October 20th, 2008

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Patent News Watch

From First to File (www.firsttofile.com)
October 20th, 2008
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Headlines for the week: (Scroll down for articles) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Qualcomm: Nokia to pay $2.5 billion -Nike Sues Wal-Mart, Claiming Cushioned Shoe Design is Copied -District Court Affirms Patent Infringement Rulings And Finds That Amgen Is Entitled To A Permanent Injunction Against Roche -French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis loses patent lawsuit in S. Korea -Encyclopaedia Britannica loses patent case -Mobile jurors give $192 million to Idea Man -Fulbright's Litigation Trends Survey: U.S. Companies Prepare for Rise in Litigation - U.S. Release -Microsoft: We're all 'mixed source' companies -Latha Jishnu: Enter the patent troll -Obama's and McCain's Technology Policies Examined -Canola oil powers gasless race winners to Vegas -Microsoft Patents the Censoring of Speech ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Qualcomm: Nokia to pay $2.5 billion (AP) Wireless semiconductor company Qualcomm Inc. will get an upfront payment of $2.5 billion from Nokia Corp. in a settlement of a royalties dispute, a spokeswoman said Friday. Read More Nike Sues Wal-Mart, Claiming Cushioned Shoe Design is Copied (ABAJournal) Nike claims in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago that Wal-Mart is selling shoes that infringe on its patented design. The suit claims Wal-Mart's Detra shoes infringe on two patents related to its Shox brand cushioning system, the Wall Street Journal reports. Read More District Court Affirms Patent Infringement Rulings And Finds That Amgen Is Entitled To A Permanent Injunction Against Roche (MedicalNewsToday) Amgen announced today that the United States (U.S.) District Court in Boston issued its written decision upholding the prior jury verdict and court rulings regarding the infringement, validity and enforceability of 10 claims of four of Amgen's erythropoietin (EPO) patents. The Court also ruled that Amgen is entitled to a permanent injunction prohibiting Roche from selling its pegylated-erythropoietin (peg-EPO) product MIRCERA in the U.S. Previously, the Court entered a preliminary injunction preventing Roche from selling peg-EPO, and Roche has appealed that ruling. Read More French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis loses patent lawsuit in S. Korea (Trading Markets) French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA has lost a legal battle with a local company Boryung Pharmaceutical Co. over its treatment for colorectal cancer, the South Korean company said Monday. Read More Encyclopaedia Britannica loses patent case (Spero News) Alpine Electronics, manufacturers of high performance mobile electronics, including mobile navigational products, won a patent infringement case started by Encyclopaedia Brtannica. Read More Mobile jurors give $192 million to Idea Man (AL) A chemical expert who contended that he created a method of transforming certain hazardous industrial wastes into lucrative manufacturing ingredients - only to have his idea usurped - was awarded a $192 million jury verdict last Friday in Mobile, AL. Read More Fulbright's Litigation Trends Survey: U.S. Companies Prepare for Rise in Litigation - U.S. Release (Fulbright.com) More than one-third of corporate counsel expect pace of new filings to increase in coming year-43% of billion-dollar companies forecasting possible litigation uptick amid economic slowdown. Read More Microsoft: We're all 'mixed source' companies (CNet) In case you were wondering, Microsoft thinks the battle of open source vs. proprietary software is basically over. "Today, but increasingly in the future, we are all going to be 'mixed source'," Microsoft's top intellectual property lawyer said in a lunchtime interview on Thursday. To bolster his claim, Horacio Gutierrez notes Microsoft is releasing plenty of stuff as open source, while open-source companies like Red Hat often license commercial software alongside their open-source products. "I actually think the war between proprietary and open source is a thing of the past," he said. Read More Latha Jishnu: Enter the patent troll (Business-Standard) If you are familiar with Norse legends you would know what a troll is. Trolls are supernatural beings, a race of giants in Icelandic mythology or goblins in the Scandinavian tradition, who were mostly evil although they could be extremely generous to humans who helped them. Read More Obama's and McCain's Technology Policies Examined (ScienceDaily) As the 2008 presidential election enters its final month, researchers at the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication (ARNIC) have found some sharp differences - and surprising similarities - in the two major candidates' positions on technology policy. Read More Canola oil powers gasless race winners to Vegas (SFGate) Wayne Keith, a hay farmer from Springville, Ala. (population 3,000), pulled into Berkeley last week driving a lime-green pickup truck that runs mostly on wood chips but sometimes cow dung, too. Keith, who wore dirt-flecked overalls and a trucker's cap, was in town to compete in the first Escape from Berkeley race, a kind of mini Cannonball Run to Las Vegas for drivers of vehicles that run on anything but petroleum. Read More Microsoft Patents the Censoring of Speech (Slashdot) On Tuesday, the USPTO awarded Microsoft a patent for the Automatic Censorship of Audio Data for Broadcast, an invention that addresses 'producing censored speech that has been altered so that undesired words or phrases are either unintelligible or inaudible.' Read More ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go Green with our exclusive First to File® EFR™ system ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The First to File EFR™ electronic filing and storage system is our next generation product which is designed to reduce paper output in corporate patent departments. This system integrates seamlessly with outside docketing providers and document management systems using XML API technology. The First to File EFR system is an out of box solution with customized fields and user profiles to match your company's IP management workflow. First to File EFR™ also features the following: · Exclusive Tri-Fold™ interface · Effective patent workflow process management · Fully searchable text with InstantOCR™ · WebDAV drag-and-drop functionality · Centralized Reference Library with search and ranking · PAIR integration · LDAP administration · Managed user access · Effective group collaboration · Serversecure™ technology · Document level security access FTF Technologies specializes in finding cost-effective solutions to meet the needs of individual patent departments. To find out more information about First to File EFR™, please click Here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October 13th, 2008

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Patent News Watch

From First to File (www.firsttofile.com)
October 13th, 2008
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Headlines for the week: (Scroll down for articles) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Verizon loses patent suit against Cox -Intel shakes AMD's chip-fabbing baby -TiVo gets $104.6 million check from EchoStar judgement -Why sinking markets could mean real opportunities for patent acquirers and licensees -Patent Lawsuit Silly Season: TechCrunch Sued For Patent Infringement After Critical Blog Post -Former GC Reflects on Time Immersed in IP Battles -So, How (and When) Will You Get Your Patent Term Adjustment Corrected? -Infringement Found Because Defendant Did Not Affirmatively Plead Noninfringement -US Government Seeking IP Law Experts; Signs Work-Sharing Deals -Intuition + Money: An Aha Moment -My Brain, Your Brawn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Verizon loses patent suit against Cox (CNet) Verizon Communications suffered a major blow in its patent battles on Monday, when a federal court ruled that cable company Cox Communications had not infringed on its patents. The telecommunications giant has accused Cox of violating six of its patents related to Internet telephony. Read More Intel shakes AMD's chip-fabbing baby (The Register) AMD's plans to spin its debt-dependent chip manufacturing biz into a separate entity may free the chipmaker from a considerable financial burden, but old rivalries with Intel will assure things don't go down without a hitch. Read More TiVo gets $104.6 million check from EchoStar judgement (MercuryNews) Tivo got its $104,600,472 payment from Echostar, now known as Dish Network, over violation of a patent held by TiVo involving digital video recorders, according to a filing it made today with the SEC. Read More Why sinking markets could mean real opportunities for patent acquirers and licensees (iam) Although there may be some question marks over the future of IP-related financing given recent events, the outlook for those seeking to acquire good quality patents and other IP rights could be very bright. That may seem counter-intuitive as stock markets across the world continue to fall, but think about it for a moment. Read More Patent Lawsuit Silly Season: TechCrunch Sued For Patent Infringement After Critical Blog Post (Techdirt) There are different levels of ridiculousness when it comes to patent lawsuits, with the lowest of the low being patent lawsuits based more on spite than on any legitimate claim. For a while, it seemed like Ray Niro's use of the infamous JPG patent, to sue a bunch companies he just didn't like, was perhaps alone in that category. But, it appears that we now have a new entrant. Apparently, some company (who we won't even name, since there's a good chance it's doing this just to get press attention) sued a more well-known competitor for patent infringement, over a location-based services patent. Read More Former GC Reflects on Time Immersed in IP Battles (LAW) When tiny Immersion Corp. had finally beaten Sony in a long, ugly patent fight, the company's general counsel, Laura Peter, gave CEO Vic Viegas a white cowboy hat. She presented it to Viegas at a celebration at the CEO's peninsula home in the spring of 2007 after Sony said it would drop all appeals and pay the San Jose, Calif., company $150 million to end five years of take-no-prisoners litigation. Read More So, How (and When) Will You Get Your Patent Term Adjustment Corrected? (Patentbaristas) As we saw in the Wyeth v. Dudas case, the US District Court for the District of Columbia overturned the USPTO's interpretation of 35 USC § 154 (the statute that prescribes patent terms). Section 154 grants extensions of patent terms for certain kinds of PTO delay. However, Congress says you can't double-dip, i.e., to the extent that periods of delay overlap, the period of any adjustment granted under this subsection shall not exceed the actual number of days the issuance of the patent was delayed. Read More Infringement Found Because Defendant Did Not Affirmatively Plead Noninfringement (Chicagoiplitigation) Judge Brown granted defendants-counterplaintiffs Square One Parachute's ("SOP") motion for summary judgment that plaintiff-counterdefendant Para Gear ("Para") infringed SOP's design patent based solely upon Para's failure to plead noninfringement as an affirmative defense. Originally, Para filed this case seeking a declaratory judgment of noninfringement and SOP counterclaimed for infringement. But Para later voluntarily dismissed its claim with prejudice. Read More US Government Seeking IP Law Experts; Signs Work-Sharing Deals (IPWatch) Private patent law attorneys should answer a higher calling and serve in the United States government so that experienced, practiced experts may help steer the country's patent system toward a better future, the chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said this week. Read More Intuition + Money: An Aha Moment (NYTimes) IT started with a Harvard physicist acting on a hunch. It ended up producing a new material, called black silicon, that could have a broad impact on technologies ranging from ultrasensitive sensors to photovoltaic cells. Read More My Brain, Your Brawn (WSJ) Decades after his father sold bagels and bialys on New York's Lower East Side, Gary Schwartzberg was convinced he had a product that could reinvent his family business. With a partner, Mr. Schwartzberg had developed a tube-shaped bagel filled with cream cheese -- an all-in-one, portable breakfast for the on-the-go crowd. Read More ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go Green with our exclusive First to File® EFR™ system ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The First to File EFR™ electronic filing and storage system is our next generation product which is designed to reduce paper output in corporate patent departments. This system integrates seamlessly with outside docketing providers and document management systems using XML API technology. The First to File EFR system is an out of box solution with customized fields and user profiles to match your company's IP management workflow. First to File EFR™ also features the following: · Exclusive Tri-Fold™ interface · Effective patent workflow process management · Fully searchable text with InstantOCR™ · WebDAV drag-and-drop functionality · Centralized Reference Library with search and ranking · PAIR integration · LDAP administration · Managed user access · Effective group collaboration · Serversecure™ technology · Document level security access FTF Technologies specializes in finding cost-effective solutions to meet the needs of individual patent departments. To find out more information about First to File EFR™, please click Here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

October 6th, 2008

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Patent News Watch

From First to File (www.firsttofile.com)
October 6th, 2008
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Headlines for the week: (Scroll down for articles) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Court Awards Cordis $1.2 Bln. In Patent Litigation Against Medtronic, Boston Scientific -Will Johnson & Johnson Ever Get Its Money? -Omaha man loses patent lawsuit against Nike -Small Cleveland law firm awarded millions because courtroom rivals didn't play fair -Eastern Texas' IP 'Rocket Docket' Shows Signs of Slowing -Who Owns the Law? Arguments May Ensue -Patent trolls: Drain on innovation or defense of invention? -German Court Sees First Signs of European Patent Trolls -Has the Economic Mess Diluted Biotech's Hand -Want to be more productive? Sleep on it -How the Telescope Changed Our Minds -Niceville entrepreneur hopes golf game rings up sales ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Court Awards Cordis $1.2 Bln. In Patent Litigation Against Medtronic, Boston Scientific (RTTNews) Cordis Corp., a Johnson & Johnson company, announced Tuesday that the U.S. District Court in Delaware has awarded about $1.2 billion to the company in a patent infringement lawsuit against Medtronic Inc. Read More Will Johnson & Johnson Ever Get Its Money? (The Motley Fool) You'd think that a $1.2 billion award would make you happy. But the lawsuit that triggered it is just another fact of life for investors in pharma. Let's take a closer look at this particular example. Read More Omaha man loses patent lawsuit against Nike (Associated Press) An Omaha man has lost his patent infringement lawsuit against Nike Inc. Gerald Kellogg sued the Beaverton, Ore.-based athletic shoe and apparel company in 2007, claiming Nike had stolen his design for a vented cap. Kellogg sought between $2 million and $8 million. Read More Small Cleveland law firm awarded millions because courtroom rivals didn't play fair (Cleveland.com) Attorneys from an international law firm who supposedly misled and deceived jurors have been ordered to help pay $4.4 million in fees to the Cleveland lawyers who were their courtroom opponents in a patent trial. Read More Eastern Texas' IP 'Rocket Docket' Shows Signs of Slowing (Law.com) Patent lawsuit filings in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas -- long considered a national "rocket docket" for intellectual property litigation -- are ebbing after a steady increase during the past seven years. Read More Who Owns the Law? Arguments May Ensue (NYTimes) IN a time when scientists are trying to patent the very genetic code that creates life, it may not be too surprising to learn that a variety of organizations - from trade groups and legal publishers to the government itself - claim copyright to the basic code that governs our society. Read More Patent trolls: Drain on innovation or defense of invention? (MHT) Imagine you've developed an innovative product for a competitive market. One week after you launch the product, a lawyer contacts you. His client, a company you've you never heard of, claims a small but essential component of your product infringes a patent they own. Unless you settle for a licensing agreement, you'll find yourself in court in East Texas within a year. Read More German Court Sees First Signs of European Patent Trolls (Law.com) Could it be that the patent troll, once believed to survive only in the concrete jungles, high-tech valleys, and small Texas towns of North America, has extended its range to Europe? A case pending before a German court in Mannheim could signal its arrival. Read More Has the Economic Mess Diluted Biotech's Hand (TMC/BioWorld Today Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Three CEOs walk into a congressional hearing. One heads an investment bank, the other a automotive company and the third a pharmaceutical company. . . . OK, I've made up the opener. Someone, somewhere, must have a conclusion to this joke. It's begging to be told, if only so that frustrated citizens can blow off a little steam. Pharma execs have been in the hot seat for some time up on Capitol Hill, and whatever else they may be feeling about the financial turmoil currently gripping the nation, it must be mingled with a bit of relief that the nation's rage, as reflected through the lens of sanctimonious legislators, is turned elsewhere for the time being. Read More Want to be more productive? Sleep on it (SFGate) "Waste not life," wrote Benjamin Franklin, patron saint of American entrepreneurs. "In the grave will be sleeping enough." Centuries later, the attitude toward sleep in America - and in American business, in particular - has scarcely changed. Corporate culture reveres the e-mail sent at 3 a.m., the executive who rushes directly into a meeting from a red-eye flight. Bumper stickers offer an updated version of Franklin's dictum: "I'll sleep when I'm dead." Read More How the Telescope Changed Our Minds (Wired) Four hundred years after its invention, the telescope has become an essential scientific instrument, an icon of science. But it is more than just an extension of our senses - the telescope is an instrument of thought as well. Throughout its 400-year history, the telescope has changed our view of the universe and our view of ourselves. Read More Niceville entrepreneur hopes golf game rings up sales (NWFDailyNews) Sometimes inspiration for starting a business venture just shows up where you might least expect it. For Randy Herron, what he developed into a lawn game known as "Ring It! Golf" started with a visit to Greenville, N.C., eight years ago. Read More ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go Green with our exclusive First to File® EFR™ system ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The First to File EFR™ electronic filing and storage system is our next generation product which is designed to reduce paper output in corporate patent departments. This system integrates seamlessly with outside docketing providers and document management systems using XML API technology. The First to File EFR system is an out of box solution with customized fields and user profiles to match your company's IP management workflow. First to File EFR™ also features the following: · Exclusive Tri-Fold™ interface · Effective patent workflow process management · Fully searchable text with InstantOCR™ · WebDAV drag-and-drop functionality · Centralized Reference Library with search and ranking · PAIR integration · LDAP administration · Managed user access · Effective group collaboration · Serversecure™ technology · Document level security access FTF Technologies specializes in finding cost-effective solutions to meet the needs of individual patent departments. To find out more information about First to File EFR™, please click Here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 29th, 2008

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Patent News Watch

From First to File (www.firsttofile.com)
September 29th, 2008
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Headlines for the week: (Scroll down for articles) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Judge: Microsoft doesn't owe Alcatel-Lucent $1.5B -Judge to award J&J damages in stent suit -P&G again sues Kraft over plastic coffee containers -Chip Maker Rambus Wins Battles, but Faces Bigger War -Patent exhaustion does not create a cause of action; dismissal affirmed -IP bill passes Senate, no civil enforcement power for DoJ -Controversial patent buyer to start Indian operations in Oct -Google unveils its G1 cellphone, potential rival to Apple's iPhone -An Avatar's Bill of Rights -The Friday Flashback: Schwinn Quality, Made in Chicago -The Birthday Last Wednesday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Judge: Microsoft doesn't owe Alcatel-Lucent $1.5B (AP/Physorg) Microsoft Corp. does not have to pay $1.5 billion in damages to Alcatel-Lucent SA, a panel of federal appeals judges ruled Thursday, in what may be the last word on a long-running digital music patent lawsuit. Read More Judge to award J&J damages in stent suit (TwinCities) New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson moved a step closer to collecting several hundred million dollars from Fridley-based Medtronic and Boston Scientific in an 11-year-old dispute involving patents for heart stents. Read More P&G again sues Kraft over plastic coffee containers (Reuters) Procter & Gamble Co is again suing Kraft Foods Inc. claiming Kraft's new plastic Maxwell House coffee container infringes on patents Procter holds for its Folgers coffee brand. Read More Chip Maker Rambus Wins Battles, but Faces Bigger War (NYTimes) Craig Hampel has spent the last two years trying to design the next leap in memory chip technology, one that will allow computers to display more detailed graphics even faster. Now comes the hard part: persuading the world's memory chip manufacturers to pay for it. Read More Patent exhaustion does not create a cause of action; dismissal affirmed (filewrapper) In a decision last week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's decision dismissing a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The plaintiff brought suit when it believed the patent holder had fraudulently concealed a second licensee of the same patents. Read More IP bill passes Senate, no civil enforcement power for DoJ (Arstechnica_ The PRO-IP Act, which would ramp up enforcement of intellectual property laws and stiffen penalties for infringers, won approval by unanimous consent in the Senate Friday-but only after legislators stripped out a controversial provision that would have empowered the Department of Justice to litigate civil suits on behalf of content owners and hand over the winnings. Read More Controversial patent buyer to start Indian operations in Oct (WSJ) New Delhi: Individual inventors and research organizations here may find their patents turning liquid with the imminent entry of Intellectual Ventures Llc., a controversial company that owns an estimated 20,000 patents and is in the market for as many more as it can lay its hands on. Read More Google unveils its G1 cellphone, potential rival to Apple's iPhone (LATimes) Google Inc. on Tuesday showed off a cellphone that could provide the first real challenge to Apple Inc.'s iPhone: a mass-market device with a sharp touch screen and slide-out keyboard that brings the experience of mobile Web surfing closer to that of a personal computer. Read More An Avatar's Bill of Rights (LAW) The 3-D Internet, or "Web 3.0," is an amalgam of virtual reality, convention center, circus, college campus, nightclub, mall, playground and Main Street. Users are getting their first taste of Web 3.0 on virtual world sites like Second Life, which are typically "members only" proprietary sites accessed through the Internet. People are drawn to the interactive, immersing experience these sites offer, and by some estimates there are as many as 300 million active users. Read More The Friday Flashback: Schwinn Quality, Made in Chicago (CanyonNews) Ahhhh, the Schwinn Stingray. Our first real bicycle at 7 years of age was a Stingray in blue, with a five-speed gear shift on the top tube, banana seat, coaster brake, sissy bar and baseball cards fitted between the spokes. That Stingray sparked a lifelong love affair between the bicycle and us. Over the years we've saddled atop a seeming score of other Schwinns, including our current bike, a 2000 Mesa GS that's logged over 40,000 miles in eight years of riding. Read More The Birthday Last Wednesday Yes, the 17th of September was the 221st birthday of the Constitution, and I choose to talk about it through the three great contributions that Benjamin Franklin made to that document. Plus, of course, his summary comment on the steps of Independence Hall when the delegates were leaving for the last time, A woman approached Dr. Franklin and said, "What kind of government have you given us?" He replied, "A republic, if you can keep it." Read More ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go Green with our exclusive First to File® EFR™ system ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The First to File EFR™ electronic filing and storage system is our next generation product which is designed to reduce paper output in corporate patent departments. This system integrates seamlessly with outside docketing providers and document management systems using XML API technology. The First to File EFR system is an out of box solution with customized fields and user profiles to match your company's IP management workflow. First to File EFR™ also features the following: · Exclusive Tri-Fold™ interface · Effective patent workflow process management · Fully searchable text with InstantOCR™ · WebDAV drag-and-drop functionality · Centralized Reference Library with search and ranking · PAIR integration · LDAP administration · Managed user access · Effective group collaboration · Serversecure™ technology · Document level security access FTF Technologies specializes in finding cost-effective solutions to meet the needs of individual patent departments. To find out more information about First to File EFR™, please click Here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 22nd, 2008

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Patent News Watch

From First to File (www.firsttofile.com)
September 22nd, 2008
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Headlines for the week: (Scroll down for articles) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Broadcom patent claim against Qualcomm revived -ITC to look into patent claims over Nintendo's Wii -Samsung bid for SanDisk shows memory market woes -Intellectual Ventures Getting Antsy; Expect Lawsuits Soon -Invention Capitalism & the Law: Checking in on Nathan Myhrvold -Acacia tops troll litigation league -Want a Declaratory Judgment? Don't Stipulate to Infringement, Validity, and Enforceability of the Patent in Question -Patent examiner made two legal errors in stem cell patent decision, consumer advocates claim -University of Utah scientist sues firm over contribution to invention -Stephen Hawking unveils oddest clock ever -Lambert jumps into automotive "fad" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Broadcom patent claim against Qualcomm revived (AP/LATimes) A U.S. appeals court resurrects a claim against one type of chip involving transmitting of radio signals. It upholds a finding in Qualcomm's favor on a second patent and is reviewing a third. Read More ITC to look into patent claims over Nintendo's Wii (EETimes) The Washington based International Trade Commission will rule over a patent violation claim against games console maker Nintendo brought by a Rockland, Maryland based research company, Hillcrest Labs, which says the hugely successful Wii console violates its IP. Read More Samsung bid for SanDisk shows memory market woes (AP/RockyMountainNews) A $5.85 billion bid by Samsung Electronics Co. to take over SanDisk Corp., a wounded competitor that also serves as a partner, reflects the turbulence in the market for flash memory, a key ingredient in digital cameras, music players and other devices. Read More Intellectual Ventures Getting Antsy; Expect Lawsuits Soon (TechDirt) By this point, it should be rather clear what we think of Nathan Myhrvold's Intellectual Ventures project. It's perhaps the biggest threat to innovation around, as Myhrvold is collecting a ton of patents (now up to 20,000 apparently) and pressuring companies to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to get blanket licenses to avoid getting sued. Read More Invention Capitalism & the Law: Checking in on Nathan Myhrvold (WSJ) Nathan Myhrvold - who began college at age 14, and went on to earn a master's degree in mathematical economics and a PhD in theoretical and mathematical physics by age 23 - is perhaps the most mentioned Law Blog subject who doesn't own a law degree. Why? One word: patents. Read More Acacia tops troll litigation league (AIM) Acacia Technologies is the most litigious non-practising entity/troll (delete according to preference) in the United States. According to research done by PatentFreedom, which is featured in an article to be published in the next issue of IAM, Acacia has been involved in a total of 308 cases in the US courts, 239 of which have been filed since 2003. Read More Want a Declaratory Judgment? Don't Stipulate to Infringement, Validity, and Enforceability of the Patent in Question (Patentbaristas) In Janssen Pharma v. Apotex (08-1062), Apotex tried to get the federal circuit to grant a do-over of the dismissal of its declaratory judgment action for noninfringement against Janssen. Janssen holds an approved NDA for its drug Risperdal® Oral Solution for which the Orange Book listed U.S. Patent Nos. 4,804,663, 5,453,425 and 5,616,587. The '663 patent has been the subject of prior litigation where it was found to be infringed, valid, and enforceable. While Apotex was not a party to that trial, Apotex stipulated to infringement, validity, and enforceability of the '663 patent based on the Federal Circuit opinion. Read More Patent examiner made two legal errors in stem cell patent decision, consumer advocates claim (WTNNews) In a brief filed with the U.S. Patent Office's board of appeals and interferences, consumer watchdog groups have cited two legal errors allegedly made by a patent examiner in confirming a Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation patent on human embryonic stem cells. The groups that filed the briefs, Consumer Watchdog and the Public Patent Foundation, have asked that WARF's claims on patent 913 be rejected. Read More University of Utah scientist sues firm over contribution to invention (SLTrib) A University of Utah chemist has sued a Utah County firm, alleging that its devices - potentially lucrative hand-held units that field test for chemical agents - are based on patents he helped author. Read More Stephen Hawking unveils oddest clock ever A $1.8 million mechanical clock featuring a massive time-eating grasshopper made its debut at the University of Cambridge Friday, and famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking was on site to introduce the strange and provocative timepiece. Read More Lambert jumps into automotive "fad" (Timesbulletin) It was an exciting year. Nellie Bly completed her round-the-world journey in 72 days. The United States Census Bureau began using a tabulating machine that utilized punch cards to count census returns. Idaho and Wyoming were welcomed as states. Vincent van Gogh committed suicide and the Wounded Knee Massacre took place in South Dakota. A Brooklyn painter named Robert Gair became disgusted with the flimsy nature of the paper board boxes and invented the much stronger corrugated cardboard box. Read More ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go Green with our exclusive First to File® EFR™ system ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The First to File EFR™ electronic filing and storage system is our next generation product which is designed to reduce paper output in corporate patent departments. This system integrates seamlessly with outside docketing providers and document management systems using XML API technology. The First to File EFR system is an out of box solution with customized fields and user profiles to match your company's IP management workflow. First to File EFR™ also features the following: · Exclusive Tri-Fold™ interface · Effective patent workflow process management · Fully searchable text with InstantOCR™ · WebDAV drag-and-drop functionality · Centralized Reference Library with search and ranking · PAIR integration · LDAP administration · Managed user access · Effective group collaboration · Serversecure™ technology · Document level security access FTF Technologies specializes in finding cost-effective solutions to meet the needs of individual patent departments. To find out more information about First to File EFR™, please click Here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 8th, 2008

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Patent News Watch

From First to File (www.firsttofile.com)
September 8th, 2008
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Headlines for the week: (Scroll down for articles) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Kodak sues Sun over Java -Appeals Court Overturns $49M Patent Award Against TARGUSinfo -TiVo Shares Fall After No Decision In Dish Case -'Uphill battle' lies ahead in Crocs' patent claims -PATENTS; New patents study findings have been reported from University of Iowa -Can Protest Prevent Patents? -Chinese Scientists Build Big Pharma Back Home -Big Pharma Keen on Partnering With Academia -Some IP Attorneys Look to Make Their Mark as Patent-Holders -Apple admit Briton DID invent iPod, but he's still not getting any money -PENCILS: In high-tech world, what's the point? -Techman: Patent-minded woman an early musician, artist, techie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kodak sues Sun over Java (ComputerWorld) Eastman Kodak Co. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Sun Microsystems Inc. over its Java programming technology, Sun said late yesterday. The software and hardware maker offered no details of the lawsuit, and Eastman Kodak has yet to disclose its filing, which was made in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, according to a statement from Sun. Read More Appeals Court Overturns $49M Patent Award Against TARGUSinfo (MarketWatch) The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected on Aug. 29, 2008 the enhanced-damage award issued against TARGUSinfo and vacated the $49 million damages award against Targus Information Corporation (TARGUSinfo) in a patent suit over technology for routing calls to 800-numbers. Read More TiVo Shares Fall After No Decision In Dish Case (BN/MultichannelNews) TiVo shares plunged 16.5% Thursday after a federal judge did not issue a decision on the company's request to hold Dish Network in contempt of a court order related to TiVo's patent-infringement victory against the satellite operator. Read More 'Uphill battle' lies ahead in Crocs' patent claims Crocs has waged war on alleged knockoffs, filing patent-infringement complaints left and right. The company's tenacity is easy to understand. If Crocs fails, and competitors are able to sell similar shoes successfully and at lower prices, the loss of market share "could be devastating," according to Kevin O'Brien, a lawyer and professor at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. Read More PATENTS; New patents study findings have been reported from University of Iowa (LexisNexis/PharmaBusinessWeek) According to a study from the United States, "The patent doctrine of inequitable conduct dictates that any material information a patent applicant intentionally withholds from an examiner while obtaining a patent can render the applicants patent unenforceable. Yet, the standard for materiality under the doctrine of inequitable conduct has changed frequently over the past thirty years." Read More Can Protest Prevent Patents? (Pharmtech) Americans are focused on the election in November, but it bears mentioning that voting is not the only way to participate in democracy. Expressing your opinion about an issue to legislators and other public officials can be an effective way to get them to take your side. Read More Chinese Scientists Build Big Pharma Back Home (BusinessWeek) The cocktail chatter in a private room at Manhattan's Cornell Club turned to a hush as 40 pharmaceutical executives, investment bankers, and attorneys raised their wine glasses to Raymond Wu, who died on Feb. 10. The Cornell University geneticist helped pioneer drought-resistant rice. Read More Big Pharma Keen on Partnering With Academia (RedOrbit) Big pharmaceutical companies have shifted their focus towards partnering with academic institutions for scientific discoveries and other innovations, reported the Financial Times. According to the news source, drug majors are increasingly looking towards the academia to overcome limited late-stage pipelines and failures in drug development. Rise in generic competition for top-selling drugs and shortage in the drug development pipeline are said to be the prime reasons behind the sudden focus on the industry-academia partnership. Read More Some IP Attorneys Look to Make Their Mark as Patent-Holders (Law) Looking at a patent recently asserted against a client, Silicon Valley patent litigator Chris Graham had a moment of disbelief. The Dechert attorney saw that the named inventor on the patent, which was being used to sue online resume-posting sites like his client Monster.com, was an attorney he knew -- San Jose, Calif., lawyer Michael Powell, now an associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges. Read More Apple admit Briton DID invent iPod, but he's still not getting any money (DailyMail) Apple has finally admitted that a British man who left school at 15 is the inventor behind the iPod. Kane Kramer, 52, came up with the technology that drives the digital music player nearly 30 years ago but has still not seen a penny from his invention. Read More PENCILS: In high-tech world, what's the point? Like pennies and paper clips, pencils occupy the junk drawers of life. They're chewed, snapped in two, used as back-scratchers and drum sticks. They point to charts, punch in phone numbers, and prop open books. We buy them maybe once a year - if we've got children in elementary school. Read More Techman: Patent-minded woman an early musician, artist, techie (Post-Gazette) In the early 1900s, the ladies and gentlemen who donned their finery to attend a performance of the Pittsburgh Orchestra at the Carnegie Music Hall may have heard concert pianist Mary Hallock-Greenewalt perform. But many of those culture mavens probably didn't know that they were seeing a woman of not only musical talents, but also technological ones. Read More ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go Green with our exclusive First to File® EFR™ system ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The First to File EFR™ electronic filing and storage system is our next generation product which is designed to reduce paper output in corporate patent departments. This system integrates seamlessly with outside docketing providers and document management systems using XML API technology. The First to File EFR system is an out of box solution with customized fields and user profiles to match your company's IP management workflow. First to File EFR™ also features the following: · Exclusive Tri-Fold™ interface · Effective patent workflow process management · Fully searchable text with InstantOCR™ · WebDAV drag-and-drop functionality · Centralized Reference Library with search and ranking · PAIR integration · LDAP administration · Managed user access · Effective group collaboration · Serversecure™ technology · Document level security access FTF Technologies specializes in finding cost-effective solutions to meet the needs of individual patent departments. To find out more information about First to File EFR™, please click Here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 2nd, 2008

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Patent News Watch

From First to File (www.firsttofile.com)
September 2nd, 2008
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Headlines for the week: (Scroll down for articles)

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-Qualcomm violates Broadcom patent injunction
-PlayStation 3 at risk as Sony faces Blu-ray patent lawsuit
-Judge Cuts Damages In Boston Scientific Patent Row
-Appeals Court Vacates $49 Million Award in Patent Case
-USPTO Seeks Practitioners to Test Online Continuing Education System.
-Breaking the patent logjam
-Too common scientific fraud should be punished
-Light Reading For Labor Day: 2007 Annual US Court Report
-Daydream achiever
-Father-son team offers tech innovation

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Qualcomm violates Broadcom patent injunction

The US District Court for the Central District of California has found wireless telecommunications products and services company Qualcomm in contempt of an order designed to prevent the company from violating three Broadcom patents.

Read More

PlayStation 3 at risk as Sony faces Blu-ray patent lawsuit

(The TechHerald) With a recent consumer report revealing that Sony's Blu-ray format is struggling to find market traction, the high-definition standard is now facing a potentially costly court battle with Orinda Intellectual Properties USA, which claims that Sony's HD platform infringes on its patented technology.

Read More

Judge Cuts Damages In Boston Scientific Patent Row

(Dow Jones/SmartMoney) Boston Scientific Corp. said a federal judge found two patents held by rival Medtronic Inc. to be unenforceable and slashed the damages Boston Scientific must pay in a patent-infringement case involving devices to remove blockages in coronary arteries.

Read More

Appeals Court Vacates $49 Million Award in Patent Case

(LegalTimes) The Federal Circuit last Friday dialed up 1-800-REVERSE. In a patent dispute between companies that route "1-800" phone calls for major companies, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit tossed a $49 million enhanced-damage award lodged against Virginia-based Targus Information Corp.

Read More

USPTO Seeks Practitioners to Test Online Continuing Education System.

(Anticipate This) The USPTO is developing a Continuing Education for Practitioners ("CEP") system for on-line delivery of educational materials to patent practitioners, and is seeking help in piloting the on-line system. The CEP system is built on the recognition that a smoothly operating patent system requires well-qualified USPTO personnel working hand-in-hand with up-to-date patent practitioners.

Read More

Breaking the patent logjam

(FT) Any effective system of patent administration requires close co-operation between private inventors and government officials. Unlike land, or mining, or even copyright claims, it takes more than a simple filing to perfect a patent claim.

Read More

Too common scientific fraud should be punished

(NewsDay) Scientists enjoy a high level of public credibility. Their pronouncements on matters ranging from global warming to cloning are usually taken at face value. But while most scientists are honest, that doesn't mean we should unquestioningly accept what they say. A study released this month says that scientific fraud is not being seriously punished.

Read More

Light Reading For Labor Day: 2007 Annual US Court Report

(271 Patent Blog) When you're not preoccupied wiping BBQ sauce from your hands (and children's faces) this weekend, the Statistics Division for the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts released its annual report (all 416 pages) on "Judicial Business of the United States Courts."

Read More

Daydream achiever

(The Boston Globe) ON A SUNDAY morning in 1974, Arthur Fry sat in the front pews of a Presbyterian church in north St. Paul, Minn. An engineer at 3M, Fry was also a singer in the church choir. He had gotten into the habit of inserting little scraps of paper into his choir book, so that he could quickly find the right hymns during the service. The problem, however, was that the papers would often fall out, causing Fry to lose his place.

Read More

Father-son team offers tech innovation

(The News Sentinel) A Fort Wayne father-and-son team has developed technology that could transform the radio-frequency identification tags now commonly used to track and manage inventory.

Read More

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Go Green with our exclusive First to File® EFR™ system

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The First to File EFR™ electronic filing and storage system is our next generation product which is designed to reduce paper output in corporate patent departments. This system integrates seamlessly with outside docketing providers and document management systems using XML API technology. The First to File EFR system is an out of box solution with customized fields and user profiles to match your company's IP management workflow.

First to File EFR™ also features the following:

· Exclusive Tri-Fold™ interface
· Effective patent workflow process management
· Fully searchable text with InstantOCR™
· WebDAV drag-and-drop functionality
· Centralized Reference Library with search and ranking
· PAIR integration
· LDAP administration
· Managed user access
· Effective group collaboration
· Serversecure™ technology
· Document level security access

FTF Technologies specializes in finding cost-effective solutions to meet the needs of individual patent departments. To find out more information about First to File EFR™, please click Here.

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