Posts in Technology & Innovation

It seems undeniable that Alice missed many opportunities to score easy points. Indirect arguments were made by Alice that didn’t seem very persuasive. Indeed, if one is to predict the outcome of the case based on oral arguments alone it did not go well for Alice today. Only three things give Alice supporters hope after this oral argument as far as I can tell. First, the government seems to be asking the Supreme Court to overrule precedent in Bilski that is not even four years old, which simply isn’t going to happen. Second, the egregious overreach and outright misleading nature of the CLS Bank argument should raise a legitimate question or two in the mind of the Justices. Third, the reality simply is that at least the systems claims recite numerous specific, tangible elements such that it should be impossible to in any intellectually honest way find those claims to cover an abstract idea.

BEAR: ”When the Constitution was written, there was no concept of software. Nor was there computer hardware. We had physical, you know, very physical mechanical inventions. And computers have come around and software has come around, and the interpretation of these statutes has had to shift with the technology. And as unimaginable as it may seem to us here in 2014, there’s something in our future as unimaginable as software was when the Constitution was written. Inventions in that future domain need to not be shut down because of the way we rule today on §101. So the request for not having a real hard line – a bright line – is important. It protects the possibility of fostering future inventions in domains we can’t even imagine.”

Samsung has received dozens of patents for truly unique technologies, such as one patent protecting better walking and balancing controls for two-legged humanoid robots. Other patents recently issued to Samsung protect methods of identifying the likely presence of unknown viruses in e-mails, better systems of personal data and content broadcasting from mobile devices and a solar cell energy collection technology for use with handheld electronic devices… describes a system of linking applications on a single electronic device. By linking applications, a user can more easily switch between programs without using a multi-window view, which limits usable space on a touchscreen. Better methods of providing flash storage memory for smartphone devices and reader methods for adding multimedia effects of their choosing to an eBook are reflected in other patent applications we discovered.

The featured patent application describes smarter methods of building playlists for digital content, like songs. This system can dynamically update playlists based on a user’s changing taste or if another user with a compatible device walks into the room. We also picked up on a few other patent applications featuring revolutionary technologies, including one microphone headset component that enables voice processing by sending data signals through an owner’s bones and body tissues. Issued patents make up the true strength of any corporation’s intellectual property portfolio, so we wrap up today with a look at Apple’s recently issued patents. We have a trio of patents we’ve noticed that protect some useful software systems for digital media consumption, including one patent that protects a system of renting digital content for a finite amount of time. We also feature a couple of hardware patents, including one protective case with a hinged cover that can selectively cover an iPhone’s touchscreen and a new method of packaging devices so that potential customers can interact with them before buying one.

The government is funding basic research at universities, not drug development. Bayh-Dole allows schools to own resulting inventions and license them for commercialization. These discoveries are more like ideas than products. The expense and risk of development falls on the private sector. A study in Nature Biotechnology on drugs commercialized from federally-funded inventions finds: “the private sector spends 100-fold or more to bring the product to market than the PSRI (public-sector research institution) spends in research directly leading to the invention.” Here’s why: for every 10,000 compounds about 250 make it to preclinical testing, 5 go to clinical trials, and one enters the marketplace. Of these just 20% turn a profit– and they must pay for all those which died in the pipeline.

The featured patent application describes better security systems for smart batteries in use by a wide array of mobile electronic devices. The advanced circuitry of these batteries would allow for the same amount of compatibility among generic chargers while dissuading would-be copiers from cloning batteries. We also discuss some interesting innovations related to computerized key fobs for secure vehicle access and a couple of improvements to integrated circuit and semiconductor manufacturing. Our check-in with Texas Instruments’ recently issued patents continues where we left off with electronics manufacturing technologies. TI was recently awarded the right to protect a couple of new manufacturing system and hardware improvements, including a device that can provide better cleaning of semiconductor wafers without damaging electronic circuitry. We were also piqued by a newly patented system that allows classroom instructors to check the work of their students through their calculators.

IBM has been the top patenting company for more than 20 years. Therefore, any review of IBM patents can barely touch the surface of the innovative endeavors at this innovative giant. Nevertheless, we did find some interesting patents and applications to discuss, such as our featured patent application, which discloses a system for digitizing human physiological inputs in order to determine emotion. This computer analysis program could detect negative and positive behavioral evidence through facial expressions and voice inputs to determine a more exact emotional state for a user. We also profile some patent applications discussing better means of providing online content and communication services to users. Not every patent application filed by IBM reaches patented status, but the company files so many applications that it’s bound to enjoy a multitude of issued patents every week. Since March started, IBM has been awarded a number of interesting patents that caught our eyes here at IPWatchdog. Patents we discuss include a system for canceling sent e-mails, even after they’ve been opened, as well as methods for creating software programs through the World Wide Telecom Web. We also noticed a patent protecting a system that may be integral to a growing field: the interconnected web of home devices, also known as the “Internet of Things.”

What we found were plenty of interesting inventions regarding consumer Internet technologies that will interest plenty of our readers, so we’ve gathered some of the best patent applications and issued patents assigned to Yahoo! by the USPTO. We start our tour today with a look at a novel system of providing map information to a mobile device user. Using spatial metadata collected from a plurality of smart and “dumb” devices, users can access this system to pull contextual map information about individual buildings. We also discuss a couple of patent applications directed towards systems of collecting contact information for a user’s profile as well as a couple of systems for mood analysis. Communication technologies are protected in a number of Yahoo! patents that we decided to look at today. These include a messaging service that incorporates online gaming activity as well as a system of better prioritizing and organizing received digital messages. We were also impressed by a couple of issued patents that protect better image recognition and news authority ranking systems.

The halls of the USPTO are largely populated by Google’s recent innovations, as this corporation will regularly receive upwards of 50 patents or more each week…. The featured patent application for today highlights a novel system of using mobile devices to improve something millions of Americans do every day: order out for food. This Internet-based system of ordering enables more precise delivery, better estimation of arrival times as well as secure payments for food and other items. We also profile some patent applications pertaining to speech recognition technologies and online searches for flight itineraries. Google has one of the strongest patent portfolios among American technological firms, and we’ve uncovered a list of recently issued patents from the USPTO that improve the user experience for online and mobile technologies. We discuss three patents that protect new ways of interacting with a smartphone through novel gestures, including a system that can convert words from an image into digital text. We also look into a patent that protects new methods of ranking news stories online for the Google News reader.

Today, we’ve profiled an assortment of patent applications and issued patents coming out of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that are assigned to Citigroup Technology of New York, NY; The Bank of America Corporation of Charlotte, NC; and JPMorgan Chase Bank, also of New York, NY. We’ve checked out a few inventions that show the desire of banking corporations to stem the recent tide of major identity theft scandals. Our featured application today takes a look at a new design for a magnetic stripe card reader that would have impeded the progress of criminals who recently stole personal financial information from millions of Target customers. Other patent applications we noticed include a system for identifying phishing websites that steal customer information across the World Wide Web, as well as a personal budgeting manager for financial accounts. These three banking companies have also been receiving patents from the USPTO at a fair clip in recent days, although Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase are paced well ahead of Citigroup in this regard. We discuss a couple of new banking inventions that aim to take advantage of mobile networks and devices, including one patent protecting a system of providing offers to individuals from nearby businesses. Other patents include a system of collecting unused coinage for redistribution among banks and systems for funding an account collectively among many contributors.

The featured application describes a system of registering a fleet of electronic devices when purchased by an organizational administrator. These devices can be authorized for use by organizational members or employees, while also allowing members to connect their own personal electronic devices to the organization’s mobile network. We also discuss one patent application that would protect a system of determining temporary pickup locations for users who purchase material items through Amazon.com, as well as some Kindle device improvements. Our look at Amazon’s patented technologies focuses heavily on the shopping experience that online users encounter on their website, or their ability to view content in innovative ways. One patent protects a gaze-based technology for eBook scrolling on a reading device. Another couple of patents we feature protect innovative ways of providing consumer feedback for digital content, such as chapter reviews within an eBook or methods of soliciting feedback from users based on their catalog searches.

We start off by looking at a patent application that would protect a system that could improve energy efficiency overall for appliances within a home. This type of smart metering system would take into account environmental factors, like temperature, that could affect the functioning ability of an appliance. Also, we saw some inventions related to better gas pressure calibration for cooking ranges, as well as one patent application describing a dishwasher capable of producing ozone gas for increased sanitation. In our coverage of Whirlpool’s recent additions to its patent portfolio, we noticed a couple of intriguing technologies related to liquid soap dispensers for washing appliances, like dishwashers and laundry machines. An extendable guide for dispensing ice into cups is protected by another patent we discuss. We also take a look at an improved system of adjusting cycle operations in a laundry tumbling appliance in response to a change in load density.

First of all, congratulations! You made The Washington Post and they even spelled your name correctly. Unfortunately, AUTM was specifically called out in an article titled Patent Trolls Have a Surprising Ally: Universities… For a profession that keeps a low profile and goes out of its way not to antagonize people, you may wonder what in the world’s going on that you are gaining such notoriety. The answer is that you are in the sights of several groups who do not wish you well. Some want to weaken the patent system for their short term benefit, some believe society would be better off if inventions were freely available without patents; some don’t think it’s moral for universities to work with industry, and others believe they should determine who reaps the rewards of innovation. While operating on diverse belief systems, they all have one thing in common: they don’t like you.

These innovative technologies bring new economic opportunities. According to a recent GAO report, many experts in industry, government, and academia anticipate that nanotech innovations could match or exceed the economic and societal impacts of the digital revolution. The nanomedicine market, which has been estimated at about 20 percent to about 40 percent of the overall nanotechnology market, was valued at 78.54 billion USD in 2012 and is expected to grow to 117.60 billion USD by 2019… the U.S. maintains its dominance observed in previous years with about 54 percent of the nanotechnology patent literature published in 2013 being assigned to U.S.-based entities, followed by South Korea at 8.3 percent, Japan at 8.0 percent, and Germany at 5.8 percent.

We start today with a look at our featured patent application, which describes a method of constructing contact lenses with inversion markings. These markings will let a user know that a contact lens is improperly inverted before inserting one into an eye, avoiding unnecessary irritation. Other contact lens technologies, including a lens containing an electronic circuit for visual enhancement, are described in other patent applications that we noticed today. Johnson & Johnson has a fairly wide patent portfolio comprising many consumer products and professional devices for medical fields. This is evidenced by a few recently issued patents, one of which protects a system of analyzing patient health through fluorescent lighting applications. A soap bar with better cleansing properties, and a ophthalmologic solution container that prevents contamination, are protected by other patents that our readers may find interesting.