Process for Deboning a Turkey
US Patent No. 6,572,467 [ PDF ] [ HTML ]
Issued June 3, 2003 

Being in a festive mood on turkey day I thought I would profile this patent, which covers a process for deboning a turkey.  Happy Thanksgiving!

On Monday, November 24, 2008, CA announced the immediate availability of its CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2009. Each element of the suite, which includes a personal firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and anti-phishing software has been enhanced to provide even stronger protection against a wide-range of emerging online threats. This latest edition of CA Internet Security also includes at no additional charge an Internet protection plan with coverage up to $10,000 in identity theft coverage and coverage against damage to the customer’s PCs caused by a computer virus. The available identity theft coverage safeguards data on 1 PC with Mobile Lifeline software, which includes complimentary identity theft protection worth up to $5,000 if the customer’s identity is compromised. Further, if a PC fails as a result of a virus infection after CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2009 is properly installed, the customer is eligible to receive up to $5,000 in technical service and/or hardware repair or replacement; this plan covers up to 5 PCs with a combined aggregate limit of $5,000.

On Monday, November 24, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission filed a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court (see also Appendix Vol 1 and Appendix Vol 2) seeking review of the April 22, 2008 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Rambus Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, which turned out to be a victory for Rambus due to the fact that the DC Circuit did not find any support in the record to support the FTC’s determinations that Rambus engaged in unfair and deceptive activities while participating in a standard-setting organization without disclosing its relevant patents.  The FTC had petitioned to seek a rehearing of the case by the entire DC Court of Appeals rather than just letting the panel decision stand, but this rehearing request was denied, thereby necessitating this appeal to the Supreme Court.

Something is seriously wrong at the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to believe anything other than that there is ongoing unequal treatment of inventors who file patent applications. In the United States everyone is supposed to enjoy the same rights and privileges, and this concept manifests itself in the ideal that everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the laws. As the United States Supreme Court has explained, the Fourteenth Amendment requires that all persons subjected to legislation shall be treated alike, under like circumstances and conditions, both in the privileges conferred and in the liabilities imposed. When those who appear similarly situated are nevertheless treated differently, the Equal Protection Clause requires at least a rational reason for the difference, to assure that all persons subject to legislation or regulation are indeed being treated alike, under like circumstances and conditions. When it appears that an individual is being singled out by the government, the specter of arbitrary classification is fairly raised, and the Equal Protection Clause requires a rational basis for the difference in treatment. I see a lot of unequal treatment of patent applicants, and I see absolutely no rational basis for the difference, so I must conclude that the Patent Office is violating the law.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that RPX Corp will take on patent trolls. The trouble is that what RPX wants to do is raise money to acquire patents for defensive purposes. This is hardly something new, and it not something that those in the industry will tell you is calculated to succeed. You see, there just isn’t enough money to buy up all the relevant patents that patent trolls could get their hands on to use to sue. On top of that, with so many defensive portfolios popping up all over the place, and so many patent trolls bidding to acquire good patents, what is happening is the purchase price of acquiring those patents that are most likely to be used is going up, which means that more and more money needs to be dedicated to this losing effort. Not a wise strategy at all.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office has just released the 2008 Performance and Accountability Report, which is the annual report explaining the activities of the Office during fiscal year 2008.  While so much of the report is a self congratulating look back at what the Dudas Administration believes it effectively achieved over the past year, the report should be anything but self congratulating given the dire situation that the US Patent System faces moving forward.  As of the end of Fiscal Year 2008 there are 1,208,076 patent applications still pending at the Patent Office.  At the end of Fiscal Year 1997 the number of pending applications left over was only 275,295, so over the last 11 years there has been a  439% increase in the number of pending applications left over that could not be resolved.  That is alarming.  Each year since 1997 this number has gone up, first going over the 1 million mark in 2006.  As patent applications continue to pile up the US patent system is plunging further and further into irrelevance, and that is not a good thing for our economy or for the future of innovation.  Something needs to be done immediately to reverse this trend.

Increasingly on the Internet invention advertising is taking an odd and seemingly inexplicable turn toward advising independent inventors to not seek patent protection, which is undeniably bad advice that will undoubtedly cause much disappointment and heart break for those who actually follow it.  But why is it that you are starting to see more and more advertisements that say it is unnecessary to get a patent and you should simply forego that step? 

Arcutis Pharmaceuticals, a privately held specialty pharmaceutical organization focusing in medical dermatology, announced yesterday that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the new drug application (NDA) of Acanya Gel (clindamycin phosphate 1.2% and benzoyl peroxide 2.5%) for the once-daily treatment of acne vulgaris in patients 12 years and older. Evaluated in clinical studies enrolling over 3,200 subjects with moderate to severe acne, Acanya Gel is the only FDA-approved fixed combination antibiotic and benzoyl peroxide medication for once daily treatment of both non-inflammatory and inflammatory lesions of acne.

Statistics issued by the US Patent Office suggests that reexamination is the most successful way to challenge bad patents.  For example, ex partes reexamination is granted 92% of the time, with all claims being canceled in 10% of cases and at least some claims being changed in 64% of cases.  So for ex parte reexamination 9.2% of requests result in all claims being canceled and 59% of the time certificates issue with at least some claims being changed.  Even more astounding are the inter partes reexamination statistics.  Inter partes reexamination is granted 95% of the time, with all claims being canceled in 78% of cases and at least some claims being changes in 15% of cases.  This means that for inter partes reexamination 74% of requests result in all claims being canceled and 14% of the time certificates issue with at least some claims being changed.  This is staggering because if you can eliminate all claims then the patent is worthless, but even if you can only change claims you have effectively prevented retrospective infringement of changed claims because the claim that is changed can only be enforced moving forward from the point of change.  Thus, quality reexamination representation is far better than paying a bounty for the collection of prior art references.

Aftermarket.com, a division of Thought Convergence, Inc. has announced the release of 100 noteworthy domain names to be featured in a simultaneous live and online auction. The auction will take place in Australia at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Down Under, beginning Nov. 20, 2008 at 8:30 AM Australian time (Nov. 19, 2008, 2:30 PM PST).

UPDATED JANUARY 7, 2009

Originally this page had a post containing discussion of a patent infringement lawsuit between American Science & Engineering, Inc. and AutoClear, LLC.  The facts used in this original post were take from a press release issued by AutoClear, LLC through Business Wire.  It has come to my attention that the press release issued by AutoClear was completely false.  In fact, United States District Judge Raymond Jackson issued an Order on December 16, 2008, explaining that AutoClear “issued the objectionable press release intentionally and in bad faith.  Furthermore, even if the misstatements were unintentional, the Court finds that the issuance of a patently misleading press release on a nationally available, widely-read internet site is completely irresponsible.”  AutoClear has been sanctioned for this fraudulent press release and Ordered to take remedial action to rectify the situation to the extent possible.  For more information please see my explanation posted on January 7, 2009 at Fraudulent Patent Press Release Leads to Sanctions.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), a diversified energy company with 2.1 million electric and 1.7 million natural gas customers located throughout New Jersey (NYSE:PEG) and Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P., headquartered in Los Angeles, today announced the settlement of patent litigation between the parties. As part of the settlement, PSEG has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum for a nonexclusive license under a comprehensive portfolio of patents that Katz owns relating to interactive voice applications.  The nonexclusive license covers services offered by Public Service Enterprise Group in the “Energy and Utility Services” Field of Use, including customer service provided via automated systems and live agents. Other terms of the license were not disclosed.

Have you seen the latest Mac VS PC Commercials yet? If you haven’t, you can go to YouTube or watch them directly on the Apple website. In the last few weeks Apple has created several new campaign ads that mock Microsoft’s choice to spend in excess of $300 million (rumored to be up to $500 Million) on an advertising campaign for its Vista operating system rather than to spend that money to fix the issues that PC users have faced with the program.  This type of comparative advertising is legal, and you see it all the time.  A trademark is a limited right and while a trademark is undoubtedly a significant business asset, it is important to remember that simply obtaining a trademark does not entitle the trademark owner to take the trademarked word or phrase out of the world’s vocabulary. Particularly in the United States where we hold the First Amendment above reproach by any laws, there are many legitimate and legal uses of a trademark, and the right to engage in comparative advertising is among one of those legitimate uses.

If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to patent law that is both approachable, understandable, easy to read and thorough you have really only one option and that it this book, An Introduction to Patent Law, by Professor Janice Mueller of the University of Pittsburgh College of Law.

I have taught Patent Law myself for years, and I always recommend this book to students.  It is not written as a treatise, but rather is written as a self contained guide to patent law that can be used as an exceptional study aide for law students, or as a desk reference for inventors.  While there are other books out there that are less expensive, the price you pay for this book is well worth the investment.  This book covers a wide range of topics, including patent claims, the patentability requirements (i.e., utlity, patentable subject matter, novelty, nonobviousness and the description requirement), patent damages, patent remedies, patent litigation theories and defenses, and international patent issues.

Jennifer L. Fessler, an associate at the intellectual property law frim Grossman Tucker Perreault & Pfleger, PLLC, was recently successful in obtaining a trademark for a client for a Second Life® (SL) avatar.  The US Trademark Registration 77110299, which received approval on November 11, 2008, relates to the Aimee Weber avatar that has become identifable with the virtual world content services provided by Alyssa LaRoche.  Also granted on the same day was US Trademark Registration 77110295, which covers a logo incorporating the Aimee Weber name.

Second Life is an Internet-based, 3-D community within which members interact, converse and transact business through a virtual representation or persona of the user known as an “avatar.” Alyssa LaRoche, uses her Aimee Weber avatar as a trademark to represent quality, custom-built structures and items within Second Life.

As many of you undoubtedly already know, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided two weeks ago that software should be patentable if and only if it is tied to a machine.  The case, In re Bilski, asked the Federal Circuit to determine if a purely mental business method was patentable, but the Court decided to write a decision that brought into question the future of software patents.  There is no justification for the Federal Circuit doing this, and in fact most of the Court’s opinion is not actually the law moving forward because all the did was pontificate about a matter not necessary to reach a resolution, so if district court judges do what they are supposed to do legally they will simply ignore the Federal Circuit’s determination that software can only be patented if it is tied to a machine.  Hopefully that is exactly what will happen, but I have my doubts.

Kidz-Med Inc., a subsidiary of American Scientific Resources, Inc., a supplier of the Thermofocus 5-in-1 thermometer, along with Tecnimed SRL, the manufacturer of the Thermofocus, are each denying allegations that the non-contact thermometer has infringed US patents owned by Exergen Corp.  The complaint filed by Exergen Corporation on August 15, 2008, in the United States Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts, identifies the following five US patents as being infringed: US Patent No. 5,012,813, US Patent No. 6,056,435, US Patent No. 6,299,347, US Patent No. 6,499,877 and US Patent No. 7,314,309.  The law firm representing Exergen is Fish & Richardson, PC and the lead attorney is Heidi E. Harvey.

Packaging diaper with deceptive size
United States Patent 7,243,477
Issued July 17, 2007

So you think you have an idea regarding what this patent is by looking at the picture? I can guarantee that this picture provides absolutely no clues whatsoever. This patent covers a method of disguisedly packaging a diaper! See, I told you that you could not possibly have any idea based on the image above, which actually was the primary image printed on the first page of the patent.

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Seriescomes to a close Dale Earnhardt Jr. finds himself in 10th place and has no chance to win the Cup.  While he has had another solid year this year, finishing in the top 5 in 10 races and in the top 10 in 16 races, his fans are likely a bit disappointed and already rooting for greater success in 2009.  One might also think that his sponsor, Amp Energy, may be disappointed as well, but signing with Dale has been so monumentally beneficial Amp has nothing to say but positive things.  In fact, the great success Amp Energy drinks has had since signing on with Dale is a testament to his popularity and tremendous fan appeal, and is a wonderful demonstration of what good branding decisions can do for a company. 

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) the largest AIDS organization in the US and operator of the popular and award winning fundraising “Out of the Closet” thrift store chain in California and Florida, has reached agreement to resolve the issue of trademark infringement with the operator of a private, for-profit Alaska consignment shop of the same name that was cited by Republican Vice Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin during the presidential campaign as her favorite store. The Alaska consignment store, and the trademark infringement issue, came to national attention following revelations that the Republican National Committee (RNC) spent money on a campaign wardrobe and other clothing for Governor Palin and her family. That news drew widespread and highly critical media coverage that prompted Palin during interviews to proclaim she is really thrifty and in fact prefers to shop at the “Out of the Closet” consignment store in Alaska.