Posts Tagged: "Authors"

I’m sure some patent litigators will blanch at what I’m suggesting about telling the “story” behind the invention in a patent application because of all the supposed “admissions” that will be made. But most patent litigators haven’t had to endure the frustration we patent prosecutors experience when try to get a “silk purse patent” based on a “sow’s ear description” because there’s no “story” told in the patent application about why the invention is patentable. Also, drafting a “litigation-proof” patent application (if one exists) is meaningless if you can’t get that patent application allowed because the “story” told doesn’t sell the patentability of the invention.

Normally, I find Judge Rader, the heir apparent for Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit, to write cogently and persuasively, even in dissent. Witness his withering blast in In re Bilski where he rightly takes the majority to task for the nonsensical “machine or transformation” test. But unfortunately, like the line from Hamlet, Judge Rader “doth protest too much, methinks” without case law support in his dissent in Media Technologies.

“Patrick Walsh” was a little too broad; I limited it to “Patrick Walsh patent,” to see if anything of interest popped up more specific to my career as a professional patent searcher. What I found was this gem of early 1900’s journalism from the New York Times: Dated May 14th, 1909. If you were so unlucky as to fall victim to the former Walsh Bros. & Company, you were only down $4, Even by 1909 standards, $4 isn’t not the end of the world.

The day starts out quiet enough. I wake up and scoop my contacts out of the Clear Care® contact lens solution they’re swimming in. Blinking rapidly to settle my contacts, I focus on some tiny numbers printed on the contact solution box. Patent numbers. I’ve been using the solution for years and wonder how old the patents must be. I do a quick Google search and discover that the patents have expired. Strange that expired patents would be printed on the box… My 3 year old interrupts my thoughts as she walks up to me still rubbing her eyes, complaining that her Goodnite’s® Sleep Shorts are soggy. Knowing that absorbent products containing hydrogels with ability to swell against pressure don’t change themselves, I quickly get her some dry pants. Doing so, I check the box and sure enough, more expired patent numbers.

Only one court (District of Minnesota) seemed to give much consideration to the argument that plaintiff would be unduly prejudiced by defendant’s continuing allegedly infringing activity during the stay. One court acknowledged that a party may be prejudiced by the delay of the stay if it can be shown that the ability to gather evidence would be compromised by the stay.

the patented technology involved screen recognition and terminal emulation processes to download a screen of information from a remote mainframe computer onto a local personal computer (PC). Basically, the patented technology facilitated the ability of the PC to operate like earlier “dumb terminals” in recognizing information sent by a mainframe connected to the PC. The alleged infringing terminal emulator program called “NewLook” was developed in Australia (by Looksoftware Proprietary Limited) but was sold by Lansa, Inc. (Lansa) in the U.S.

Patent litigation often turns on obscure and long-buried facts, and some private investigative firms are developing expertise that can help patent counsel – on both the defendant and plaintiff sides – find information to support and even shape litigation strategy. Below are five examples of common problems that patent counsel often face in contemplating, bringing or defending lawsuits, and how…

In May 5, 2009, Sam Keller, a former quarterback at Arizona State and Nebraska University, filed a complaint against Electronic Arts (EA Sports), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) for using his likeness. Keller is bringing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all NCAA athletes for the “blatant and unlawful use” of student-athlete likenesses…

Did you know that while a total of 4,849 ex parte and inter partes patent reexamination requests were filed from 1999 to 2009, only 55 are reexaminations of patents associated with FDA approved products and listed in the FDA’s Orange Book? This is just one of the most surprising and interesting facts that emerged from our first of its kind…

Some may recall my “dissertation” on the case of Amgen Inc. v. F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. See CAFC: A Divisional By Any Other Name Is Not a Divisional .  In Amgen, the Federal Circuit made it clear that you had better characterize an application as a “divisional” if you wanted the benefit of the “safe harbor” provided by 35 U.S.C…

Back in 2007, a default judgment was entered in a Nevada district court against the well known Internet gambling website Bodog.com for infringement of U.S. Patent 5,564,001. (1st Technology LLV. v. Rational Entertainment LTDA., Rational Poker School Limited, Bodog Entertainment GroupS.A., Bodog.com, and Futurebet Systems Ltd.) As Internet gambling is illegal in the U.S. the folks at Bodog chose not…

On January 20, 2010, the Patent Office is hosting a 3-hour “roundtable” to discuss the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding Rules of Practice Before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. USPTO published this ANPRM on December 22, 2009.  The roundtable will be held at the USPTO’s Madison Auditorium located at 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, Virginia. The public event is a major…

EDITORIAL NOTE: What follows is a portion of a longer essay by Ron Katznelson, which contains more information including statistical data on the work of the U.S. Patent Office. It is published first here as an article with the permission of Dr. Katznelson. When asked what wishes pertaining to patents I have for the New Year, I began thinking about…

The difference between a successful and unsuccessful season for an NFL Football Team often times hinges upon the outcome of a single game. In some cases, a single play of a game can doom a team’s season or even a coaching/playing career. Due to the heightened importance of games in the NFL, indeed, the importance of every play, instant replay…

Congress convened in a rare session last Sunday. On that sleepy news day, the U.S. Senate passed an appropriations bill leaving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office funding for 2010 essentially the same as 2009. President Obama should send this bill back. The USPTO is solely funded through fees. But Congress controls the purse strings. The USPTO has fewer examiners…