Posts Tagged: "patent"

This week in IPWatchdog’s Companies We Follow, our series returns to focus once again on Samsung and its recent appearances at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. As has often been the case recently, many of the more intriguing patents and patent applications from Samsung deal with electronic device development. One patent document protects a better system of constructing biochips to monitor drug trials. An application filed by Samsung describes a devised method of allowing mobile phones to give off fragrance in response to user interaction. Upgrades to electro-wetting displays, which use water and oil to affect light displays, are featured in a second patent application.

Flying under the AMP v. Myriad radar recently was Federal Circuit’s Organic Seed Growers v. Monsanto. In Organic Seed Growers, the Federal Circuit denied declaratory relief to a band of more than 60 farmers, seed vendors, and agricultural organizations from California to Florida (and even Canada) seeking to invalidate 23 of Monsanto’s patents relating to various technologies for genetically modified seeds. The band of agriculturists grows, uses, or sells conventional seeds that do not incorporate Monsanto’s technologies. Many have organic certifications, and generally eschew transgenic seeds and glyphosate-based herbicides such as Monsanto’s Roundup® herbicide.

A variety of electronic cigarettes have hit the market in recent months, and lately it seems that I am seeing a lot of electronic cigarette commercials on TV. Last week ICAP Patent Brokerage announced that it would be selling a patent portfolio of heatless and smokeless cigarette technology that exclusively advances electronic cigarette science. The patent portfolio includes U.S. Patent No. 6,769,436 and related patents that are still pending. According to ICAP, the ‘436 patent has already been challenged in court and prevailed as valid. And if you look at the claims in the patent you can’t help but notice that they seem exceptionally broad.

Last Tuesday evening Chief Judge Rader was on a panel with U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh of the United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of California. Law.com reports that Jude Koh took a shot at Chief Judge Rader’s NY Times op-ed article, calling it “a little bit unfair.” Koh took issue with the articles suggestion that District Court Judges have the ability to shift fees in frivolous patent cases. According to Law.com, Judge Koh went on to explain that attorneys fees can only be awarded in “exceptional cases,” which she explained was “a really high bar.” Her final dig at the Chief was saying: “We can’t cite a New York Times editorial as authority.”

One patent application we look at in this column features a system of increasing wireless data transmission security by sending data signals through a user’s body. An issued patent protects AT&T’s rights regarding a system of matching an unknown person’s face to a known contact on an electronic device. We also feature another patent application about a protective covering for a device that extends the functionality of that device’s touchscreen. We’ve also picked a few other intriguing patent applications that fall outside of AT&T’s typical development focus. One patent application would protect a newly devised system of augmenting TV broadcasts with links to additional media content. Another application describes a sensor for detecting airborne respiratory triggers at hospitals.

After years of debate and controversy, the US Supreme Court ruled that drugmakers can face lawsuits over so-called pay-to-delay patent settlements, but that such deals should not necessarily be assumed to be illegal. The decision largely vindicates the position held by the Federal Trade Commission, which argued the deals are anti-competitive because generic drugmakers are given incentive to file lawsuits against brand-name rivals and then settle for a quick profit, rather than challenge a patent in court. The FTC calculated the reverse settlments, as some call them, cost consumers $3.5 billion annually.

We know that Trolls for example have a methodology and they send out cease and desist letters in waves, right, and they collect all they can until they have to start filing suit. By the way the defendants we should be praising, the defendants in any Troll lawsuit means they told the Troll to take a jump so they’re already a hero, right, but we know that these Trolls work in waves with these cease and desist letters and most people who get these cease and desist letters figure they’ll just keep quiet. The problem with that is they’re giving up key advantages like forum choice so they can all talk with each other without talk — speaking publically you might be able to figure out how to pull funds and go have one company step forward or find the best DJ Jurisdiction and have that company step forward and bate the Troll into giving him another correspondence to trigger DJ Jurisdiction, right? That’s one way where you might really start to push back on these 8 Symmetries, but there’s no way, there’s no forum, there’s no secret forum for the recipients of these letters to even speak with each other.

A number of interesting patent applications deal with Google’s efforts to improve online mapping applications. One such application would protect a system of downloading map tiles for offline routing. An issued patent assigned to Google protects a system of depicting multi-level buildings three-dimensionally so that browsers can view flooring plans. Other USPTO activity showcases Google’s focus on creating better media systems for mobile devices. One patent application would protect a system of synchronizing magazine content on apps for better layout among different devices. Another patent application allows users to selectively view images to conserve data usage. Finally, we look at a patent application filed to protect a system of ranking news articles based on the source publication’s quality.

As a major developer of electronics, Sony Corporation often files patent applications and is awarded patents from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. This week at IPWatchdog’s series Companies We Follow, we take a closer look at some interesting patent documents assigned to Sony which the USPTO has released this month.

A few of the patent applications we profile here offer better methods of providing professional software services to electronic device users. One patent application improves the ability for amateur videographers to render 3D graphics while editing video. Another application would protect a new system of user camera settings that analyzes prior photos to determine user preferences for lighting and more.

Other applications we feature here would protect some very interesting improvements to electronic devices. For example, one application we look at would protect a remote control that can also help a user interact with their home’s telephone system. One final patent application we feature makes it easier for smart phone users to take pictures without their hands getting in the way of the display screen. We also look at one patent that allows users to build personal libraries of DRM-protected digital content that are accessible across multiple devices.

Rachael Lamkin is a patent litigator who recently became Associate General Counsel at Blue Ocean Enterprises, Inc. I have known Rachael virtually for several years, communicating with her both via e-mail and via Twitter

Prominent officials in the World Health Organization and Saudi government point at surprising villains allegedly standing in the way of international efforts to combat the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-COV):· The doctor who first recognized the deadly new disease; and
· The medical center which quickly identified the virus.

Widely divergent views have formed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Association of Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., No. 12-398, slip. op. (U.S. Jun. 13, 2013). Some commentators have reacted with dire predictions for the biotech industry, suggesting that the Court’s holding has unduly narrowed patent protection traditionally granted to DNA technology and has disincentivized researchers in the field, particularly those from small start-ups. Other commentators suggest that the Supreme Court’s decision in Myriad will actually benefit genetic research, particularly researchers at the start-up level. The authors of this post tend to agree with this latter view.

Considered by many as the most comprehensive revision to the United States patent system in over 50 years, the America Invents Act (“AIA”) represents progressive legislative reform intended to align U.S. patent policy with global precepts, i.e., systems which reward the “first-to-file” a patent application. Many AIA provisions modify or completely change the former first-to-invent (“pre-AIA”) U.S. patent system, with the most immediate and conspicuous AIA component?the establishment of a filing-based regime as of March 16, 2013?serving as the hallmark and mark of U.S. patent reform.

Nonetheless, having only enjoyed 3-months of the AIA in its entirety, it is still too early to appreciate the de facto impact of this nascent legislation. The AIA has nevertheless ushered in transitional strictures that have uniquely placed research institutions in an ostensible patent?policy “reformation” with respect to technology evaluation and knowledge translation. While the pervasive nature of this new patent regime imparts an array of university-based concerns, the following Top 5 considerations are intended to reengage university professionals and employees with patent reform concepts and concerns during the initial “aftermath” of the AIA.

As a multinational corporation, Siemens AG is a frequent applicant at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. This week’s Companies We Follow series takes a look at Siemens’ recent applications and patent awards in the fields of consumer and medical electronics. One application we feature involves a safer system of extinguishing fires within a machine dryer. Another application describes a home heat pump that would conserve thermal energy from appliance wastewater. Siemens’ medical subsidiary, Siemens Medical Solutions, has also been awarded a USPTO patent to protect a system of fixing misalignments in angiograms.

Other documents we look at feature improvements to electrical systems. Another application improves smart metering systems that have resulted in improper appliance functioning for dishwashers and washing machines. Lastly, we look at a Siemens patent that improves systems of protecting wind turbine components from lightning strikes.

In TiVo v. Echostar, Echostar lost on infringement of TiVo’s patented DVR functionality. Judge Folsom issued an injunction and ordered that Echostar stop offering the service and disable all storage to and playback from the hard disk. Unfortunately for Echostar, they did not appeal the wording of the injunction and took no action against the disablement provision. Instead they designed around it by downloading new code to get the set-top box to operate in a different way, in what appeared to be a pretty clean design-around. TiVo filed a contempt motion. Echostar was sanctioned on the grounds that there were not “colorable differences” and their design-around infringed. The dissent argued that not only were there colorable differences but moreover the differences established non-infringement. After two years of back-and-forth and one too many trips to Judge Folsom, the original 70 million that Echostar had to pay for the initial infringement rose to 300 million because of Echostar doing what they thought would get them out of infringing.