? Sorry, we're a little preoccupied filming raccoons outside our office window. (And one reason we posted our raccoon movie is because of this article.) As for your question, hard as it is for some people to believe, you have a copyright once you create the entry. That's right; it's automatic. If someone steals your entry, you can pursue it with a…

  • Revoking Email Posts

    3 Nov 2009 | 1:08 pm
    Dear Rich: I allowed someone to publish one of my e-mails. The other person asked permission to publish it. He said he wouldn't change the words. I simply said "yes, but make it anonymous". He published the email in segments and responded to each segment. Later he stopped protecting the anonymity of it. I've asked him to remove my email but he claims that because I gave him permission, he has full right to keep it on his website. When you give permission to someone to publish your copyrighted work (your email), you're granting a license. We're assuming that the license was made by…

  • Mickey D Does Espresso Pronto

    2 Nov 2009 | 10:32 am
    Dear Rich: I have a coffee business and called it 'espresso pronto.' I failed to get a trademark for it. But I did get a domain name associated with it (the dot com version). A couple of years ago McDonald's decided to get into coffee and chose my business name and got a trademark for it. I changed my business name but kept the domain name. Now I have received a letter from McDonalds stating that not only do they want me to stop promoting my domain but they want ownership of it. Can they do this? Frankly, as much as we'd hate to get involved in a dispute with the folks who invented the "Happy…
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    Patent News and Information

  • RSS Management

    6 Nov 2009 | 7:47 pm
    Sponsored Links: Custom Bluegrass Banjos Static Electricity Control The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Green Interior Design

  • RSS Management

    6 Nov 2009 | 7:47 pm
    Sponsored Links: Custom Wedding Rings Engagement Rings Motel Reservations H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine

  • Aruba, Motorola resolve patent dispute

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:57 am
    Aruba Networks, Motorola resolve patent dispute Aruba Networks Inc will pay Motorola Inc $19.8 million to settle two-year-long patent disputes CALIFORNIA, USA: Wireless LAN vendor Aruba Networks Inc said it will pay Motorola Inc $19.8 million to settle two-year-long patent disputes.

  • U.S. top court to hear business method patent case

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:27 am
    Software, biotech firms and others who develop new ways to do business will be watching closely on Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court hears a case that could determine if such innovations can win patent protection.

  • SMARTRAC and OTI sign asset and long term supply agreement

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:32 am
    Provider of RFID transponders SMARTRAC N.V and On Track Innovations Ltd , a provider of contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions, today announced that the companies have signed binding agreements under which SMARTRAC will acquire the assets of OTI's subsidiary, Millennium Card's Technology Ltd , along with the machinery and inlay ...
 
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    Securing Innovation

  • China Intellectual Property Business

    5 Nov 2009 | 10:48 am
    As always, I'm looking forward to my next trip to Asia, where this time I'll be getting together with other speakers at the first IP transaction focused conference in China. Marshall Phelps, Corporate VP for IP Policy and Strategy at Microsoft,  Joff Wild, Editor of IAM Magazine, and Duncan Bucknell, CEO, IP Strategist, Lawyer & Patent Attorney, coincidentally our featured guest blogger here on IP.com's corporate blog, Securing Innovation, are among the global IP leaders speaking at this conference. China Intellectual Property Business 2009 ("CIPB 2009") is organized by…

  • Tweet of the Week @Pogue

    31 Oct 2009 | 1:42 am
    Thanks to David Pogue, New York Times technology columnist and CNBC tech dude, for tweeting this week about German innovation in automobile manufacturing. And linking from his Twitter stream @Pogue to this very interesting YouTube video giving us a good look inside Volkswagen's "transparent factory" in Dresden, Germany.

  • Happy 40th Birthday, Internet

    28 Oct 2009 | 10:01 pm
    Internet pioneer and UCLA computer science professor Leonard Kleinrock discusses the process of connecting the first host computer to the fledgling Internet, then known as the ARPANET, in September 1969, and sending the first host-to-host message a month later on October 29, 1969. UCLA became the first node of the ARPANET on Sept. 2, 1969, when 35-year-old Leonard Kleinrock led a group of computer scientists in establishing the first network connection between two machines on campus. Two months later, on Oct. 29, Kleinrock and his team, working out of a small space in the engineering school's…

  • Driving Innovation at Cisco

    28 Oct 2009 | 10:11 am
    "Innovation, really, is the magic that makes imagination become reality," says Padmasree Warrior, Chief Technology Officer at Cisco Systems, speaking at Google. As CTO, Padmasree Warrior helps define Ciscos technological strategy and helps drive innovation across the company, working closely with the senior executive team and board of directors. As an evangelist for what's possible, she pushes the organization to stretch beyond its current capabilities not just in technology, but also in its strategic partnerships and new business models.   She says, "The debate is not…

  • We Live In Exponential Times

    26 Oct 2009 | 11:04 pm
    Did you know? We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist, using technologies that haven't been invented, in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet.   So what does it all mean? Share your thoughts in the comments below.  
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    Latest Patents

  • Apple patent applications published on 05 November 2009

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:15 am
    15 US patent applications published on 05 November 2009 and assigned to Apple 1 20090276719 USER INTERFACE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ONLINE INTERACTIVE GIFT REGISTRY 2 20090276560 Copyback Optimization for Memory System 3 20090276547 System and method for simplified data transfer 4 20090276439 System and method for simplified data transfer 5 20090276069 Echo Avoidance in Audio Time Stretching 6 20090275243 MECHANISM FOR CONSTRAINING THE MOVEMENT OF AN AUDIO JACK 7 20090274953 BATTERY ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE 8 20090274393 Automatic image cropping 9 20090273912 INTERLOCKING EMI…

  • Canon patent applications published on 05 November 2009

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:14 am
    55 US patent applications published on 05 November 2009 and assigned to Canon 1 20090276822 VIDEO DELIVERY APPARATUS AND METHOD 2 20090276731 IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, IMAGE SENSING APPARATUS, AND RECORDING MEDIUM 3 20090276727 IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS, IMAGE DISPLAY METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM 4 20090276699 DOCUMENT PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF 5 20090276693 DOCUMENT PROCESSING APPARATUS AND DOCUMENT PROCESSING METHOD 6 20090276650 INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS 7…

  • Fujitsu patent applications published on 05 November 2009

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:13 am
    51 US patent applications published on 05 November 2009 and assigned to Fujitsu 1 20090276831 Method for logging in to computer information processing apparatus and computer-readable information recording medium 2 20090276830 Facilitating Protection Of A Maintenance Entity Group 3 20090276796 DISK CLAMP AND DISK DEVICE 4 20090276779 JOB MANAGEMENT APPARATUS 5 20090276745 DUMMY METAL INSERTION PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS 6 20090276741 VERIFICATION SUPPORT APPARATUS, VERIFICATION SUPPORT METHOD, AND COMPUTER PRODUCT 7 20090276740 VERIFICATION SUPPORTING APPARATUS, VERIFICATION SUPPORTING…

  • Google patent applications published on 05 November 2009

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:12 am
    4 US patent applications published on 05 November 2009 and assigned to Google 1 20090276518 TECHNIQUE FOR REGULATING LINK TRAFFIC 2 20090276435 Variably Controlling Access to Content 3 20090276429 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING THE RANKING OF NEWS ARTICLES 4 20090276408 Systems And Methods For Generating A User Interface

  • Hewlett-Packard patent applications published on 05 November 2009

    Administrator
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:11 am
    No US patent applications published on 05 November 2009 and assigned to Hewlett-Packard
 
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