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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Your Source for the Latest Patent Information
12/26/06
7,155,207 System and method of analyzing communications between a calling party and a called party  12/26/06
7,154,429 Device for protecting military vehicles from infrared guided munitions  12/26/06
7,154,415 Celestial body communication techniques  12/26/06
Garmin Ltd. announced today that it has received a decision from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on pending cross motions for summary judgment filed by Garmin and TomTom in their pending patent litigation. The Court's ruling gave Garmin a complete victory in its defense of TomTom's claims of infringement of three patents and left unadjudicated many of the claims filed by Garmin against TomTom. Garmin currently owns 289 U.S. patents and 13 foreign patents and has 181 patent applications pending. In early February of this year, Garmin Ltd. and Garmin Corporation Garmin sued TomTom in Wisconsin alleging that TomTom infringed five patents dealing with certain "ease-of-use" features developed by Garmin engineers. After the Wisconsin lawsuit was filed, TomTom, which does not hold any U.S. patents for technology it developed itself, purchased three U.S. patents from Horizon Navigation, Inc. and then asserted these patents in a counterclaim in the Wisconsin lawsuit. TomTom alleged that over 60 products made by Garmin infringed these three patents and sought substantial damages and a permanent injunction against further sales of these Garmin products. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:15:55 am into the following categories: In The News12/26/06
Visto Corp., provider of mobile email services, is on a mission to protect its technology through several lawsuits for patent infringement. Earlier this year, the company won a victory in this battle against Seven Networks, Inc. and this week the judge’s final ruling enhanced that victory. SFGate.com reports that the patent infringement suit awarded Visto $7.7 million, more than doubling the jury’s initial award to account for interest and various legal fees. Visto has filed similar suits against other companies, including Microsoft and Research in Motion. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:14:48 am into the following categories: In The News12/26/06
Silicon Image Inc., a designer of high-definition video microchips, said on Thursday it expects to book up to $15 million in additional operating income for its fourth quarter after settling a five-year-old patent lawsuit against Genesis Microchip Inc. Under the deal, Genesis will pay additional monies on top of $11 million it had paid Silicon Image through the end of September, meaning Silicon Image expects to record an additional $13 million to $15 million in operating income for the quarter. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:13:52 am into the following categories: In The News12/26/06
A Hollywood dummy designer who filled "Rocky Balboa" and dozens of other big-budget films with inflatable extras is being sued by a pair of mannequin makers who say they were the first to come up with the idea of replacing humans with airheads. Plastic people-maker Crowd in a Box filed a patent infringement suit last week against The Inflatable Crowd and owner Joe Biggins for his use of "inflatable humanoid figures." "Joe Biggins made comments in various press reports that he was the inventor of these things ... but while he was using them, we were creating them and patenting them," Crowd in a Box co-owner Mark Woolpert told CourtTVnews.com. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:12:44 am into the following categories: In The News12/19/06
7,150,411 Drinking straw  12/19/06
7,151,447 Detection and identification of threats hidden inside cargo shipments  12/19/06
7,151,216 Solid body electric guitar having the capability of producing acoustic guitar sound  12/19/06
Amazon.com Inc. denies it violated IBM Corp. patents in building its massive retail Web site, and alleges instead that IBM infringed on Amazon's technology to beef up its own offerings. In countersuits filed Thursday in federal court in Texas, Amazon says IBM's previous legal claims of patent infringement are a meritless and misleading attempt to cash in on its vast patent holdings and Amazon's success. "IBM's broad allegations of infringement amount to a claim that IBM invented the Internet," Amazon's lawyers wrote in the filings. IBM did not return a phone message seeking comment Friday night. IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., filed its lawsuits in October in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas. Texas has become a frequent site for patent cases because districts there move quickly and are perceived as relatively responsive to intellectual-property claims. Amazon, which this year will sell $10 billion worth of everything from books and CDs to pet supplies and jewelry, is accused of infringing on five IBM patents. IBM says the technologies covered by the patents govern how the site recommends products to customers, serves up advertising and stores data. In its counterclaims, Amazon denies the allegations and says IBM violated five of Amazon's patents, for ventures including IBM's WebSphere business software. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:12:08 am into the following categories: In The News12/19/06
Novo Nordisk said it will continue to pursue its intellectual property suit against Pfizer Inc over the insulin product Exubera, despite the decision of a US district judge to dismiss a preliminary motion against the US drugmaker. Earlier today US District Judge Leonard Sand refused to immediately block sales of Pfizer's Exubera product, saying the public's need for a 'new and less invasive treatment for diabetes' outweighed Novo Nordisk's claims that Pfizer is infringing on its patents. Novo Nordisk said it does not regard the ruling as impairing the strength of its underlying case, and noted that the ruling involves only one of the five patents at issue in the case. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:10:42 am into the following categories: In The News12/19/06
NessCap Co. Ltd., a privately held company recognized as a global leader in ultracapacitor technology, product development, sales and manufacturing has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Maxwell Technologies, a San Diego, California based ultracapacitor manufacturer. The lawsuit alleges that Maxwell's products, including the D cell product line of Boostcap(R) ultracapacitors, infringe NessCap's patented intellectual property. NessCap filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington, Delaware. NessCap is represented in the lawsuit by Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP. "NessCap has invested significant capital, resource and effort in developing our own proprietary and patented technology and we will not allow Maxwell to infringe," said Dr. Sunwook Kim, NessCap's founder and chairman of the board. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:52 am into the following categories: In The News12/19/06
Venali, Inc. today announced it has filed a lawsuit against j2 Global Communications, Inc. for infringement of its Premium Messaging Patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,114,004). Venali is seeking damages and to permanently restrict j2 from further infringement of the patent. The suit was filed in federal court in Miami, Florida. Venali was awarded the Premium Messaging patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in September of 2006. The technology allows for automatic routing of digital messages of all types based on recipient preferences or technical capabilities of the recipient’s system. This is the second lawsuit Venali filed against j2. The previously filed lawsuit was focused on several of j2’s actions that Venali claims violate U.S. anti-trust laws. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:46 am into the following categories: In The News12/12/06
7,148,066 Dye solutions for use in methods to detect the prior evaporation of anhydrous ammonia and the production of illict drugs  12/12/06
7,149,712 Method for financing future needs  12/12/06
7,149,776 System and method for real-time co-browsing  12/12/06
While Nintendo Wii gamers are having a smashing good time with one of this holiday season's hottest-selling game consoles, Nintendo is being hit with a lawsuit over the Wii's uniquely designed controllers. Interlink Electronics is suing the Japan-based game maker over the Wii remote's trigger button, which Interlink claims is based on its own patented design. Interlink said it will seek compensation for "loss of reasonable royalties, reduced sales, and/or lost profits as a result of the infringing activities." According to the complaint, the Wii remote -- called the "Wiimote" by Nintendo -- has a trigger on its underside that infringes on Interlink patent number 6,850,221 for a "Trigger Operated Electronic Device," which Interlink claims to have secured on February 1, 2005. Interlink is seeking a jury trial. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:51 am into the following categories: In The News12/12/06
Platform Solutions Inc., a company that makes a system that allows IBM mainframe operating systems to run on Itanium-based hardware, is facing a lawsuit from Big Blue. IBM filed a federal lawsuit against Sunnyvale, Calif.-based PSI alleging patent infringements and breach of contract, according to the lawsuit filed late last month in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit cites letters between the two companies disagreeing over licensing issues. The correspondence extends back several years, but IBM said the dispute came to a head when PSI began lining up customers. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:37 am into the following categories: In The News12/12/06
The International Trade Commission has upheld an initial ruling that San Diego's Qualcomm Inc. infringed a patent of Broadcom Corp., the Irvine chipmaker said Monday. The news is the latest in an ongoing patent battle between Broadcom and Qualcomm. The commission is expected to take action on the infringement by Feb. 9, after it receives briefings from both companies. It could permanently bar Qualcomm from importing the chips, issue a cease and desist order on selling the chips or stop importation of cellular phones including the infringed chips. Qualcomm earlier said it plans to appeal the decision to the full commission as it explored designs to replace the disputed technology. A judge first found the patent violation in October. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:33 am into the following categories: In The News12/12/06
Nanometrics Inc., which makes metrology and inspection systems used by precision electronic equipment manufacturers, said Friday it received a "favorable" decision in a patent infringement case brought against the company by Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. The company said Judge Maxine Chesney of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued the Markman ruling. Markman hearings are held to determine "the scope and meaning of patent claims" before the actual trial begins, Nanometrics said. "Nanometrics' integrated metrology products do not incorporate anything like a water track," said Ron C. Finley, of law firm Beck, Ross, Bismonte & Finley LLP, lead patent counsel for Nanometrics. "This claim construction ruling clears the way for Nanometrics to dispose of this case and vindicate its position that Nova's allegations have no merit." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:22 am into the following categories: In The News12/05/06
7,145,466 National security warning system integrated with building fire alarm notification system  12/05/06
7,146,338 Inter-network financial service  12/05/06
7,146,372 Method and apparatus for creating a virtual microscope slide  12/05/06
Apple's ongoing legal battle with David Contois is finally over, now that the patent he says Apple stole from him was awarded to the iPod maker in an out-of-court settlement. The patent in question describes how computers manage and download media files to external devices -- in essence, exactly what iTunes does. Michael Starkweather, the attorney who wrote the patent for Contois, said, "That's the billion dollar patent. I believe that, with this patent in hand, Apple will eventually be after every phone company, filmmaker, computer maker and video producer to pay royalties on every download of not just music, but also movies and videos." Contois and his company, Contois Music & Technology, filed a suit against Apple in February 2006 claiming that the iTunes software violated his patent in 21 different ways. At the time, he asked the court for monetary damages and an order to prevent Apple from distributing iTunes. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:43 am into the following categories: In The News12/05/06
Drug maker Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday it has filed a patent lawsuit against Novartis AG subsidiary Sandoz Pharmaceuticals and privately held Upsher-Smith Laboratories Inc. Savient said its suit alleges infringement of its patents on methods of using Oxandrin, an oral anabolic agent designed to help patients gain weight after weight loss from surgery, infection or severe trauma. The company said its suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey. Savient said its lawsuit follows a decision by the Food and Drug Administration late Friday to deny two citizens petitions it filed, and "reliable information" the company has received that the FDA has approved Abbreviated New Drug Applications from both Sandoz and Upsher-Smith. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:33 am into the following categories: In The News12/05/06
The world of mobile communications is full of money and full of infringement lawsuits. Freedom Wireless, a Phoenix-based development and technology company that owns patents on systems and methods for providing prepaid wireless telephone services, filed two patent infringement lawsuits in federal court in Marshall, Texas. One suit is against Cingular Wireless LLC, a national wireless carrier, and Ericsson Inc. (ERIC), a prepaid wireless services provider, and the other suit is against Alltel Corporation (AT), also a national wireless carrier, and two prepaid wireless services providers, Comverse, Inc. (CMVT) and VeriSign. The suits allege that the carriers and services providers are infringing three of Freedom Wireless’ patents for prepaid security cellular telecommunications systems that were issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office between 1998 through 2001. Freedom Wireless is seeking unspecified damages and injunctions to prevent continuing infringement of its patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:39 am into the following categories: In The News12/05/06
Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, Inc., manufacturer of the TrueAir odor eliminator, announced today that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia against Sunpentown International of City of Industry, California and Hung Hsing Electric Company Ltd. of Largo, Florida. The lawsuit charges Sunpentown and Hung Hsing with willful infringement of several patents related to Hamilton Beach's TrueAir odor eliminator. "For more than a century, Hamilton Beach's inventors have delighted consumers with creative, new appliances," said Dr. Michael J. Morecroft, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hamilton Beach. "Our line of TrueAir odor eliminators has revolutionized how consumers deal with unwanted odors," said Dr. Morecroft. TrueAir odor eliminators plug into standard wall outlets and eliminate, rather than mask, common household odors. Hamilton Beach has received several patents for this innovative line of products, and TrueAir products are the largest selling odor eliminating appliances in the North America. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:21 am into the following categories: In The News11/28/06
7,142,656 Location-based ringbacks  11/28/06
7,140,535 Method and system to validate periodically the visa of a foreign visitor during the visitor's in-country stay  11/28/06
7,142,646 Voice mail integration with instant messenger  11/28/06
Some of the largest companies in the United States are facing off in a Supreme Court case over gas pedals, with one side hoping the justices will put the brakes on an out-of-control patent system. The court is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on what's obvious when older inventions are combined to create something new. The law says an invention that's "obvious" isn't patentable, but the definition isn't clear despite decades of litigation. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:16:03 am into the following categories: In The News11/28/06
Microsoft will possibly be paying damages amounting to $75 million for patent infringement in Korea. In a Supreme Court ruling last week, judges denied Microsoft's request to invalidate patents obtained by Professor Lee Keung-Hae of the Hankuk Aviation University in 1997. Representing Lee Keung-Hae, P&IB is suing Microsoft for using in its Office suite the patented program in question that enables automatic translation between English and Korean. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:14:49 am into the following categories: In The News11/28/06
Samsung Electronics has won a U.S. patent suit against Taiwanese PC maker Compal. A jury for the Californian Federal Court found on Nov. 17 that the Taiwanese PC manufacturer violated a notebook computer patent of Samsung Electronics and ordered Compal to pay US$9 million, part of sales earned between April 1999 and March 2002 in damages. Samsung Electronics sued Compal in 2000 for violating patented technologies like adjusting screen brightness by pressing a key while pushing the function key. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:13:32 am into the following categories: In The News11/28/06
Signs point to dispute over Xbox 360 video technologies. French telecommunications company Alcatel has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft for patent infringement. Seven patents are at issue in the complaint. This legal quibble may also stem from a Lucent and Microsoft patent war that started in 2003, and was recently revitalized over Xbox 360 video encoding, which Microsoft eventually won. Alcatel acquired Lucent earlier this year, absorbing its entire patent portfolio with it. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:12:13 am into the following categories: In The News11/21/06
7,137,881 Protective bed unit  11/21/06
7,139,842 Method and apparatus for intersystem cut/copy and paste  11/21/06
7,139,390 Promoting use of experts to callers waiting in a hold queue  11/21/06
AMD is being sued for patent infringement by holding company Opti. Opti is one of a new breed of companies that exists only to enforce their patents and intellectual property through licensing deals and the courts. It also has prior form, having sued Nvidia in 2004 in a similar lawsuit and settled out of court earlier this year. Opti claims that AMD has infringed three of its patents for a technology known as "Predictive Snooping of Cache Memory for Master-Initiated Accesses". The complaint alleges that AMD has infringed the patents by making and selling CPUs and core logic products using Opti's predictive snooping technology. The three patents at issue in the lawsuit are US patent no. 5,710,906, 5,813,036 and 6,405,291 - the same three it alleged Nvidia has infringed. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:09:30 am into the following categories: In The News11/21/06
A federal judge in Tyler, Texas, ruled last week that an Australian government agency holds the rights to patents on the underlying technology used in two Wi-Fi standards and a third proposed standard. The decision--if it survives what many assume will be a lengthy appeals process--could have a wide-ranging impact on wireless equipment makers and consumer electronics manufacturers. Stan Schatt, vice president at ABI Research Judge Leonard Davis ruled that a patent granted in 1996 to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency, is valid. The patent describes the implementation of several aspects of the 802.11a and 802.11g wireless standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The court also ruled that Buffalo Technology, a small maker of Wi-Fi routing gear, had violated this patent. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:08:36 am into the following categories: In The News11/21/06
Sonic Solutions, a digital media software maker, said Thursday it filed a lawsuit against German software manufacturer Nero AG and its U.S. affiliate, Nero Inc. for patent infringement. The claim was filed in the U.S. District Court in Mashall, Texas, and it alleges a video editing application made by Nero infringes upon one of Sonic's patents. A spokeswoman from Nero declined to comment. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:07:20 am into the following categories: In The News11/14/06
7,135,980 Physiomagnetometric inspection and surveillance system and method  11/14/06
7,136,854 Methods and apparatus for providing search results in response to an ambiguous search query  11/14/06
7,135,638 Dynamic magnetic pickup for stringed instruments  11/14/06
Symantec Corp. said Wednesday it was granted summary judgment in U.S. District Court for Delaware against all patent infringement claims by SRI International Inc. Cupertino-based Symantec said the ruling resolves the dispute prior to trial. The court held that Menlo Park-based SRI's patents were invalid based on prior printed publications authored by SRI employees more than one year before the earliest patent application was filed. Symantec said that in related proceedings, the United States Patent and Trademark Office said it will independently re-examine the patentability of the some SRI patents based on several different prior art publications. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:42 am into the following categories: In The News11/14/06
Boston Scientific Corp. settled a patent-infringement suit by paying a Florida inventor $100,000 to drop his claims, according to regulatory and court filings. Dr. Shaun Samuels sued the company in 2005, claiming that a device he designed to repair the aorta, the body's largest artery, had been unlawfully stolen by a company later acquired by Boston Scientific. The Natick device maker denied the claims. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:35 am into the following categories: In The News11/14/06
Cybersettle, Inc., the world leader in accelerated dispute resolution, whose President is the co-inventor of Cybersettle's automated, online, double-blind bid system, today announced it has won a major patent infringement case it filed against National Arbitration Forum (NAF), a Minnesota-based company that had been hired to administer New Jersey's No Fault Automobile Insurance Personal Injury protection. The New Jersey Federal District Court ruled that two versions of NAF's online dispute resolution system in New Jersey were in direct violation of Cybersettle's patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,330,551 that covers, among other things, an automated, online, double blind, dispute resolution system capable of multiple rounds of bidding. The decision, which re-affirms the patent and its coverage of such systems, should serve as a powerful deterrent to other would-be on-line dispute resolution system infringers. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:49 am into the following categories: In The News11/14/06
Stored Value Solutions Inc., a Louisville-based subsidiary of Comdata Corp., has won a patent infringement case brought against the company by Barry Fiala Inc. Memphis-based Barry Fiala, a maker of paper products, sued Stored Value for infringing on its patented method of activating gift cards. A 10-member jury in the U.S. Western District of Tennessee on Nov. 3 sided with Stored Value. Among its findings, the jury decided the patent is unenforceable. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:22 am into the following categories: In The News11/07/06
7,132,635 Methods and apparatus for camouflaging objects  11/07/06
7,133,863 Method and apparatus to search for information  11/07/06
7,133,504 Non-voice completion of voice calls  11/07/06
A company that generates most of its revenue from patent licensing and litigation has reached an $8 million settlement with some of the technology industry's biggest players over the use of a patent covering the ubiquitous JPEG digital image format. U.S. Patent No. 4,698,672 had been a mainstay for Austin, Texas-based Forgent Networks Inc., bringing in more than $110 million in settlements and licensing fees over the past three years. But Wednesday, Forgent said it had reached a deal with several technology companies -- among them Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. -- in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:18:36 am into the following categories: In The News11/07/06
NTP Inc., which successfully sued the maker of BlackBerry devices for infringement of wireless e-mail patents, said Monday it is suing Palm Inc., maker of the Treo smart phone. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, alleges that Palm's products, services, systems and processes have improperly used NTP's wireless e-mail technology. The suit asks the court to bar Palm from "continuing to infringe on NTP's patents" and seeks monetary damages for the alleged past infringements. A telephone message left for a Palm representative on Monday afternoon was not immediately returned. In March, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. agreed to pay NTP $612.5 million to settle a four-year patent dispute. Though it never conceded wrongdoing, RIM acknowledged that customers had delayed placing new orders due to the threat of a court-ordered shutdown of the BlackBerry system. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:17:30 am into the following categories: In The News11/07/06
Eastman Kodak Company today announced that the Federal Court in the District of Delaware yesterday granted summary judgment on Kodak's behalf in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Ampex Corporation, ruling that Kodak's digital cameras do not infringe a patent owned by Ampex. The decision ends the nearly two-year litigation in the District Court, although Ampex may appeal the ruling to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. "We believe that the Court reached the correct result," said Laura G. Quatela, Managing Director, Intellectual Property Transactions and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. "Kodak is a long-standing innovator in the digital camera industry and we have devoted significant resources to the research and development of our digital capture technologies. We did not believe that Ampex's suit had merit, and the Court agreed with our position." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:16:20 am into the following categories: In The News11/07/06
Remy International, Inc., filed patent and trademark infringement lawsuits today in the United States Federal District Court for the District of Nevada, against four major manufacturers in the rotating electrical industry. Remy alleges that the Defendants are marketing under Remy's trademarks and/or trade names and are making, importing, using, selling and/or offering to sell to major distributors or retailers in the United States various original equipement alternators and starting motors containing Remy's patented technology. Remy has requested both injunctive relief and damages in its Complaint. Remy's legal action has been brought amidst growing concern with the increasing manufacture and/or importation of patent-infringing products into United States markets. Infringing companies are channeling new "knock-off" parts into both the automotive aftermarket, which has traditionally used remanufactured products, and the original equipment market. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:15:17 am into the following categories: In The News10/31/06
7,127,783 Underwater burial garden method  10/31/06
7,130,878 Systems and methods for domain name registration by proxy  10/31/06
7,130,624 System and method for destabilizing improvised explosive devices  10/31/06
The Supreme Court said Friday it would intervene in a patent dispute between giants Microsoft Corp. and AT&T Corp. over Windows programs distributed overseas. An appeals court ruled that Microsoft had infringed on an AT&T patent for a type of speech-coding technology. The outcome could be worth more than $1 billion to Microsoft if the justices find that the lower court ruling improperly extended U.S. patent protections to overseas transactions, said Dennis Crouch, a visiting law professor at Boston University. “Almost every patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft asks for damages for U.S. sales as well as foreign export sales,” Crouch said. Microsoft has acknowledged its liability for domestic sales. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:07:59 am into the following categories: In The News10/31/06
MoSys Inc. said Thursday it will pay $2.4 million to settle all outstanding litigation with UniRAM Technology Inc. related to a trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement suit. Sunnyvale-based MoSys said the suit was filed by Santa Clara-based UniRAM in 2004. Under the settlement agreement, the companies will dismiss all outstanding claims and counterclaims with prejudice. MoSys will pay UniRAM $2.4 million for a release of claims as well as a future fully paid license for itself and all of its licensees. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:17 am into the following categories: In The News10/31/06
Synergetics USA Inc. made its first effort at having the courts throw out a pending patent infringement lawsuit brought by Iridex Corp. against the firm. Synergetics said Thursday that it filed its first motion for summary judgment, which is a request made by the defendant, Synergetics, to the court that asserts that the plaintiff, Iridex, has raised no genuine issue to be tried based on their failure to timely bring the claim and asks the judge to rule in favor of the defense. If the court agrees, the damages and injunctive relief sought by Iridex could be eliminated altogether or significantly reduced, according to a release. The move by Synergetics stems from a suit Iridex filed Oct. 19, 2005, against Synergetics alleging patent infringement. Iridex, of Mountain View, Calif., alleged that Synergetics infringed on its patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,085,492) for laser probe technology used in its EndoProbe products and other laser-delivery devices. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:21 am into the following categories: In The News10/24/06
7,127,334 System and methods for preventing the unauthorized use of aircraft  10/24/06
7,127,238 Method and apparatus for using Caller ID information in a browser of a mobile communication device  10/24/06
7,127,425 System and method for providing a loan to a taxpayer based on a pre year-end tax refund  10/24/06
IBM, which is based in New York State, said Monday it has filed two patent infringement suits against Amazon.com. The lawsuits, one of which was filed in Lufkin, Texas, and the other in Tyler, Texas, come after nearly four years of attempts by IBM to resolve its concerns with Amazon.com over infringement of IBM's patents, the big computer maker said in a news release. Dating back to September 2002, IBM said it had notified Amazon.com numerous times of the infringement, but the Internet giant has shown no willingness to have meaningful discussions. "We filed this case for a very simple reason. IBM's property is being knowingly and unfairly exploited," said Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president of IBM Technology and Intellectual Property. "IBM is one of the world's leading creators of intellectual property and one of the most progressive in embracing new, highly collaborative ways of driving and managing innovation. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:19:55 am into the following categories: In The News10/24/06
LG.Philips LCD ("LPL") began opening statements yesterday for the patent infringement trial in the Central District of California against Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd. ("Chunghwa") and Tatung Company ("Tatung"). Earlier this week, news agencies erroneously reported that a U.S. Judge had dismissed a lawsuit filed by LPL against Chunghwa and Tatung involving patent infringement. However, while certain other claims were dismissed, the trial in which LPL is seeking $80 million for damages is underway and expected to last until early November. LPL is asserting that Chunghwa and Tatung willfully infringed LPL's semiconductor patents. LPL's patents at issue relate to the process for manufacturing liquid crystal displays (LCDs). LPL is seeking in excess of US $80 million in damages as well as an order enjoining Chunghwa and Tatung products from entering the United States. "Chunghwa and Tatung have been found to have willfully infringed another LCD patent of LPL," said Gaspare J. Bono, partner with McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP. "In July, a jury returned a $52.4 million verdict in favor of LPL for that infringement. Based upon the jury's finding of willful infringement, we have asked the Court for enhanced damages as well as a permanent injunction." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:18:31 am into the following categories: In The News10/24/06
Amgen Inc. can pursue a patent lawsuit that seeks to block Roche Holding from selling the anemia drug Cera in the U.S., a judge ruled Friday, agreeing to a timetable that may lead to a trial as early as May. U.S. District Judge William G. Young in Boston rejected Roche's request that the suit be thrown out because Cera isn't yet sold in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration may decide in February whether to approve the drug, used to boost red blood cells, Amgen said. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:17:30 am into the following categories: In The News10/24/06
SGI announced today that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against ATI Technologies Inc. in U.S. District Court -- Western District of Wisconsin. In its Complaint filed today, SGI asserts that products in ATI's line of Radeon® graphics processors infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,650,327. The Complaint seeks unspecified damages and a Court Ordered injunction against future infringement by ATI. "The Company's technology covered by the '327 patent is an important resource in achieving enhanced graphics processing demanded by today's computer systems," said Dennis McKenna, CEO of SGI. "SGI has licensed this technology to ATI's major competitors and, as I have previously been stating publicly, SGI intends to aggressively protect and enforce its IP. This is the first visible step in that process." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:16:39 am into the following categories: In The News10/17/06
7,121,509 Alerting system for aircraft crew  10/17/06
7,121,028 Method and apparatus for converting a rearview mirror into a dedicated information display  10/17/06
7,124,129 Identifying the items most relevant to a current query based on items selected in connection with similar queries  10/17/06
Transmeta, a Santa Clara, Calif. company, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Intel, claiming the microprocessor giant has used its architecture and power efficiency technologies in its products. The lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 11 in U.S. District Court in Delaware, claims that Intel has infringed on 10 Transmeta patents. In its complaint, Transmeta asks that Intel, which is also based in Santa Clara, stop using the technology in its microprocessors, and that Intel should pay an unspecified amount of royalties and other monetary damages to Transmeta. Transmeta charges that Intel used the technology in the Pentium III, Pentium 4, Pentium M, Core and Core 2 processors. "After endeavoring to negotiate with Intel for fair compensation for the continued use of our intellectual property, we have concluded that we must turn to the judicial system to be fairly compensated for our inventions," John O'Hara Horsley, executive vice president and general counsel at Transmeta, wrote in a statement announcing the lawsuit against Intel. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:08 am into the following categories: In The News10/17/06
Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. has sued Digeo Inc.'s Moxi interactive program guide in a patent infringement case filed in federal court in the Central District of California, the company said Friday. The suit was filed after discussion over patent licenses failed between the two companies and after Kirkland, Wash.-based Digeo filed an antitrust suit against Gemstar-TV Guide. The suit says Digeo engaged in infringement of Gemstar-TV Guide's patents through the Moxi guide and that Charter Communications is also liable by deploying unlicensed Moxi guides, an on-screen programming guide. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:55 am into the following categories: In The News10/17/06
Freedom Wireless has resolved its alleged patent infringement issues with Virgin Mobile USA without having to go to court. The two sides have come together to forge a licensing agreement. The companies did not reveal the financial terms of the pact, but said the royalty-bearing licensing deal involved certain prepaid wireless systems and methods. "This agreement allows both companies to move ahead with our business goals without litigation," said Virgin Mobile USA CEO Dan Schulman in a prepared statement. In July, Boston Communications Group Inc. (bcgi) settled its long-standing legal battles with Freedom Wireless. The agreement between the two companies called for bcgi to pay Freedom Wireless $55 million. As with the deal reached with Virgin, the bcgi settlement also included a licensing agreement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:36 am into the following categories: In The News10/17/06
Nanometrics Inc., a maker of measurement systems for computer chips, said Wednesday it filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Israeli competitor Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is in addition to a complaint filed in March, Nanometrics said. The patents at issue in the current lawsuit relate to optical critical dimension technology, also called scatterometry. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:01:19 am into the following categories: In The News10/10/06
7,119,682 Facility and method for crowd screening and protection  10/10/06
7,120,668 Systems and methods for matching participants to a conversation  10/10/06
7,117,570 Cross-shaped urn  10/10/06
A federal jury on Thursday awarded $38.4 million to MuniAuction Inc. in a patent infringement suit against Thomson Financial and a related company, i-Deal. Jurors found that New York-based Thomson Financial and i-Deal willfully infringed a MuniAuction patent for a method of electronically trading municipal bonds, according to court documents. The case centered on software developed by Pittsburgh-based MuniAuction for auctioning municipal bonds online. The company held the first-ever online auction for the bonds in 1997, according to lawyers representing MuniAuction. Thomson Financial unveiled a similar product in 1998 that was found to have infringed MuniAuction's patent. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:19:30 am into the following categories: In The News10/10/06
EchoStar Communications Corp. finally got some good news last week. Pending its appeal, the direct-broadcast satellite provider was told by a federal court that it doesn't have to deactivate its subscribers' digital video recorders or stop selling the devices. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed to continue to stay an injunction, issued in August, which ordered EchoStar to pull the plug on its subscribers' DVRs within 30 days. That permanent injunction was issued after a jury and judge awarded TiVo Inc. a total of $89.6 million in damages in its patent infringement case against EchoStar. EchoStar had secured a temporary stay of the injunction, but last week the court said that it will remain in place while the satellite company pursues an appeal of the TiVo verdict. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:18:17 am into the following categories: In The News10/10/06
NetRatings Inc. announced in a Wednesday press release the settlement of NetRatings’ patent infringement action against Coremetrics. Under the terms of the settlement, NetRatings has dismissed all pending legal claims and has licensed its patent portfolio to Coremetrics, granting worldwide rights under all of NetRatings’ patents. The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. “NetRatings is pleased to have reached this resolution with Coremetrics, the fifth company now licensing our patented technology,” said William Pulver, president and CEO, NetRatings. “We are delighted with the ongoing progress of our patent enforcement program, and confident in our strategy to expand our licensing efforts in the broader web analytics and online advertising sectors.” Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:17:15 am into the following categories: In The News10/10/06
South Korean chip manufacturer Pixelplus Co. Ltd. on Monday said competitor MagnaChip Semiconductor Ltd. withdrew its patent infringement claims from Seoul Central District Court. Pixelplus said the Seoul-based MagnaChip withdrew its claims regarding photo diode and sensor patents. In September, the Intellectual Property Tribunal in Korea granted Pixelplus's request to invalidate MagnaChip's patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:15:30 am into the following categories: In The News10/03/06
7,117,254 Method of inducing content uploads in a social network  10/03/06
7,116,763 Voice and motion activated telephone  10/03/06
7,114,450 Magazine for receiving electric shock bullets  10/03/06
C.R. Bard Inc., a maker of medical devices used in oncology and urology, on Thursday said it agreed to pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of patent infringement. Im a regulatory filing, the Murray Hill, New Jersey-based company said the case involved allegations that it infringed patents for dialysis catheters. A catheter is a thin tube that can be inserted into the body to drain or infuse fluids. Under the settlement, C.R. Bard will acquire a paid-up license under the patents at issue, and obtain an agreement not to be sued over its existing products. It will record a $20 million third-quarter pre-tax charge for the settlement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:12:38 am into the following categories: In The News10/03/06
The DOJ and PTO have given their solid support to Microsoft’s petition for certiorari in its battle over transnational patent infringement. This support makes grant of the petition highly likely. This case, like Eolas and Pellegrini before, questions the scope of Section 271(f) of the Patent Act. That statute allows a U.S. patentee to collect damages for foreign sales of a patented invention based on the export of one or more of its components from the U.S. Recently, the CAFC has expanded the common interpretation of the statute to include the export of software code (AT&T, Eolas) as well as to the export of elements used in a patented method (Union Carbide). In a case that is difficult to square with AT&T or Eolas, the court held that the “component” does not apply to plans or instructions. In this case, Microsoft’s software code was generated in the U.S. and then shipped abroad where copies were then generated and distributed. AT&T claims (and courts have thus far agreed) that sales of those foreign copies infringe the U.S. patent and create liability. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:11:35 am into the following categories: In The News10/03/06
A U.S. court on Monday denied a Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM.O) request for a preliminary injunction in a legal dispute with rival chip maker Broadcom Corp. (BRCM.O), Broadcom said. A U.S. district judge in San Diego ruled that Qualcomm was not entitled to the injunction to stop Broadcom's development and sale of third-generation ("3G") cellular chips, Broadcom said. Broadcom said it and Qualcomm are to agree on a set of documents to be quarantined pending the outcome of the case, whose trial is set for October 2007. It said it has not misused any Qualcomm trade secrets. The hearing at the U.S. District Court in San Diego, California relates to a complaint from Qualcomm accusing Broadcom of misuse of trade secrets. Qualcomm sells technology licenses and chips for mobile phones. The companies have traded lawsuits in recent months with cases including patent infringement claims from both sides and anti-competitiveness allegations by Broadcom against Qualcomm. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:10:19 am into the following categories: In The News10/03/06
Japan's Central Glass Co. Ltd. said on Friday that it and Abbott Laboratories Inc. of the United States have won a patent lawsuit against Baxter International Inc., related to the anaesthesia drug sevofluran. Central Glass, a major sheet glass maker that also makes drugs including sevofluran, filed a lawsuit last May with the Tokyo District Court saying the content of generic drug produced by United States-based Baxter violated its sevofluran patent. The court ruling could ban Baxter from importing and selling its drug in Japan. Central Glass official Takeo Tanaka said it uses Abbott's sales channels to market sevofluran around the world. Early this year, Baxter started selling its generic drug in Japan and the United States. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:09:00 am into the following categories: In The News09/26/06
7,113,848 Human emulation robot system  09/26/06
7,112,737 System and method for providing a haptic effect to a musical instrument  09/26/06
7,112,362 Thermally movable plastic devices and toys 09/26/06
Japan's Pioneer has filed suit in the United States against Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics for what it says are patent violations of its plasma display-panel technology. South Korea's Samsung SDI, the world's top plasma display-panel maker, said it plans to file a countersuit, although no date has been set. Pioneer's move, announced Monday, is the latest in a series of intellectual property suits and countersuits between Japanese companies and their Asian rivals as they seek to maintain a technological edge. "We decided that litigation was necessary to protect our intellectual property," Pioneer spokesman Kesanobu Yamagishi said of the suit, the first time the company has litigated for a possible patent infringement. Samsung SDI, which is also in patent spats with Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial and Fujitsu, had been in talks with Pioneer since April 2005 about possible licensing agreements, but the talks fell through, Yamagishi said. Pioneer is asking for a court order to stop Samsung SDI's sales of plasma display panels and compensation for alleged violations of a patent for electrode configuration boosting display quality and another patent for a manufacturing step that increases display brightness. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:40:15 am into the following categories: In The News09/26/06
Micrel Inc., an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet IC solutions, and Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. ("MPS"), an industry leader in analog Power Management, announced today that they have reached a settlement of the patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation lawsuit brought by Micrel in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The patents and alleged trade secrets were related to semiconductor manufacturing processes and semiconductor design elements. In the settlement, Micrel licensed U.S. Patent Nos. 5,517,046 and 5,556,796 to MPS. The companies agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims in the litigation with prejudice. Micrel also agreed to release MPS and its chief executive officer Michael Hsing and its chief design engineer Jim Moyer from all claims for any alleged trade secret claims based on any confidential information. In connection with the settlement, MPS agreed to pay $3,000,000 to Micrel. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:39:08 am into the following categories: In The News09/26/06
MANGOSOFT, INC. of Nashua, NH, a developer of internet-enabling business software solutions, announced today that its subsidiary, Mangosoft Intellectual Property, Inc., had filed a civil action earlier this morning in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging patent infringement against eBay, Inc. of San Jose, California and its subsidiaries Skype Technologies SA and Skype Software Sarl of Luxembourg. The Complaint alleges that each of the defendants have infringed, and continue to infringe, U.S. Patent No. 6,647,393 entitled "Dynamic Directory Service" in violation of one or more provisions of 35 U.S.C. section 271. The complaint seeks damages for willful infringement as well as injunctive relief. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:37:07 am into the following categories: In The News09/26/06
Paltronics Inc., a world-leading manufacturer of casino gaming system solutions and display technology, today announced that it has filed an infringement suit against Progressive Gaming International Corporation and Mikohn Gaming Corporation for infringement of Paltronics' multi-screen gaming device video display system. Paltronics obtained its multi-screen gaming patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,008,324) in March, 2006. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:36:24 am into the following categories: In The News09/19/06
7,110,576 System and method for authenticating a mailpiece sender  09/19/06
7,111,252 Enhancing touch and feel on the internet  09/19/06
7,108,872 Use of odorants to alter blood flow to the vagina, and article of manufacture thereof 09/19/06
Toshiba Corp. said on Friday it would buy certain chip-related patents from Micron Technology Inc. and secure licences for all the patents held by Micron unit Lexar Media Inc. for $288 million, ending lawsuits between the Japanese electronics maker and Lexar. Micron in June acquired Lexar Media, which has been in a legal tussle with Toshiba since 2002 regarding flash memory patent infringement. Behind Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Toshiba is the world's second-largest maker of NAND-type flash memory chips, widely used in digital cameras, photo-snapping phones and portable music players such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:15 am into the following categories: In The News09/19/06
Paxar Americas Inc. has accepted a $63.75 million settlement for its patent-infringement lawsuit against Zebra Technologies Corp. The lawsuit, filed in 2003, alleged that Zebra violated eight of Paxar's patents with more than 50 of its products. Paxar Corp., based in White Plains, manufactures identification labels and tracking systems for the retail and apparel industry worldwide. Its customers include Levi Strauss, Nike, Adidas, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney and The Limited. Zebra, based in Vernon Hills, Ill., produces bar code printers and other specialty printing technology to businesses and governments around the world. "It was a series of their (bar code) printers that incorporated our technology," said Paxar Vice President of Investor Relations Bob Powers. Zebra did not admit liability with respect to any claim, it said yesterday in a written statement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:10 am into the following categories: In The News09/19/06
OutlookSoft said Friday it fended off a patent infringement suit brought by business software company Hyperion. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in December 2004, alleged that OutlookSoft infringed on two Hyperion patents. The jury found there was no infringement and the Hyperion patents in question were invalid, OutlookSoft said. “The judge and jury have affirmed what we have known all along—the patents in question are invalid,” OutlookSoft CEO Phil Wilmington said in a statement. “While the legal system works, we believe it is wrong for a company to use invalid patents in an attempt to thwart a competitor’s efforts to bring products to the market.” San Jose, California-based Hyperion and Stamford, Connecticut-based OutlookSoft are both makers of business performance management software that helps companies with tools such as budgeting, planning, reporting, and analyzing. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:56 am into the following categories: In The News09/19/06
Magma Design Automation Inc., which makes software for chip design, said Monday it will proceed with its antitrust and patent infringement lawsuits against its larger competitor Synopsys Inc., after Synopsys scaled back its own patent claims against Magma last week. Last September, Mountain View, Calif.-based Synopsys sued Magma for infringing on three patents; Friday, the company dedicated two of those patents to the public domain, leaving just one in dispute. A hearing for the remaining patent claim is scheduled for December. Magma, based in Santa Clara, Calif., said Monday it is going ahead with its 2005 charges that Synopsys's suit violates antitrust law, and that Synopsys's own technology infringes on four of Magma's patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:01:46 am into the following categories: In The News09/12/06
7,106,216 Radio wave system for repelling birds from aircraft  09/12/06
7,107,227 Method and system for publicizing commercial transactions on a computer network  09/12/06
7,107,447 Use of pseudonyms vs. real names  09/12/06
3M Co. is suing Colorox Co.'s Brita Products division and a unit of Sears Holdings Corp. over patents related to water purification systems. The patent is tied to a cartridge-based filtration system produced by 3M's subsidiary, CUNO Inc. 3M, which makes Aqua-Pure water filters, purchased CUNO in August of last year. The lawsuit asks a court to bar Sears from selling products that 3M believes infringe on its existing patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:21:57 am into the following categories: In The News09/12/06
A Jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin unanimously determined that Abbott Laboratories willfully infringed Innogenetics U.S. Patent No. 5,846,704 which covered a method of genotyping the Hepatitis C Virus or HCV. The court directed Abbott to pay Innogenetics $7 million for infringement damages till date. Innogenetics said that the damages awarded might be increased up to three times since the jury specifically determined that Abbott infringed patent willfully. Innogenetics added that based on the strength of the verdict it would seek an injunction against Abbott diagnostic products that infringe its patent and also pursue other available remedies. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:20:42 am into the following categories: In The News09/12/06
I2 Technologies accused SAP of patent infringement in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. A maker of supply chain management (SCM) software, i2 claims that SAP has infringed seven patents granted between 1998 and 2006. The alleged patent infringements, listed in the lawsuit that i2 filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, relate to SCM models and tools in areas such as managing factory planning systems, negotiating and tracking the sale of goods and allocating manufactured product to sellers. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:19:47 am into the following categories: In The News09/12/06
Cree Inc., a maker of semiconductor products and light-emitting diodes, said Monday it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against BridgeLux Inc., seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief to prohibit further infringement. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, and deals with patents related to light extraction structures used in light-emitting diodes and semiconductor devices made using a gallium nitride-based buffer technology. One of the patents is owned by Boston University which licensed it to Cree on an exclusive basis. Boston University is a co-plaintiff in the suit. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:15:18 am into the following categories: In The News09/05/06
7,100,513 Programmable pyrotechnic projectile and methods for producing firework patterns therewith  09/05/06
7,101,282 Free long distance calls on slot machines  09/05/06
7,103,553 Assistive call center interface  09/05/06
Pfizer Inc said it has won a patent challenge by generic drug manufacturer Synthon Pharmaceuticals over the active ingredient in its hypertension drug Norvasc. The company said a federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina upheld the company's US patent covering amlodipine besylate. The decision, which is subject to appeal, prohibits Synthon from launching a generic version of amlodipine until September 2007. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:25:54 am into the following categories: In The News09/05/06
Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. rose on Friday, a day after a judge halted sales of a generic form of Plavix because of possible patent infringement. Canadian drugmaker Apotex Inc. began selling a cheap, generic version of the blood thinner three weeks ago, but Manhattan U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein blocked sales because of a patent dispute. The ruling was only a partial win for Bristol-Myers and its French partner Sanofi Adventis. Judge Sidney Stein refused to order a recall of any generics that have already been sold to distributors. Plavix is used by 48 million Americans and is Bristol-Meyers’ best-selling product. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:25:01 am into the following categories: In The News09/05/06
Offshore drilling contractor Transocean Inc. said late Thursday a federal jury found that rival GlobalSantaFe Corp. infringed upon its dual drilling technology patents. GlobalSantaFe said the jury has ordered it to pay damages of $3.6 million for using the patented structures on two of its offshore rigs. The jury also found that the company willfully infringed the patents, which could mean a higher award for Transocean. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:20:48 am into the following categories: In The News09/05/06
U.S. Bank has settled a legal dispute surrounding its right to use ATMs as points of sale. Global Cash Access Inc. originally filed a patent infringement lawsuit against U.S. Bank and Ultron Inc., both subsidiaries of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp. Global Cash also had sued two divisions of Fidelity National Information Services, in Jacksonville, Fla. Both U.S. Bank and Fidelity National filed counterclaims against Global Cash, saying the company had engaged in unfair trade practices. The companies reached a settlement Thursday. The terms of the settlement did not call for any party involved to pay out cash. Other details of the settlement were not disclosed. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:19:43 am into the following categories: In The News08/29/06
7,100,190 Automobile web cam and communications system incorporating a network of automobile web cams  08/29/06
7,097,622 Non-invasive, quantitative somatosensory apparatus for the evaluation of erectile dysfunction  08/29/06
7,098,790 Electronic device attached to a pet  08/29/06
Apple Computer Inc. will pay $100 million to settle a dispute with Creative Technology Ltd. over patents covering technology used in digital music players, the companies said Wednesday. Cupertino-based Apple will pay Singapore-based Creative for a paid-up license to use Creative's recently-awarded patent in all Apple products. Creative had sued Apple for patent infringement, alleging iPods infringe Creative's patents. Apple countersued. Apple can recoup a portion of its payment if Creative is successful in licensing this patent to others, the companies said. In addition, Creative has joined Apple's "Made for iPod" program and will be announcing its own iPod accessory products later this year. "Creative is very fortunate to have been granted this early patent," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "This settlement resolves all of our differences with Creative, including the five lawsuits currently pending between the companies, and removes the uncertainty and distraction of prolonged litigation." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:24:13 am into the following categories: In The News08/29/06
A U.S. federal court has ruled that Samsung Electronics and Matsushita Electric Industrial did not infringe on each other's memory chip patents, Samsung said on Monday. The ruling by the court on Friday was related to one of a series of patent disputes between the two firms as they compete in the market for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, used in personal computers, as well as flat panels. In the lawsuit filed in May 2002, Matsushita sought $300 million in damages from Samsung, accusing the South Korean company of infringing on three DRAM technology patents. "The New Jersey federal court in the United States ruled that both Samsung and Matsushita had not infringed on each other's patents," Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, told the Korea Exchange in a filing on Monday. But Matsushita rejected the ruling. "Samsung violated Matsushita's chip patents, and this ruling is unacceptable," said a spokesman from Matsushita, the world's largest consumer electronics maker. "We are studying necessary measures to overturn this verdict, including a possible appeal." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:22:51 am into the following categories: In The News08/29/06
Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ENDP - News), a market leader in pain management, announced today that it has reached an agreement with The Purdue Frederick Company, The P.F. Laboratories, Inc., and Euro-Celtique, S.A. to settle long-running litigation claiming that Endo's oxycodone extended-release tablets, 10mg, 20mg, 40mg, and 80mg, a bioequivalent version of Purdue Frederick's OxyContin®, infringe Purdue's U.S. Patent Nos. 5,549,912, 5,508,042 and 5,656,295. Pursuant to the settlement, Endo will continue selling to its customers its oxycodone extended-release products until December 31, 2006. Endo, as well as its manufacturers, distributors, purchasers, and patients, will be released from all liability for infringement of Purdue's patents in connection with Endo's prior and future sales of these products. Though the settlement agreement will be submitted to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice as required by statute, the release will survive unless overturned by a court order. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:21:46 am into the following categories: In The News08/29/06
A California biotechnology firm has voluntarily withdrawn an enzyme product from the market after losing a patent infringement lawsuit to Novozymes. Genencor International Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based subsidiary of Danisco, has halted sales of Spezyme Ethyl, an alpha amylase enzyme. The decision follows a federal judge's ruling in a Delaware court that Genencor was selling enzymes protected by Novozymes' patent rights to the American ethanol market. Novozymes said in a written statement Friday that damages have yet to be decided in the case but that the company currently claims "several million" dollars for loss of profits. Novozymes, which was spun off from Novo Nordisk in 2000, develops enzymes for use in the manufacture of cellulosic-based ethanol. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:19:18 am into the following categories: In The News08/22/06
7,096,214 System and method for supporting editorial opinion in the ranking of search results  08/22/06
7,093,724 Bicycle advertising rack  08/22/06
7,093,468 Key ring  08/22/06
Microsoft Corp. could face another lawsuit from a patent portfolio company over technology within its SQL Server database. Timeline Inc., of Seattle, Washington, said Monday it terminated a limited license agreement forged with Microsoft in 1999 after the software giant allegedly breached its terms. Timeline also charged that Microsoft's SQL Server infringes on patents held by Timeline concerning online analytical processing. As a result, Timeline filed a motion in U.S. federal district court in Seattle, asking to add Microsoft as a defendant in a case against ProClarity Corp, a maker of add-on reporting and data visualization products that complement Microsoft's SQL Server. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:23:39 am into the following categories: In The News08/22/06
TiVo applauded a federal appeals court ruling Friday that temporarily blocked EchoStar Communications Corp., parent of the Dish satellite-TV service, from disabling more than 3 million digital video recorders, the Associated Press reported. The appeals court blocked an injunction that was issued Thursday by a federal district court judge in Texarkana, Texas. The injunction followed a jury decision in April that EchoStar infringed on San Jose-based TiVo's patent for "time-warp" technology -- the ability to record a live television program while playing another, the wire service said. Judge David Folsom also increased the jury's verdict that Colorado-based EchoStar should pay $74 million in damages to $89.6 million -- beyond the $87 million that TiVo's lawyers asked the jury to award. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:21:45 am into the following categories: In The News08/22/06
DexCom Inc., which is developing a device to monitor blood glucose levels, on Friday said a federal judge stayed a motion made by DexCom in a patent infringement case brought by Abbott Laboratories Inc.'s ABT.N diabetes unit, and said the court has dismissed one claim in Abbott's lawsuit. DexCom said the judge delayed the case until the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could reexamine Abbott's patents. DexCom said the court noted that granting the stay would "simplify the issues and focus the litigation," in the event that some or all of the four patents are found to be invalid. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:20:13 am into the following categories: In The News08/22/06
Deep Nines, Inc., a network security solutions provider, filed a lawsuit yesterday against McAfee, Inc., alleging infringement and false marking of its recently issued U.S. patent on a key network security technology. The alleged infringement and false marking concerns U.S. patent number 7,058,976, issued to DeepNines on June 6, 2006, which involves combining a firewall and a signature-based intrusion detection/prevention solution (IDS/IPS) on a single, inline device that takes action in real-time. DeepNines filed and won an interference against McAfee regarding this patent in March 2005, but McAfee has continued to mark and sell products that claim this patent as their own. DeepNines is asking the court for damages and a permanent injunction to prevent McAfee from marketing and selling the infringing products. DeepNines is being represented by the law firm Fish & Richardson P.C. "We intend to protect our intellectual property, just as we respect the intellectual property rights of others," said Dan Jackson, president of DeepNines. "Although DeepNines continuously monitors the products of its competitors, at this point, our focus remains on McAfee for both infringing our patent and falsely marking its products with a patent that is invalid and purports to claim the same invention covered by our patent." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:18:31 am into the following categories: In The News08/15/06
7,092,957 Computerized national online parcel-level map data portal  08/15/06
7,093,136 Methods, systems, computer program products, and data structures for limiting the dissemination of electronic email  08/15/06
7,090,907 Adhesive coated label having tactile feel  08/15/06
Drug developer ZymoGenetics Inc. said Monday it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. over fusion protein technology. The lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, seeks both injunctive relief and damages. The company, which licenses the technology to other drug companies, did not provide further details about the lawsuit. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:56:28 am into the following categories: In The News08/15/06
DataTreasury Corporation, a Texas-based check-processing company, today announced that Merrill Lynch has acquired a license to utilize six of DataTreasury's financial transaction patents on a worldwide basis. These patents relate to technologies involved in the electronic processing of checks and other financial instruments, and they are currently the basis of a series of high-profile patent-infringement lawsuits DataTreasury has filed against a number of banks and financial services companies. This litigation is being handled by attorneys Ed Hohn and Rod Cooper, partners in the Dallas office of Nix, Patterson & Roach, LLP. At no time was Merrill Lynch a defendant in this litigation. The terms of Merrill Lynch's licensing agreement are confidential. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:55:41 am into the following categories: In The News08/15/06
Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court in Massachusetts against cosmetic laser maker Candela Corp. The Associated Press reported Thursday that Palomar has specifically targeted Candela's technologies used in its GentleYag and GentleLas hair-removal systems, saying the products infringe on patents that Palomar is exclusively licensing from Massachusetts General Hospital. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:52:58 am into the following categories: In The News08/15/06
Altnet, Inc. today announced that it has commenced patent infringement proceedings against StreamCast Networks, Inc and its chief executive, Michael Weiss. The case was launched today in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Altnet and the other plaintiffs allege that StreamCast and its CEO, Michael Weiss, intentionally infringe Altnet's "TrueNames" patents as part of its music and movie file distribution business. The patents infringed are 5,978791 - 6,415,280 - 6,928,442. They are well established and recognized patents that are critical to efficient on-line "peer-to-peer" file distribution systems, which Altnet uses to sell licensed contented worldwide. Michael Speck, manager of enforcement programs said, "StreamCast have been given ample opportunity by all to mend their ways. Their determination to continue distributing infringing material has left us with no choice but to prosecute them." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:51:22 am into the following categories: In The News08/08/06
7,089,495 Video enhanced gravemarker  08/08/06
7,088,949 Automated essay scoring  08/08/06
7,089,218 Method for inclusion of psychological temperament in an electronic emulation of the human brain  08/08/06
Ericsson AB is the world’s biggest producer of mobile phone networks and they have now sued South Korean company Samsung saying that they are infringing upon 11 of their patents related to mobile phone technologies. The company claims in the lawsuit filed in courts that Samsung wrongly used patented technology including methods of reducing cell phone power usage and amplifying and adjusting radio frequency. Ericsson had already filed a lawsuit against Samsung in February this year and they had asked the courts to rule that Samsung infringed its patents. In addition, the company asked the courts to conclude that phones made by a joint venture with Sony Corp do not infringe Samsung patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:02:54 am into the following categories: In The News08/08/06
A report by UK site The Inquirer has highlighted a complaint filed on July 31, 2006 by Texas-based firm Anascape Ltd against both Nintendo and Microsoft in a Texas district court for infringement on no less than twelve game hardware and controller-related patents. The complaint has called for a jury trial in order for the dispute to be settled. Among those patents included in the company's complaint are patent numbers 5,999,084, labeled "Variable Conductance Sensor"; 6,102,802, labeled “Game controller with analog pressure sensor(s)”; 6,135,886, labeled “Variable Conductance Sensor with Elastomeric Dome Cap”; 6,208,271, labeled “Remote Controller with Analog Button”; 6,222,525, labeled “Image Controller with Sheet Connected Sensors”; and 6,343,991, labeled “Game Control with Analog Pressure Sensor”. In addition, the complaint goes on to allege infringement by the two companies on additional patents, including 6,344,791, labeled “Variable Sensor with Tactile Feedback”; 6,347,997, labeled “Analog Controls Housed with Electronic Displays”; 6,351,205, labeled “Variable Conductance Sensor”; 6,400,303, labeled “Remote Controller with Analog Pressure Sensor”; 6,563,415, labeled “Analog Sensor with Snap Through Tactile Feedback”; and 6,906,700, labeled “3D Controller with Vibration”. Each of the patents were filed by Brad Armstrong of Paradise, California between the years of 1996 and 2001, and were awarded to him at various dates between 1999 and 2005. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:59:59 am into the following categories: In The News08/08/06
A Johnson & Johnson unit has filed a lawsuit alleging that Wyeth blockbuster Effexor antidepressant infringes a J&J patent. The lawsuit was filed by J&J's Alza unit on July 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas; Wyeth disclosed the suit in a regulatory filing Monday. The suit alleges Wyeth's manufacture and sale of the extended-release version of Effexor _ known as Effexor XR _ willfully infringes a U.S. patent held by Alza. The patent was issued in August 2002, according to the lawsuit, and covers a controlled-release method of administering an antidepressant; it expires in 2019. The lawsuit seeks a court order that Wyeth pay Alza damages, and that the amount be tripled because Wyeth willfully infringed the patent. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:57:12 am into the following categories: In The News08/08/06
Semiconductor design firm OPTi Inc. said Friday it settled its 2004 patent infringement lawsuit against graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. OPTi said it is dismissing the lawsuit and granting Nvidia a non-exclusive license for the technologies disputed in the lawsuit. In exchange, Nvidia will pay $10 million for the license grant, and $1 million for a fully paid-up license to use the Compact ISA-Bus Interface patents. Nvidia will also pay $750,000 in quarterly royalties to use OPTi's Predictive Snooping technology, starting in February 2007 and continuing for up to 12 quarters. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:55:54 am into the following categories: In The News08/01/06
7,085,746 Method and system for notifying mail users of mail piece contamination  08/01/06
7,082,706 Systems and methods for creating aerial messages  08/01/06
7,085,936 System and method for using login correlations to detect intrusions  08/01/06
RealNetworks Inc. Friday said it has won a patent-infringement suit that Ethos Technologies Inc. brought against the company in 2002. A jury in a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts found that RealNetworks has not infringed on all 10 of the complaints filed by Ethos, according to Matt Greaves, a spokesman for RealNetworks. The verdict, which was unanimous, also found that seven of the 10 claims Ethos made in the suit were invalid, he said. Ethos filed suit in 2002 against RealNetworks claiming the San Francisco company had infringed its patents with software that RealNetworks offers to help users download its "premium" products such as RealPlayer, Greaves said. Ethos had sought over US$200 million in damages in the suit. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:48:27 am into the following categories: In The News08/01/06
Rambus Inc. has accepted a court's lowered damage award in a patent infringement case against Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the company said late Thursday. Los Altos-based Rambus said it elected the judge's reduction of a jury's about $307 million award down to $133.6 million. If Rambus had refused to accept the lower amount, the judge ruled, South Korea-based Hynix would be granted a new trial on the issue of damages. The damages award results from a San Jose federal jury finding in April that Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, infringed Rambus patents on dynamic random access memory -- or DRAM -- between June 2000 and the end of 2005. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:47:32 am into the following categories: In The News08/01/06
Drug developer Repligen Corp. said Monday that a federal court refused to dismiss its claims in patent infringement lawsuit against the drugmaker ImClone Systems Inc. The company said the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts declined to issue a summary judgment requested by ImClone. In its motion, ImClone had argued that Repligen's claims should be dismissed because a patent in question had been exhausted. Repligen alleges that ImClone's production of the cancer drug Erbitux infringes a patent that is owned by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is licensed exclusively to Repligen. The patent covers certain genetic elements that increase protein production in a mammalian cell. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:45:51 am into the following categories: In The News08/01/06
Polymer Group, Inc. (PGI), one of the world's leading producers of engineered materials, announced that it, through certain of its subsidiaries, has filed a suit against The Kroger Co. (Kroger), Inter-American Products, Inc. (Inter-American) and U.S. Nonwovens Corp. for patent infringement related to private-label imaged wipes sold through Kroger's retail food stores. The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, alleges that Kroger is willfully infringing PGI's U.S. Patent No. RE 38,505, which relates to hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics having raised patterns. The allegedly infringing product is Kroger's "Everyday Living(R) Refill Dusting Cloths." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:44:53 am into the following categories: In The News07/25/06
7,082,415 System and method for biometrically-initiated refund transactions  07/25/06
7,080,984 Simulated disposable foreskin for training surgical procedure of infant circumcision  07/25/06
7,081,579 Method and system for music recommendation  07/25/06
DirecTV plans to contest a $78.9 million jury verdict that found that the direct-broadcast satellite provider infringed on a patent held by Finisar. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Finisar -- which provides fiber-optic systems for high-speed-data networks -- was awarded the back damages from DirecTV last Friday. After a two-week trial in Federal District Court, a Beaumont, Texas, jury found that DirecTV and its affiliated companies directly and willfully infringed on Finisar's information-transmission patent and awarded the sizable verdict to the company. "We believe the jury's verdict is wrong and represents a distortion of patent-infringement law," DirecTV said in a prepared statement "We are confident the facts and law support our position, and we will contest this decision through post-trial motions or on appealThe jury's award was substantially less than the damages claimed by Finisar, and we believe the evidence will ultimately show there was no infringement." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:12:02 am into the following categories: In The News07/25/06
A company that provides cellular phone billing services on Friday reached an $87 million settlement of a patent infringement case that had threatened to send it into bankruptcy. The settlement is far less than the $128 million a jury had ordered Boston Communications Group Inc. and its co-defendants to pay Freedom Wireless Inc., a small, privately held firm that had sued over patents. The Bedford-based company said in a joint announcement with Freedom Wireless that they had reached a definitive settlement and a related agreement under which BCGI will pay $12.6 million in royalties to license technology used for prepaid cellular phone billing plans. The $12.6 million is part of BCGI's total $55.3 million obligation to settle all outstanding claims from Phoenix-based Freedom, a tiny, privately held company that sought patent protection for its technologies in 1994. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:11:02 am into the following categories: In The News07/25/06
Roche Diagnostics today announced that a district judge in New York has ruled in favor of Roche Diagnostics on important aspects of patent infringement allegations brought by Enzo Biochem. The Court adopted virtually all of the interpretations proposed by Roche Diagnostics and its co-parties relating to seven Enzo patents covered by the order. Judge Sprizzo's ruling followed a week long hearing in July 2005 and extensive legal briefs by the parties. "This order will allow us to request a further ruling from the Court, declaring that Roche does not infringe on this patent," said Melinda Griffith, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Roche Molecular Diagnostics, a business unit of Roche Diagnostics. "We look forward to the successful conclusion of this litigation." The litigation, first filed in 2002, concerns products and techniques for detecting genetic information in biological samples, such as blood. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:05:25 am into the following categories: In The News07/25/06
Fish & Richardson attorneys won a decisive patent defense victory for Fresenius Medical Care, a Massachusetts-based maker of dialysis machines. On July 18, an Oakland, Calif., jury invalidated all four of the patents being asserted by Baxter International against Fresenius. Baxter, based in Deerfield, Ill., was seeking $87 million in damages from Fresenius for patent infringement associated with the "Fresenius 2008K" hemodialysis machine and an injunction barring Fresenius from continuing to sell the unit. Fish & Richardson attorneys Juanita Brooks in San Diego and Thomas Melsheimer in Dallas represented Fresenius. "It was an extremely complicated case involving multiple complaints, cross-complaints and advanced technological issues. The bottom line is, the jury understood that Baxter's patents should never have been issued and that Baxter was due no compensation," Brooks said in a statement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:04:31 am into the following categories: In The News07/18/06
7,079,659 Sound generating apparatus and method, sound generating space and sound, each provided for significantly increasing cerebral blood flows of persons  07/18/06
7,080,064 System and method for integrating on-line user ratings of businesses with search engines  07/18/06
7,079,985 Method and system for approximating value functions for cooperative games  07/18/06
A U.S. judge on Monday tossed out a $307 million patent infringement award to Rambus, saying the computer technology developer could accept much-reduced damages or face another trial. Judge Ronald Whyte of the U.S. court for the Northern District of California offered Rambus $133.6 million, agreeing with South Korean memory chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor that the previous award was excessive. In April, a jury found Hynix guilty of violating Rambus patents on a type of memory now found in nearly all personal computers, a big legal victory for the company, which develops technology to make computers run faster. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:51:48 am into the following categories: In The News07/18/06
Akamai Technologies Inc. of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have filed a patent infringement suit against Limelight Networks Inc., an Arizona company that competes with Akamai in the Internet content-delivery business. The suit, filed in late June, charges that Limelight has violated two patents filed in 1999 and 2000 by MIT computer scientists Thomas Leighton and Daniel Lewin. MIT holds the patents, but granted an exclusive license to Akamai, a company founded by Leighton and Lewin to exploit their inventions. Akamai is seeking unspecified damages, as well as a permanent injunction against Limelight to halt the alleged infringement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:50:58 am into the following categories: In The News07/18/06
The law firm of SimmonsCooper LLC announced today that it brought suit against Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. on behalf of Doug Farrago, who in 1991 received a patent on a pad structure for relieving knee stress -- a version of which is sold today as the Knee Saver. The Knee Saver is a device that has revolutionized equipment worn by catchers at all levels of competitive baseball. The Knee Saver is so popular, it is even used by Major League Baseball catchers to reduce wear and tear on their knees, and has proven so effective that it was placed into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The pad can also be used by anyone who frequently kneels or squats, and incurs higher risk of cartilage damage as a result. The suit claims that Rawlings infringed Mr. Farrago's patent by making, using, offering for sale and/or selling its Knee Reliever pad. "It is immensely gratifying to me when I realize the good that my invention has done for such terrific athletes," said Mr. Farrago. "They benefit, their teams benefit, the fans benefit. I want the Knee Saver to find the widest possible use, in and out of baseball. "But the process has to be legal, and it has to be fair. This lawsuit will ensure that it is." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:49:46 am into the following categories: In The News07/11/06
7,074,043 Mobile firefighting flashover training unit and arson investigation lab & method of fabricating same  07/11/06
7,076,479 Search engine account monitoring  07/11/06
7,073,729 Jewelry for emitting fragrances and a method therefor  07/11/06
The University of Alabama in Huntsville announced Friday a lawsuit settlement has been reached with a former professor that will yield $25 million over the next decade. Milton Harris, a leader in the field of polyethylene glycol (PEG) chemistry, is the former chairman and CEO of Huntsville-based Shearwater Corp., later acquired by Inhale Therapeutic Systems Inc., which changed its name in 2003 to Nektar Therapeutics. Harris, who now serves as chief scientific officer for Nektar Alabama, has agreed in conjunction with the San Carlos, Calif.-based Nektar to pay UAH a lump sum of $15 million, with the company paying the $10 million balance at a rate of $1 million per year. The settlement addresses patent issues surrounding Nektar's PEGylation technology. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:31:34 am into the following categories: In The News07/11/06
Klausner Technologies Inc. sued Vonage Holdings Corp. over its Internet voicemail services, alleging patent infringement and seeking damages and royalties of $180 million. The suit has been filed in federal court in the eastern district of Texas. Earlier this year, Klausner settled a dispute over the same patent with AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc. Under the settlement, Klausner granted a license to AOL to use the patent. Terms of the deal not disclosed. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:30:17 am into the following categories: In The News07/11/06
Business transaction software company Entrust Inc. said Wednesday it settled a patent-infringement lawsuit against Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union. Under the agreement, Addison Avenue will license Entrust's IndentityGuard product and both companies will drop their suits. Entrust sued in March alleging Addison Avenue was using software that infringed on an Entrust-held patent covering software that determines whether a person is authorized to access a secured system. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:28:42 am into the following categories: In The News07/11/06
Medical device maker Medegen LLC on Monday said its unit has filed a patent infringement suit against ICU Medical Inc. in a U.S. federal court. Medegen alleged that two of ICU Medical's valve products, CLC-2000 and TEGO, infringe on Medegen's patent for its proprietary valve technology, used in its Maximus product line, the company said in a news release. The suit requests ICU Medical to pay damages to Medegen, and the court to issue a permanent injunction preventing further sale of these products by ICU Medical, the release added. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:26:35 am into the following categories: In The News07/05/06
7,072,947 Method and system for monitoring e-mail and website behavior of an e-mail recipient  07/05/06
7,072,888 Process for improving search engine efficiency using feedback  07/05/06
7,070,928 Evolving new molecular function 07/04/06
Palm Inc. said Tuesday it settled a patent infringement lawsuit filed nine years ago by Xerox Corp. for $22.5 million. Sunnyvale-based Palm, which makes hand-held computers and phones, said the dispute was over "Graffiti" software -- which is called "Unistrokes" by Rochester, N.Y.-based Xerox -- that lets users enter their data through alphabet-type symbols on their Palm screens. In April 1997, Xerox sued, claiming that the handwriting-recognition technology infringed a Xerox patent. With the agreement, Palm will receive a fully paid-up license for three Xerox patents, including Unistrokes, and a seven-year mutual covenant not to sue for patent infringement within certain fields of use. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:38:14 am into the following categories: In The News07/04/06
Linux leader Red Hat has been named in a patent infringement lawsuit in Texas in connection with its recently acquired JBoss Hibernate 3.0 technology. In its complaint, which is provided online by the blog Patently-O, Delaware-based FireStar Software claims the now Red Hat-owned object/relational persistence and query service product infringes on a patented method of interfacing object-oriented software applications and relational databases. The company alleges that Red Hat's JBoss Hibernate 3.0 product, as well as marketing, distribution and support related to the offering, infringe on FireStar's U.S. patent issued in 2000. FireStar is claiming damages and a need for injunctive relief, and is seeking a jury trial on its infringement claims. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:37:12 am into the following categories: In The News07/04/06
Agere Systems has settled three patent infringement suits with Atmel Corp., ending a four-year court battle. Both parties have agreed to dismiss all outstanding litigation. Neither company released details of the settlement. Agere, a Hanover Township, Lehigh County, chipmaker, had sued Atmel in 2002 for infringement of five patents. Four of the patents concern semiconductor manufacturing processes and a fifth is related to the metal frame in which chips are packaged. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:35:36 am into the following categories: In The News07/04/06
Intermec Inc. said it's suing Alien Technology for patent infringement in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Everett-based Intermec, which makes radio frequency identification (RFID) products, said it's suing Morgan Hill, Calif.-based Alien for infringing on 10 Intermec patents. Two of Alien Technologies RFID readers infringe on its patents, Intermec said. Alien Technologies officials said they haven't seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment. Intermec added that it filed a motion to dismiss a declaratory judgment action filed by Alien in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. Intermec said that court doesn't have jurisdiction to hear the case. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:34:07 am into the following categories: In The News06/27/06
7,069,323 Domain manager and method of use  06/27/06
7,068,769 Method and system for communication processing based on physical presence  06/27/06
7,069,028 Device and method for mediating between questioners and answerer by using mobile telephone  06/27/06
Finisar Corp. won $78.9 million in back damages in a patent infringement case against DirecTV, the company said Monday. The damages were awarded after a two-week trial in a Beaumont, Texas, federal district court where DirecTV was found to be directly, literally and willfully infringing upon Finisar's information transmission patent, according to a release. Sunnyvale-based Finisar makes fiber optic subsystems and network test and monitoring systems. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:08:40 am into the following categories: In The News06/27/06
Media Sciences International Inc. on Monday said Xerox Corp. filed a patent infringement suit against the maker of office color printer supplies, seeking unspecified damages, injunctive relief and fees. The outcome of the litigation may have a material adverse effect on the company, Media Sciences said in a statement. In its complaint, filed in a New York court, Xerox alleged that Media Sciences' solid inks designed for use in the Xerox Phaser 8500 and 8550 printers infringed four Xerox-held patents. The patents were related to the shape of the ink sticks, Media Sciences said. The company said it did not infringe any valid U.S. patents and intended to defend the allegations. "Media Sciences has competed with Xerox in this market for nearly a decade, and we are disappointed that Xerox has moved this competition from the marketplace into the courtroom," said Michael Levin, chief executive and president of Media Sciences. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:07:48 am into the following categories: In The News06/27/06
Blood test maker Gen-Probe Inc. said Thursday that it settled its patent disputes with drug maker Bayer HealthCare LLC, a member of the Bayer Group. Under the agreement, Gen-Probe will withdraw its patent infringement suit against Bayer, and will grant it immunity from legal action on Bayer's current nucleic acid diagnostic tests, and future Bayer products using four Gen-Probe patent families Bayer granted Gen-Probe immunity from suit on Gen-Probe's current and future Tigris instruments. Additionally, Bayer agreed to pay Gen-Probe lump sum royalties over the next 18 months. The first payment of $5 million will be made by Bayer within 15 days of execution of the final agreement. Bayer will also make a one-time royalty payment of $10.3 million during the calendar year 2007 if it sells any products that are subject to Gen-Probe's patents after 2007 begins. In 2008, Gen-Probe is entitled to a $16.4 million one-time royalty if Bayer sells products subject to Gen-Probe's patents. Also under the deal, Bayer will not be held responsible for reimbursing Gen-Probe of the $2 million it spent on legal expenses, which had originally been ordered by an arbitrator. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:06:44 am into the following categories: In The News06/27/06
The Go Daddy Group, the Internet domain registrar that plans to go public, is being sued for patent infringement by Web.com, which provides services to business Web sites. Web.com sued Go Daddy on Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, seeking both unspecified monetary damages and an injunction. A spokeswoman for Go Daddy, one of the best known Internet brands thanks to its racy Super Bowl TV commercials, declined to comment. At issue in the suit is a patent that enables customers to manage or change their Web sites remotely through a control panel which Web.com received in 2004, when the company was called Interland. The company changed its name to Web.com in March. "The patent at issue in this claim, and the technology it represents, constitutes valuable assets for the company, and an investment for which the company's shareholders expect to receive a return," Atlanta-based Web.com says in a 26-page complaint. "Web.com has been damaged and will be irreparably injured by Go Daddy's infringement and active inducement of infringement, for which Web.com has no adequate remedy at law." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:13 am into the following categories: In The News06/27/06
Sigma-Aldrich Corp. and Oxford BioMedica have filed a lawsuit against Open Biosystems Inc. for infringement of patents that cover key lentiviral-based systems for delivery of foreign DNA to a broad array of mammalian cells. A lentivirus is a retrovirus, or one that has an RNA (ribonucleic acid) genome. The complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges that Open Biosystems is infringing on two U.S. patents. Rights to the patents, both titled Lentiviral LTR Deleted Vector, were exclusively licensed for research use to Sigma-Aldrich by Oxford BioMedica in October 2005. The suit states that, among other products, Open Biosystems' Lentiviral shRNAmir Library is marketed and sold to researchers and research institutions for incorporation into viral particles that infringe one or more claims of the patents. Sigma-Aldrich said in a release that the lawsuit filed against Open Biosystems is a result of the company's "desire to actively protect its intellectual property in this field." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:00 am into the following categories: In The News06/20/06
7,063,323 Political chess game  06/20/06
7,065,448 Presenting driving directions  06/20/06
7,065,199 Communication system including means for transmitting internet addresses via SMS |