Gene Quinn & Angel Krippner

Laser Pegs®, maker of the toy industry’s first lighted toy construction set, recently announced it is suing Lite Brix for unfair competition and willful patent and trade dress infringement.The filed complaint suggests that at a toy fair in 2011, Capriola was approached by Larry Rosen of Larose Industries LLC with an interest in investing in Laser Pegs. After a few arranged meetings to discuss the possible substantial investment, Rosen broke off ties with Capriola. He was later found to have secretly created and marketed Lite Brix.

The month of January started off quite busy, which in all likelihood was as the result of deals and announcements either held over or that simply couldn’t get done in the run up to closing out the year. There was a noticeable lull in news and announcements. This month some of the highlights included (1) an exclusive option to license drugs targeting Parkinson’s disease; (2) potential patent problems on the horizon for Facebook; (3) additional settlements in the Forest Laboratory’s BYSTOLIC® patent litigation; (4) the inevitable news from Acacia Research; plus more.

Every year we all gather around and celebrate the new year. So that got us to thinking — what patents are there for devices that any self respecting raucous reveler ought to have on New Years Eve? As you might imagine, we found a few that seem appropriate to the occasion, proving that patented innovations are not only fun but they are everywhere! Here is hoping that your night is safe and magical! Happy new year! See you in 2013!

Without doubt, the biggest patent deal of the month related to Kodak’s sale of its non-core patent portfolio to Intellectual Ventures, RPX and others for $525 million. But there were other interesting patent business deals, including: (1) Microsoft and EINS Sign Android Patent Agreement; (2) NIH Awards Contract for Improved Anthrax Vaccine; (3) ARRIS To Acquire Motorola Home Business For $2.35 Billion; (4) Mylan Announces Comtan® Settlement Agreement; (5) Trovagene Licenses Duke University, Novartis; (6) Amgen Finalizes Agreement Resolving Federal Investigations; (7) GE Healthcare, CDI Agree to Sublicense for Cellular Assay Patents; and more.

Christmas is just around the corner and many are already done with their Christmas shopping. There are folks who are not, and we confess to be among those who still have one or more things to pick up for one or more people. But there is no need to panic! You can still get gifts via Amazon.com in time for Christmas, so it can’t really be the last minute, can it? For those looking for those last minute, hard to find gifts for the geek in your life — perhaps a beloved patent attorney or maybe an engineer, scientist or inventor — here are a few can’t miss gifts for your consideration. As of the time of publication all are still available to be received before Christmas.

On November 28, 2012, Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) and Forest Laboratories Holdings, Ltd. (collectively,“Forest”) announced that they entered into settlement agreements with Alkem Laboratories, Ltd. (“Alkem”), Indchemie Health Specialties Pvt. Ltd. (“Indchemie”), and Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Torrent Pharma Inc. (collectively, “Torrent”) in patent infringement litigation brought by Forest in response to abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) filed by Alkem, Indchemie and Torrent each seeking approval to market generic versions of Forest’s BYSTOLIC® (nebivolol) tablets.