Posts Tagged: "CES"

There can be little doubt that the current conversation surrounding voice assistant technology begins and ends with Alexa, the personal assistant technology developed by Amazon.com. This AI platform has been baked into the growing suite of consumer electronics developed by Amazon, including Amazon’s Echo device. Near the end of November, news came out reporting that more than five million Echo units had sold within two years and Alexa’s voice interaction and app execution capabilities are a major reason for the Echo’s success.

One product in each category receives a Best of Innovation award as the most innovative product in its category. Today, we’ll take a stroll through some of the consumer tech products which have been recognized as the Best of Innovation at CES 2017.

Protecting intellectual property today is more challenging than ever, and the stakes are high. An open and rapid-fire exchange of information has become the norm in our digital age. Add the global nature of the market and persistent technological advancements, and it should come as no surprise that imitators stand ready to capitalize on the latest breakthroughs. As their low-cost, low-quality products flood a market, not only do they claim valuable market share, but they have potential to erode the credibility of an entire category and its leaders. Any company that produces a product must consider the prospect of knockoffs, and the potential impact imitations will have on market share and brand perceptions. Obtaining IP protection directed at mitigating knockoffs can be highly beneficial, particularly for start-ups that may have limited resources and brand awareness.

There were no topics ruled out of bounds for this 30 minute interview, not even the Supreme Court’s recent decision to accept cert. in Cuozzo, although as an attorney myself I know better than to ask questions that would have certainly provoked a polite “no comment” response in the face of ongoing litigation. Nevertheless, our conversation was wide ranging. We discussed the release of the Copyright White paper, which among other things recommends expanding eligibility for statutory damages in copyright infringement actions. We also discussed Lee’s recent visit to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the power outage that brought down USPTO electronic filing systems, the Office’s patent quality initiative, the new patent classification system, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and more.

Future Motion launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the earliest prototypes of the OneWheel on January 6th, 2014. Within 24 hours, the project had already collected 40 percent of the funds it needed for the next phase of development. Within three days, it had secured 85 percent of its funding request and it only took a total of four days to reach the $100,000 pledge goal that Future Motion had initially set out to achieve. All told, Future Motion received a total in excess of $630,000 within 25 days and was able to meet stretch goals for LED lighting systems and mobile app development.

This year’s edition of the consumer trade show featured many companies which had placed a firm focus on the development of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies. Modern-day virtual reality technologies can perhaps be traced back to American computer scientist Ivan Sutherland who created the world’s earliest stereoscopic headset, the Sword of Damocles, in the late 1960s. With the long-awaited Oculus Rift virtual reality headset about to hit consumer markets in 2016, this year’s CES became a large opportunity for rival firms to stake their claim before the consumer market for virtual reality technologies begins to mature.

While we tend to think of Las Vegas’ tourism-based economy as built on gambling, trade shows also bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city each year. Thus, the issue of effective enforcement of the patent laws at these trade shows becomes entwined with the health of the city’s economy. Against this backdrop, the Las Vegas bench of the U.S. District Court for Nevada has developed a muscular set of equitable remedies for U.S. patent holders who complain to the court of patent infringement by a trade show exhibitor, remedies that the court can and does deploy with sufficient speed to be effective within the narrow timeframe of a trade show.

The first ever CES Asia took place between May 25th and 27th in Shanghai, China. The inaugural industry event showcased the many different technologies that will be entering China’s consumer market in the coming months and years. The three-day exposition was the first Chinese technology trade show coordinated with the Consumer Electronics Association since 2012. More than 200 companies came from 15 countries to display emerging consumer technologies from knockoff versions of Google Glass to home cinema technologies. The forecasts for the Chinese consumer market for emerging technologies would give any technology developer reason to believe that nothing but fair weather awaits them in that country.

There were 900 exhibitors at the 2015 CES who introduced products and services in the Internet of Things sector; by 2020, the market for this industry alone is expected to rise to $7.1 trillion. Just about every conceivable consumer product was featured with IoT circuitry, from home appliances to bicycle pedals to tennis rackets. There were even light bulbs developed by Sengled which double as Bluetooth speakers and WiFi repeaters. Corporate alliances within the Internet of Things sector have been growing in recent months. The Work With Nest developer program created by Google for its Nest home product connectivity platform announced an additional 15 partners in its program. Samsung has also been building up its SmartThings platform and Apple, which hasn’t presented at CES in more than two decades, has its HomeKit platform for which some CES exhibitors touted product compatibility.

January is typically a very busy time of the year for automobile manufacturers. Car makers from all over the world have put together concept designs featuring the latest in automotive technology that is designed to steer the future of vehicles all over the world. Usually this takes place at the North American International Auto Show which happens in Detroit during…

Expert technology analysts have forecasted that, by the year 2050, there will be a total of 50 billion devices operating worldwide which are connected to the Internet. According to this article published by LATimes.com, that equals about 5 devices for every human being that will be living at that time. The “Internet of Things” is a topic that has taken the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show by storm. There are many firms that exhibited smart appliance options that either provide some form of Internet control or data analysis to owners. By connecting data sensors, objects and electronic devices, consumer electronic manufacturers are hoping to market the idea that consumers can live even easier lives through Internet cloud services.