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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Your Source for the Latest Patent Information
12/11/07
7,308,419 Method and system for tracking consumer awareness of brand-names  12/11/07
7,308,425 Method, system and medium for assisting a user in evaluating a merchant in an electronic marketplace  12/11/07
7,308,445 Method for estimating coverage of web search engines  12/11/07
A company that creates touch-screen technology has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against PC maker Dell Inc. and Motion Computing, Inc., a developer of tablet computers. The complaint, filed by Typhoon Touch Technologies, Inc., seeks an unspecified amount of damages and a permanent injunction enjoining Dell and Motion Computing from continued alleged infringement. The suit was filed Wednesday, Dec. 5, in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas. Typhoon filed the suit as co-plaintiff with its licensee, Nova Mobility Systems, Inc., a maker of tablet personal computers and handheld systems. "As alleged in our complaint, we believe that both Dell and Motion Computing are using and profiting from our patented technologies," said James Shepard, CEO and president of Typhoon Touch Technologies. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:21:35 am into the following categories: In The News12/11/07
IBM reported Thursday that it filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission against Taiwan computer and components manufacturer ASUSTeK. The complaint alleges that ASUS and its North American subsidiary, ASUS Computer International, are infringing three IBM patents. The charge comes as the new ASUS ultra-mobile computer, the Eee PC, is reaching U.S. consumers. ASUS has said that it expects to sell 3.8 million units of the tiny computer. IBM said it made repeated attempts to reach a licensing agreement with ASUS before it filed the complaint. In a release, IBM said, "IBM's position has been -- and remains -- that ASUSTek either must license or stop using IBM's patented technology." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:20:11 am into the following categories: In The News12/11/07
Intuitive Surgical Inc., which makes robotic surgical tools, said Monday the California Institute of Technology will dismiss its lawsuit against the company as part of a licensing deal. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Intuitive and the university entered a non-exclusive licensing deal under the university's patent portfolio. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. In January, the company said the university filed a lawsuit, claiming patent infringement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:19:15 am into the following categories: In The News12/11/07
Novo Nordisk Inc. today announced the company has settled a lawsuit against Pfizer claiming 12/04/07
7,305,356 Travel value index  12/04/07
7,302,767 Water illusion column  12/04/07
7,304,603 Radar apparatus and processing method for detecting human carried explosive devices  12/04/07
Klausner Technologies Inc. said Monday it filed a $460 million patent infringement suit against Apple Inc. over the company's iPhone Visual Voicemail feature. New York-based Klausner claims the iPhone infringes its intellectual property rights "by allowing users to selectively retrieve voice messages via the iPhone's inbox display." The company said founder Judah Klausner is "the inventor of the PDA and electronic organizer," and that Cupertino-based Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) defunct digital organizer Newton was covered under a patent it received more than 20 year ago. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:57:55 am into the following categories: In The News12/04/07
Celerity, Inc., a technology leader in precision instruments and advanced gas and liquid delivery solutions for the global semiconductor and electronics industries, announced today the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a permanent injunction in Celerity's patent infringement suit against Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. , and its subsidiary Ultra Clean Technology Systems and Service, Inc., Menlo Park, CA ("UCT"). The Court's order prohibits UCT from manufacturing, selling and importing any Predator or "colorably similar" products into the United States. In June, a unanimous jury validated Celerity's U.S. Patent Nos. 6,435,215 and 6,394,138, and found that UCT's Predator product infringed on Celerity's patented modular gas delivery technology used in semiconductor manufacturing and other related industries requiring high precision process control. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:56:43 am into the following categories: In The News12/04/07
A Massachusetts company has sued the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Association for patent infringement, charging the project with stealing its designs for a multilingual keyboard. Lagos Analysis Corp., or Lancor, filed the lawsuit Thursday in the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division in Nigeria, where the company owns a patent for a four shift-key keyboard, said Adé Oyegbola, Lancor's CEO. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:56:09 am into the following categories: In The News12/04/07
Etrials will pay $1.75 million to settle a patent infringement lawsuit with a Maryland firm. The Morrisville company, which provides software to help run clinical trials of drugs and medical devices, says the settlement means that it will have no future monetary obligations to the Maryland firm, Datasci LLC, which sued Etrials in 2006. The Datasci case is a quirk of the patent system, in which the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in 2002 essentially granted the company a patent on running clinical trials over the Internet - even though Etrials and other companies in the space had been doing just that for years. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:54:01 am into the following categories: In The News11/27/07
7,302,395 Speech notification  11/27/07
7,302,349 System and a method for observing and predicting a physiological state of an animal  11/27/07
7,300,625 Chlorine gas generating candle  11/27/07
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) must pay more than $140 million for infringing on software patents owned by a Michigan-based technology company, a federal appeals court has ruled. Z4 Technologies Inc. sued Microsoft and Autodesk Inc. (ADSK), maker of drafting software, in 2004, claiming the technology they used to activate newly installed software and deter piracy infringed on patents created and owned by David Colvin, the owner of privately held z4. Commerce Township, Mich.-based z4 argued that Microsoft's Windows XP and Office 2003 suite of productivity software used its patented method of asking computer users to supply two passwords, or authorization codes, before they could fully use new software. The technology in question also can be used to deactivate software. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:30:18 am into the following categories: In The News11/27/07
Ten million dollars. That's the amount Apple has agreed to pay software developer Burst in exchange for a non-exclusive license to most of the company's patent portfolio, excluding 3 pending U.S. patent applications related to new DVR technology. Oh, and Burst also promised not to sue Apple for any future infringement of these patents. After a prolonged two-year court battle, the two companies recently announced that the they settled their ongoing dispute, which had to do with a handful of audio and video delivery technologies. In 2004, Burst claimed that Apple's iPod, iTunes and Quicktime products used many of its audio and video patents and subsequently asked Apple to license them. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:28:12 am into the following categories: In The News11/27/07
CIBA Vision and CooperVision Inc. reported they have reached an agreement to settle patent litigation that resolves all current patent infringement lawsuits between the two companies. CIBA Vision, the Duluth, Ga.-based eye-care unit of Novartis, said it has licensed its so called "Nicolson" patents to CooperVision. This will enable both companies to move forward in bringing forth new and improved products. The Nicolson patents cover high-oxygen-transmissible contact lenses, including CIBA Vision's O2OPTIX AIR OPTIXand NIGHT & DAY silicone hydrogel contact lenses. In exchange, CooperVision will pay CIBA Vision a royalty on U.S. sales of its Biofinity contact lenses until 2014 and on sales outside of the United States until 2016. CIBA Vision also has licensed two types of patents from CooperVision related to contact lens designs. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:18:25 am into the following categories: In The News11/27/07
Cooper Cos., which is moving to Pleasanton from Lake Forest, said Wednesday that it settled a patent infringement lawsuit with rival Ciba Vision, the eye care unit of Switzerland’s Novartis AG. The settlement stems from Cooper and Novartis trading patent infringement suits in April 2006. CooperVision, Cooper’s dominant contact lens unit, said its suit against Ciba involved a pair of patents, one relating to features controlling contact lenses’ edge characteristics and another relating to design. Ciba alleged CooperVision infringed on patents relating to silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Under the settlement, CooperVision will pay a royalty to Novartis on domestic sales of its Biofinity contact lenses until 2014 and on international sales until 2016. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:16:51 am into the following categories: In The News11/20/07
7,297,860 System and method for determining genre of audio  11/20/07
7,297,000 Periodic table of the elements in three dimensional form  11/20/07
7,297,110 Systems and methods for remote monitoring of fear and distress responses  11/20/07
A U.S. appeals court judge upheld a $140 million judgment Friday against Microsoft Corp. for patent infringement against David Colvin, a Commerce Township inventor and founder of z4Technologies Inc.Judge Elaine Bucklo of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois upheld a lower court jury that ruled last year in Texas that Microsoft willfully infringed two of z4’s patents involving digital rights management in the Windows XP operating system. The jury awarded $115 million in damages, and Judge Leonard Davis added $25 million because of what he called litigation misconduct during the trial. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:11:16 am into the following categories: In The News11/20/07
Microsoft did not infringe on patents over technology that helps computers boot up faster, a Texas court ruled late last week after a seven-day trial. The suit, filed by Acceleration Software International Corp, claims that Microsoft infringed on United States patent 5933639, issued in 1999. The suit asked the court to award the patent holder $2.50 per copy of Windows XP sold in the United States, or between $600 million to $900 million. Microsoft argued that there are many ways to improve the boot speed of PCs and that Windows XP does not infringe on the technology in the patent. In addition, the jury also found that the patent is invalid because it was obvious and the technology already existed. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:10:24 am into the following categories: In The News11/20/07
"A little-known corporation from Newport Beach, California is suing Mac maker Apple Inc., alleging that a new version of the company's iChat video conferencing software infringes on patented technology through its use of custom video backdrops," Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider. "In the 6-page complaint, filed Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Digital Background Corporation claims that the Apple software infringes on its 1998 patent entitled 'Real-Time Method of Digitally Altering a Video Data Stream to Remove Portions of the Original Image and Substitute Elements to Create a New Image,'" Jade reports. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:09:03 am into the following categories: In The News11/20/07
A North Texas federal court recently issued a Final Judgment in favor of a subsidiary of Dallas-based Heelys, Inc. in a lawsuit against a patent infringer selling knock-offs of patented Heelys wheeled footwear in shopping malls throughout the Dallas area. The alleged patent infringers, operating under the company name Ohayan, were ordered to cease all sales of the wheeled footwear, which were conducted at kiosks in numerous North Texas malls including Irving Mall, Valley View Center and Stonebriar Center, under the brand name “Air” and others. “We are pleased that the federal court agreed with our position and shut Ohayan down,” said Mike Staffaroni, CEO of Heelys, Inc. “We now need the mall operators to do the right thing and stop leasing kiosks to infringers.” Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:07:47 am into the following categories: In The News11/13/07
7,294,053 Prescription paper for physicians  11/13/07
7,296,016 Systems and methods for performing point-of-view searching  11/13/07
7,295,127 National security warning system integrated with building fire alarm notification system  11/13/07
Japan's Canon won a patent lawsuit against a recycled ink cartridge supplier as the country's Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal against a lower court decision in favor of the camera and office gear maker. Canon filed a suit at a Tokyo court in 2004, asking a court injunction to block imports and sales by Tokyo-based Recycle Assist of recycled Canon ink cartridges that are refilled with non-Canon ink, claiming the products infringe Canon patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 04:09:41 am into the following categories: In The News11/13/07
A Boston university and an affiliated start-up have sued Google for patent infringement related to search engines. The suit was filed by Boston's Northeastern University and Jarg, a company that specializes in distributed search technologies and one of whose co-founders, Kenneth Baclawski, is an associate professor at Northeastern. The suit accuses Google of using a distributed database technology developed by Baclawski. The lawsuit seeks an injunction, royalty payments and damages. The patent describes a distributed database system that breaks queries into fragments and distributes them to multiple computers in a network to get faster search results. The patent was assigned to Northeastern University, which licensed it exclusively to Jarg, according to the lawsuit, filed last Tuesday in a Texas court. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 04:08:41 am into the following categories: In The News11/13/07
OpenTV, a provider of interactive TV software and services, announced on Friday that it has settled its lawsuit against former competitor Liberate Technologies, with Liberate admitting that it infringed two OpenTV patents. Under the terms, the court permanently enjoined Liberate from infringing OpenTV's patents, while Liberate dismissed all of its counterclaims against OpenTV. San Francisco-based OpenTV originally filed suit in 2002 against Liberate, which sold its assets in 2005 to TVWorks, a joint venture between cable TV providers Comcast and Cox. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 04:07:43 am into the following categories: In The News11/13/07
A patent infringement suit by a three-person company against Apple Inc. will go forward, a U.S. District Judge has ruled. Santa Rosa-based Burst.com Inc., a company that lost $533,000 last year, contends its founder invented some of the technologies used by iPod. The company wants millions of dollars in royalties from Cupertino-based Apple, which has a campus in Elk Grove. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 04:06:10 am into the following categories: In The News11/06/07
7,292,994 System and method for establishing value and financing of intellectual property  11/06/07
7,292,683 Ad ringer  11/06/07
7,290,501 System and method for relaxing laying hen  11/06/07
Procter & Gamble and Kraft have filed fresh lawsuits in their continuing legal fight over allegations of patent infringements of plastic coffee cups. As FLEXNEWS reported last week, Kraft Foods went on the offensive when it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against P&G and its plastic Folgers coffee container on October 26 in the District Court of the Western District of Wisconsin. However, just days later, P&G filed a retaliatory suit with a counter-claim that Kraft has committed a second infringement of its coffee cup patent. The latest legal exchanges follow the one launched by P&G on August 27 in the US District Court in San Francisco alleging Kraft’s Maxwell House coffee cup has infringed the patent of its Folgers product. A case due to be heard on October 24 was, at Kraft’s request, adjourned to allow examination of the patents. Commenting on the latest legal actions a P&G spokesman told FLEXNEWS: “We were surprised that on October 26, 2007, Kraft decided to sue P&G for patent infringement after a recent product change to Folgers large-size plastic canisters. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:08:14 am into the following categories: In The News11/06/07
GPS Industries, Inc. (GPSI), the world's leading provider of WiFi-enabled golf management systems, intends to respond decisively and aggressively to the patent infringement lawsuit filed last week by ProLink Holdings Corp. Robert Silzer, President and CEO of GPSI, provided these initial comments about the suit: "Our Inforemer Golf Management System is built on our own state of the art technology and is protected by our own intellectual property. We are familiar with ProLink's patents, but simply have no use for that technology. We are confident that the Inforemer system does not infringe any aspect of ProLink's patents. We are advised by Uplink, and our own investigation confirms, that the Uplink systems do not encroach upon these patents. So from our point of view, the lawsuit has no merit whatsoever." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:06:04 am into the following categories: In The News11/06/07
Martek Biosciences Corp., a developer of health and wellness food and supplements, said Thursday it expects to receive a permanent court injunction against a Swiss drug company related to its fatty acid product. Columbia, Md.-based Martek said the U.S. District Court judge in Wilmington, Del., will enter a permanent injunction against Lonza Ltd. marketing its fatty acid product. The decision came in a patent infringement suit against Lonza Ltd., Nutrinova Inc. and Nutrinova Nutrition Specialties & Food Ingredients GmbH. Martek said the judge also ruled in favor of two of Martek's three patents for the fatty acid product, sold by Martek under the name life's DHA. Martek filed suit in 2006 after Swiss drug company Lonza began marketing the product under a different name. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:04:46 am into the following categories: In The News11/06/07
Multisorb Technologies Inc. said it has won a patent infringement case against Sud-Chemie Inc., a company headquartered in Louisville, Ky. Sud-Chemie had alleged infringement of the U.S. Patent No. 5793942 by Multisorb's TranSorb sorbent packs. On Sept. 7, the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Kentucky ruled Sud-Chemie's patent invalid, and dismissed Sud-Chemie's patent infringement case against Multisorb. Multisorb will continue to sell Transorb sorbent packs, which are designed specifically for use within ocean cargo containers to protect products against moisture damage during international and domestic shipping. These sorbent packs absorb moisture that builds up in containers and condenses that can cause rusting, peeling of labels and wrinkled packaging. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:03:18 am into the following categories: In The News10/30/07
7,289,031 Monitored felon warning system  10/30/07
7,289,814 System and method for detecting proximity between mobile device users  10/30/07
7,288,710 Music searching apparatus and method  10/30/07
Intel Corp. and Transmeta Corp. have eventually settled down a patent infringement lawsuit over chip design, as Intel has just agreed to pay Transmeta no less than $250 million for ending the patent litigation. Intel Corp. has agreed to pay Transmeta Corp. $150 million initially and then, in the next five years, it will pay $20 million each year. Intel will this way be granted the right to license Transmeta patents for use in its future devices. This agreement will eventually end the pending patent litigation between the two companies and will as well release all the claims between them. The deal has however come only after Transmeta Corp., which is based in Santa Clara, California, has sued Intel Corp. in the United States’ District Court for the District of Delaware about one year ago. Transmeta has claimed at the time that some Intel processors have violated 10 of the company’s patents covering chip design and power-efficiency techniques. Nine of these patents cover basic functions such as scheduling and addressing instruction on the microprocessors, while the tenth could be related to the company’s LongRun technology, which is used to adjust a chip’s voltage based on its workload. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:10:25 am into the following categories: In The News10/30/07
Bayer AG said a US court ruled in favour of the German drugs and chemicals maker in a case in which Indian generic drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories challenged the validity of two US patents for antibiotic Avelox. Dr Reddy's had filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for approval of a generic version of Avelox prior to the expiration of Bayer's patents, the German drugs and chemicals maker said in a statement. 'Under US law, the filing of the ANDA is an act of patent infringement,' Bayer said, adding it is nonetheless not unusual for generic drug companies to file ANDAs on successful pharmaceutical products prior to the expiration of the relevant patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:09:37 am into the following categories: In The News10/30/07
SanDisk filed three patent infringement actions against 25 companies that manufacture, sell and import USB flash drives, CompactFlash cards, multimedia cards, MP3/media players and other removable flash storage products, the company announced Wednesday. The actions -- two filed in the United States District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin and one in the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) --allege that the companies involved have infringed various SanDisk system-level patents. They seek damages and a permanent injunction as well as a permanent exclusion order from the ITC banning importation of the products into the United States. "These actions demonstrate SanDisk's long-term commitment to enforcing its patents, both to protect our investment in research and development by obtaining a fair return on that investment, and out of fairness to third-parties that participate in our patent licensing program," said E. Earle Thompson, chief intellectual property counsel at the Milpitas, Calif.-based SanDisk. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:08:42 am into the following categories: In The News10/30/07
Sun filed suit in a U.S. District Court in Eastern Texas against the entire NetApp product line, seeking both an injunction and monetary damages. "It's a responsive action we take not because we want to, but rather because we are forced to," said Mike Dillon, Sun's general counsel, in a blog posting. The Sun filing is in response to a NetApp suit filed against Sun September 5, also in Texas, alleging Sun's Zettabyte File System (ZFS) infringed on seven NetApp patents for its Write Anywhere File Layout (WAFL) and RAID technology. NetApp claims that Sun infringed its patents when it released ZFS in 2005 and then released code for it under an open source license this year, as Sun has done with much of its other software. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:16 am into the following categories: In The News10/23/07
7,286,692 Automatic celebrity face matching and attractiveness rating machine  10/23/07
7,287,029 Tagging data assets  10/23/07
7,285,714 Pickup for digital guitar  10/23/07
First, Verizon did it. Then Sprint Nextel got in on the action. And now Vonage has admitted in a regulatory filing that AT&T has also joined the patent infringement party. After failing to arrange a settlement over a single patent that "lets users access an internet phone system using a standard phone device," AT&T told the Wall Street Journal that it was forced to take legal action against the beleaguered VoIP company. This means that every major wireless company here in the U.S. has singled out Vonage in patent infringement cases. It also means one more nail has been placed in Vonage's coffin. Most recently, Vonage settled the Sprint Nextel lawsuit for $80 million. The out of court deal covers both past and future use of patents and came only weeks after a federal jury ordered Vonage to pay Sprint $69.5 million in damages. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:25:52 am into the following categories: In The News10/23/07
Nutratech, Inc. has successfully concluded its patent infringement lawsuit against Syntech (SSPF) International, Inc., over the sale of Citrus aurantium (bitter orange) extract. Syntech has acknowledged the validity and infringement of U.S. patents licensed exclusively to Nutratech on the use of Citrus aurantium extract for stimulating thermogenesis, reducing weight, and suppressing appetite. Advantra Z®, Nutratech’s proprietary Citrus aurantium extract, is the industry’s leading patented thermogenic ingredient. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:25:00 am into the following categories: In The News10/23/07
Wellman, Inc. announces the initiation of a patent infringement lawsuit against Eastman Chemical Company for infringement of United States Patent Nos. 7,129,317 and 7,094,863 owned by Wellman that cover titanium catalyzed polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) resins and the preforms made from titanium catalyzed PET resins. The complaint alleges that Eastman infringes Wellman’s ‘317 patent with its ParaStar resins that are made from its IntegRex process and Eastman is inducing third parties, including its customers, to infringe Wellman’s ‘863 patent when they make preforms using ParaStar resin. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:24:12 am into the following categories: In The News10/23/07
Renesas Technology Corp. today announced that the company has won the patent infringement lawsuit filed by Translogic Technology, Inc. against Renesas Technology America, Inc., Hitachi, Ltd. and its affiliates. Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) upheld a ruling of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the patent (No. 5,162,666) issued to Translogic Technology is invalid. In addition, the CAFC ordered the dismissal of the patent infringement suit, overturning the judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, which had awarded Translogic Technology $86.5 million (plus interest) in damages and to suspend sales of products incorporating the disputed technology. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:22:59 am into the following categories: In The News10/16/07
7,283,983 Computer and vision-based augmented interaction in the use of printed media  10/16/07
7,283,969 Methods and systems for automatically registering complaints against calling parties  10/16/07
7,281,965 Combination yo-yo and top  10/16/07
RC2, whom you probably know as the company that makes the lead-tainted Thomas & Friends toys, has filed a lawsuit against rival Munchkin, INC for allegedly infringing on a spill-proof sippy cup patent. Munchkin, INC, which had no comment for the Chicago Sun-Times about the matter, does display a note on their spill-proof sippy cup product page proclaiming: Patents pending. Quick, Munchkin, INC! Hire Verizon's magical flying lawyers before RC2 gets them first. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:39:18 am into the following categories: In The News10/16/07
IPG Photonics Corp., a maker of fiber lasers and amplifiers, said Thursday it settled a patent infringement lawsuit with Scientific-Atlanta, a unit of networking equipment company Cisco Systems Inc. Terms were not disclosed. The company said the settlement will not affect its financial statements or condition. IPG said the agreement settled Scientific-Atlanta's claims against the company as well as IPG's counterclaims. Scientific-Atlanta sued IPG in April 2005 claiming patent infringement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:37:29 am into the following categories: In The News10/16/07
Trading Technologies International Inc. won a patent infringement lawsuit against eSpeed Inc. related to certain versions of its futures-trading software last used three years ago. A jury in a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois found that ESpeed must pay $3.5 million in damages. "All of eSpeed's current products have already been found to not infringe the patents that were litigated in this case," eSpeed Chairman, Chief Executive and President Howard Lutnick said in a statement. The patent infringement case related to the period from August to December 2004. In August 2007 the Patent and Trademark Office said it would re-examine patents held by Chicago-based Trading Technologies due to "substantial new questions of patentability." The Illinois court has yet to try certain issues related to the patents' validity and enforceability, which could eliminate the judgment, ESpeed said. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:36:24 am into the following categories: In The News10/16/07
Arete Power, Inc. filed a patent infringement suit on October 9, 2007, against Wilmington Massachusetts-based Beacon Power Corporation. The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that flywheel energy storage systems being manufactured and sold by Beacon Power infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,710,489. The lawsuit seeks damages from Beacon Power, as well as injunctive relief preventing further infringement. Arete Power, Inc. is a Reno, Nevada-based developer and manufacturer of advanced flywheel energy storage systems and holder of 23 patents related to flywheel energy storage technology. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:35:11 am into the following categories: In The News10/09/07
7,278,637 Underwater matching game  10/09/07
7,280,980 Algorithm for explaining credit scores  10/09/07
7,280,030 System and method for adjusting access control based on homeland security levels  10/09/07
Baden Sports Inc. says it's been awarded an $8.1 million judgment in a patent infringement case brought against Molten Corp. by a federal court jury in Seattle. The Federal Way-based sporting goods company sued Molten Corp. of Japan and its U.S. subsidiary, Molten USA of Reno, Nev., in U.S. District Court of Western Washington, claiming its patented basketball technology was infringed by Molten. According to Baden, the verdict also prevents Molten from selling or advertising its "dual cushion" basketballs in the U.S. Baden said it developed its "cushion control technology" in the mid-1990s, using a separate inner and outer layer that the company says gives the basketball a truer bounce. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:09:08 am into the following categories: In The News10/09/07
Prokop Labs LLC, today announced it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Belkin International, Inc. a privately held company in Compton, CA. The suit alleges Belkin International's line of computer accessories Waverest® and GelFlex® brands of Gel Mousepads and Wristrests infringe Prokop Labs LLC US Patent 5,566,913. The suit seeks compensatory damages and a permanent injunction precluding Belkin International, Inc from selling the infringing products in the U.S. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:08:13 am into the following categories: In The News10/09/07
Lumenis Ltd., a global leader in laser and light-based devices for medical and aesthetic applications, announced that it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Alma Lasers Ltd. and Alma Lasers Inc. for patent infringement. In this lawsuit, Lumenis has accused Alma's light-based cosmetic treatment systems, including the Harmony platform, of infringing seven of Lumenis' U.S. patents. Lumenis is seeking an injunction against further infringement as well as monetary damages. If Lumenis prevails at trial, Alma could be ordered to pay millions of dollars in damages for past sales and to stop selling infringing products. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:06:55 am into the following categories: In The News10/09/07
A jury has awarded a Tecumseh heavy equipment manufacturer more than $1.5 million in a patent infringement dispute. Dickson Industries Inc. was awarded $503,873 in actual damages and almost $1.04 million in punitive damages. The jury found defendant Patent Enforcement Team LLC's patent was invalid and that the company acted "intentionally and with malice" by suing or threatening Dickson's customers. The jury verdict was made on Sept. 28. It is rare that a company is awarded punitive damages in such a patent dispute, said John Kenney, the lead attorney representing Dickson. "The jury has to find that the actions were malicious and harmful," Kenney said. "The general law is that patent owners have the right to enforce patents. Only when they step over the line do they qualify for punitive damages." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:37 am into the following categories: In The News10/02/07
7,277,445 Call management via television  10/02/07
7,277,888 Method for minimizing reintroduction of participants at successive social events  10/02/07
7,276,819 Explosively driven power generation, method and device  10/02/07
A federal court ruled Wednesday that Medtronic Inc. must pay $226.3 million to a unit of Johnson & Johnson to resolve a patent infringement case. Fridley-based Medtronic said in a statement that it will appeal the jury verdict, which the company said is not yet final. The patent dispute is related to screws used to treat spinal problems. Medtronic, a maker of medical devices, would pay the money to New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson's DePuy Spine division. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:42:12 am into the following categories: In The News10/02/07
In a 37-page order released Sept. 26, U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes said that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Margaret H. Murphy had erred in embracing a characterization of Weyerhaeuser as a “bad actor” in the case, which sprang from the 1998 bankruptcy of Norcross-based Paragon Trade Brands Inc. Paragon, which manufactured generic brand disposable diapers, was established as a division of Weyerhaeuser. In 1993, Weyerhaeuser took Paragon public, making more than $200 million from the initial public offering of Paragon stock. But five years later, after losing two patent infringement suits associated with its line of baby diapers, Paragon filed for bankruptcy. It then sued Weyerhaeuser, claiming that Weyerhaeuser executives had saddled Paragon with diaper patents that infringed patents registered by Kimberly-Clark Corp. (which makes Huggies) and Procter & Gamble (which makes Pampers.) Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:41:22 am into the following categories: In The News10/02/07
Maplewood-based 3M Co. today said it has settled lawsuits with Netherlands-based Avery Dennison Corp. for infringement of 3M's patents related to pressure sensitive adhesives for large format graphics. As part of the settlement, Avery Dennison is now licensed under 3M patents to sell its earlier and existing products in the large format graphics market. The license also includes a cross-license to 3M for related Avery Dennison patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:39:31 am into the following categories: In The News10/02/07
An eastern China court has ordered a French electrical company to pay 330 million yuan (44 million dollars) for infringing the copyright of a Chinese enterprise, a company official and state press said Sunday. In a Saturday ruling, the Wenzhou intermediate court in Zhejiang province ordered Schneider Electric to pay 330 million yuan in compensation to the Chint Group for patent infringement of its low-voltage elecrtical equipment, the Beijing News reported. The amount of compensation is believed to be the highest in China in an intellectual property rights case, the paper said. "We absolutely disagree with this decision, it is absolutely unreasonable," Guy Dufraisse, director of China operations for Schneider Electric told AFP. "Schneider Electric is a world leader in this technology, we will appeal this decision immediately to the Zhejiang high court." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:38:35 am into the following categories: In The News09/25/07
7,273,234 Card with increased gripability  09/25/07
7,275,035 System and method for speech generation from brain activity  09/25/07
7,275,110 Authentication using portion of social security number  09/25/07
Patent reform legislation before the U.S. Congress would kill the value of patents and allow companies from other countries to steal U.S. intellectual property, a group of inventors said Thursday. About 20 inventors and U.S. company executives, visiting Washington, D.C., encouraged Congress to defeat the Patent Reform Act, a version of which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month. The Senate has not yet voted on its version of the bill. The legislation "will weaken the patent system," said Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway and the AutoSyringe. "It will devalue patents. It will be a disincentive for people to invest in the future." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:14 am into the following categories: In The News09/25/07
Starbucks was sued for allegedly infringing another company's patented design for a nonelectric coffee maker. Bodum USA, based in New York, accused Seattle-based Starbucks of copying its silver-domed glass carafe design and selling the copy as its own "Anniversary Press" coffee maker. Both products are available in the U.S., according to the complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Chicago. The suit seeks more than $10 million in damages. "Starbucks has sold Bodum's coffee makers for at least 20 years in its stores and, therefore, is well aware of Bodum's trade dress and celebrity," attorney David Bennett wrote in the complaint, referring to the look and reputation of the company's products. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:21 am into the following categories: In The News09/25/07
Electronic ticketing venture Flash Seats filed a federal lawsuit today seeking to guard against what it considers patent infringement. The lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Delaware alleges that Paciolan's Ticket Marketplace infringes on Cleveland-based Flash Seats' patent for electronic ticketing. The lawsuit seeks a court order protecting its patent and awarding unspecified damages. Flash Seats offers sports teams and live entertainment venues paperless electronic ticketing, and provides season ticket holders a way to sell and transfer seats electronically. The Cleveland Cavaliers nearly a year ago were the first NBA team to agree to use the ticketing technology. Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert is also the principal owner of Flash Seats. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:06 am into the following categories: In The News09/25/07
CalAmp Corp. announced that it has filed complaints in the United States Federal Court against Procon, Inc., Skywatch GPS LLC, and iMETRIK Solutions Inc. for infringement of United States Patent Nos. 6,025,774 and 6,249,217 B1. The patents relate to a vehicle location system whose purpose is to enable automobile dealers and finance companies to locate and repossess vehicles serving as collateral on loans that go into default. These patents were acquired by CalAmp through the acquisition of the Aircept Vehicle Tracking business from AirIQ in March 2007. “We will protect our intellectual property rights and enforce our patents by all appropriate means,” stated Michael Burdiek, President of CalAmp’s Wireless DataCom Division. “Although we have developed a licensing program for our technology that includes ‘CalAmp Certified’ branding and co-marketing initiatives, it is unfortunate that some companies have chosen to utilize our intellectual property without our permission." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:01:06 am into the following categories: In The News09/18/07
7,270,083 Shark repelling device  09/18/07
7,272,572 Method and system for facilitating the transfer of intellectual property  09/18/07
7,271,720 Homeland intelligent systems technology "H-LIST"  09/18/07
A federal jury in Beaumont, Texas, handed down a $156 million judgment against AT&T Inc. in a patent infringement lawsuit over prepaid telephone calling cards. The verdict was returned in favor of Dallas-based TGIP Inc., which sued AT&T over claims that the telecommunications company violated two patents covering point-of-sale activation technology for calling cards. AT&T officials contend they did not violate any patent rights and plan to continue fighting the verdict through the courts. The verdict was delivered late Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Beaumont. Jurors reached their decision after hearing two weeks of testimony. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:26:58 am into the following categories: In The News09/18/07
TruePosition, Inc., a leading provider of wireless location technologies and solutions and a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, today announced that TruePosition has won a patent infringement suit against Andrew Corporation in the United States District Court in the District of Delaware, TruePosition, Inc. v. Andrew Corporation (Civ. No. 05-747-SLR). On September 14, after a trial lasting two weeks, the jury found for TruePosition on all counts and awarded it US$45.3 million for Andrew Corporation's willful infringement of its intellectual property. This is the second time that TruePosition has successfully defended its intellectual property rights against Andrew Corporation. In this case, TruePosition sued Andrew Corporation for infringing a patent dealing with the location of wireless phones using the wireless network control channel, known as the "144" or "control channel" patent, which is particularly important for safety and security applications. This suit focused primarily on infringement related to contracts that Andrew Corporation entered into with a customer in Saudi Arabia. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:26:13 am into the following categories: In The News09/18/07
NTP, a company best known for winning a patent-infringement lawsuit against Research In Motion, has filed similar lawsuits against the four largest wireless carriers in the United States. Last year, RIM paid over $600 million to settle the suit brought by NTP, which accused the BlackBerry maker of infringing on some of its patents related to wireless email. The new lawsuits brought against the wireless telecommunications companies are also related to wireless email. The carriers are AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:24:34 am into the following categories: In The News09/18/07
India’s Lupin has won its patent challenge against King Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi-Aventis for blood pressure drug Altace, which has sales of $700 million in the US alone. A US federal appeals court has ruled that the patent for Altace, chemically known as ramipril, was invalid on grounds of being obvious. Thus, the court overturned a lower court ruling that Lupin had infringed the patent by seeking approval to market a generic version of the drug. Lupin had filed in March 2005, a generic drug application with the US Food and Drug Administration, using the paragraph IV certification pertaining to generics launches for patented drugs. It typically takes up to 15 months for approval and with this latest legal victory, the company is expecting the approval for ramipril any time. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:23:34 am into the following categories: In The News09/11/07
7,267,076 Ant sculptures  09/11/07
7,269,590 Method and system for customizing views of information associated with a social network user  09/11/07
7,268,290 Tactile metronome  09/11/07
ImClone Systems, Inc. (IMCL) said it agreed to pay $65 million to Repligen Corp. (RGEN) and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, to settle a lawsuit that alleged, ImClone used Repligen's patented technology to manufacture cancer drug Erbitux. Shares of Repligen are currently down more than 14%. As a result of the current settlement, Repligen would receive net proceeds of about $40 million after payment of obligations to MIT and legal expenses. The settlement agreement serves as the basis for Repligen and MIT to dismiss the lawsuit against ImClone. Further, Repligen has granted ImClone a non-exclusive sublicense to certain patent rights. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:38:13 am into the following categories: In The News09/11/07
A group representing patent examiners and professionals in the United States said that the patent reform proposal now in the U.S. Congress would hurt the American patent approval process. The Patent Office Professional Association (POPA), which claims to represent more than 5,000 members, distributed a patent policy paper (PDF) in Washington this week, stating that H.R. 1908 and S. 1145 includes a "dangerous requirement that would effectively outsource the patent search, allowing applicants to contract searches to anyone, including foreign entities." The group wants Congress to focus on job retention, providing examiners enough time to review applications, and increasing resources, rather than changing the system. The group claims that an Applicant Quality Submission requirement in the bills would make applicants provide a search report of all relevant patent and non-patent literature. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:37:06 am into the following categories: In The News09/11/07
Fujifilm's Fujinon Corp sued Motorola Inc., alleging several of the mobile phone maker's phones, including its flagship Razr models, infringed on its patents, according to court documents on Thursday. Motorola's various phone models infringe on three of its patents involving the imaging lens, Fujinon alleged in the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware. Besides Razr, the lawsuit also alleges that various versions of Motorola's Rokr, Slvr and Pebl models also infringe on its patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:36:02 am into the following categories: In The News09/11/07
Life sciences research equipment company Applied Biosystems Group said Friday the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut dismissed a patent lawsuit against it by Enzo Biochem Inc. and Yale University. Enzo said it filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The company, a unit of Applera Corp., claimed the judge granted a motion for summary judgment, thereby dismissing the remaining claims in the patent infringement case. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:34:41 am into the following categories: In The News09/04/07
7,264,584 Method for safely and efficiently navigating magnetic devices in the body  09/04/07
7,266,533 Electronic gift greeting  09/04/07
7,264,474 Personality style method  09/04/07
Motorola's request for an injunction against Aruba's use of patented technologies could have been an opening shot for what could just be tough negotiations between the two firms, said Charles Hosch, chair of Strasburger & Price's Intellectual Property practice. Some tech companies now view the threat of patent litigation as a prelude to jockeying for licensing rights or some other concession. Aruba and Motorola have joined the now legion number of tech companies engaged in legal patent disputes. Motorola's subsidiary companies Symbol Technologies and Wireless Valley Communications filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Aruba Networks in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Aruba infringed its patents related to wireless local area network (WLAN) communication technologies, according to Motorola's statement. Two of the patents relate to WLAN switching architecture technology, which Motorola said significantly lowers the cost of deploying network infrastructure and drives down the cost of managing, maintaining and upgrading wireless systems. Symbol introduced the first such switch to the market, Motorola said. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:07:15 am into the following categories: In The News09/04/07
The long-running legal battle between Microsoft and Eolas Technologies, which Microsoft was losing, has been settled. The two firms agreed to an undisclosed settlement that resolves the case. The lawsuit dates back to February 1999, when Eolas, a spin-off from the University of California, filed suit against Microsoft for alleged patent infringement involving plug-in and applet technology. The company accused Microsoft of using its patented technology in Windows 98, Windows 95 and Internet Explorer. Eolas was granted the patent on November 17, 1998, which covers technologies for the creation of a browser system that allowed for the embedding of small interactive programs, such as plug-ins, applets, scriptlets or ActiveX Controls, into online documents. Microsoft was hit with a $521 million verdict in 2003. The case has been on appeal since. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:35 am into the following categories: In The News09/04/07
A day after winning a patent infringement lawsuit against a Taiwanese memory chip maker Japan's Fujitsu Ltd. has filed to have the chips in question barred from Japan. The Tokyo District Court Thursday upheld Fujitsu claims that DRAM (dynamic RAM) memory chips made by Nanya Technology Corp. infringed upon patents held by Fujitsu. The court granted an injunction against future import and sales of the chips. Fujitsu said Friday it had filed an application with Japan's customs authority to suspend import of the DRAM chips under the country's customs law. The lawsuit concerned a patent related to a technology for improving the speed of DDR SDRAM (double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM) memory chips and was filed just over two years ago after talks between the two companies produced no agreement on patent licensing. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:16 am into the following categories: In The News09/04/07
MedioStream Inc. sued Apple Inc., Dell Inc. and Acer America Corp. this week, alleging infringements of its patents for decoding audio and video signals for faster playback or recording. Los Altos-based MedioStream said in a complaint filed in federal court in Tyler, Texas that Cupertino-based Apple, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell and San Jose-based Acer infringe the 2006 patent of a "method and system for direct recording of video information onto a disk medium." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:07 am into the following categories: In The News08/28/07
7,263,526 Method and apparatus for embedding chat functions in a web page  08/28/07
7,263,491 On-line degree and current enrollment verification system and method  08/28/07
7,263,378 Method and apparatus for interactive audience participation at a live entertainment event  08/28/07
Opponents of legislation that would overhaul the U.S. patent system have enlisted new allies who may cause majority Democrats in Congress to rethink their support of the proposals. Since late July, three labor unions -- the AFL-CIO, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and the United Steelworkers -- have sent letters to lawmakers saying they oppose two current patent reform bills. Patent reform opponents say they hope their alliance with organized labor, which has a long history of supporting Democrats, will stall the legislation. But representatives of large tech vendors that are pushing for patent reform say they're confident there will be support for the legislation when Congress returns from summer recess in early September. The committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives approved versions of a sweeping patent reform bill in July, and House leaders have targeted the patent reform bill for passage by the end of the year. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:07:21 am into the following categories: In The News08/28/07
Cincinnati-based P&G said it filed a patent infringement suit in federal court in San Francisco. P&G claims Kraft's new Maxwell House can infringes on the design of P&G's 4-year-old Folgers can. "In 2003, P&G introduced Folgers Coffee in a consumer-preferred plastic container," P&G said. "This innovation has grown the Folgers business for the past four years." The lawsuit seeks to stop Kraft Foods from selling the allegedly infringing Maxwell House Coffee package. It also seeks recovery of an undisclosed amount of damages. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:06:08 am into the following categories: In The News08/28/07
A Germantown inventor says he discovered the secret to keeping delicate whites white years ago, but now the country’s biggest bleach manufacturer is leaving him in the dark. Lawnie Taylor sued The Clorox Co. last week to prove that its UltimateCare Premium Bleach is just like his 2004 patented formula for GLEE, a liquid chlorine bleach that removes stains without damaging clothing. Taylor, a physicist and retired senior engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy, said he and his attorney spent several months in licensing and royalty talks with Clorox after the product was launched in May 2006. When those talks ended three or four months later, Taylor said he decided a new course of action was needed. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:05:22 am into the following categories: In The News08/28/07
A Georgia synthetic glove maker has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging Cardinal Health Inc. infringed on a patent. The company that filed the complaint, Menlo, Ga.-based Best Manufacturing Co., alleges the nitrile gloves Cardinal imports from its glove manufacturer in Malaysia infringe on a patent it owns. Best Manufacturing is requesting the trade commission issue a cease-and-desist order for the product that also would go to four other companies listed as respondents in the investigation. Cardinal spokeswoman Donna Gaidamak said the nitrile gloves the company imports from Malaysia and then distributes through its gloves group in McGaw Park, Ill., are among the many medical and surgical gloves it markets. Cardinal has been distributing gloves for more than 20 years. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:02 am into the following categories: In The News08/21/07
7,258,592 Santa Claus visit kit  08/21/07
7,260,192 Internet user finder  08/21/07
7,260,542 Method and system for the real time sale of sensor data  08/21/07
Medical device concern CytoLogix Corp. received a jury verdict of $10.7 million in damages in patent infringement claims against Ventana Medical Systems Inc., after a three-week long trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Boston-based CytoLogix Corp.s technologies contain slide-staining methods used by pathologists in the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. Jack Pirozzolo and Vickie Henry of Foley Hoag LLP in Boston led the CytoLogix trial team. Litigation on the CytoLogix family of patents covering this diagnostic technology is expected to continue. Its competitor, Ventana Medical Systems Inc. is as Tucson, Arizona-based medical device company. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:36:52 am into the following categories: In The News08/21/07
SonoSite Inc. said it has expanded its patent lawsuit fight with General Electric Co. in a Wisconsin court. In July, the Bothell maker of hand-carried ultrasound machines filed a counterlawsuit after General Electric sued SonoSite in May, alleging that SonoSite ultrasound products infringed on GE products. In an Aug. 17 amendment to its July countersuit, SonoSite alleged that GE, of Fairfield, Conn., infringed on additional SonoSite patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:35:49 am into the following categories: In The News08/21/07
It looks like Robot FX has run into a bigger obstacle than it's bargained for, with the company now facing not one but two lawsuits from iRobot over alleged patent infringement. Apparently, iRobot thinks that Robot FX's "Negotiator" robot is a little too similar to iRobot's popular Packbot, and it's asking for a permanent injunction to prevent Robot FX from selling any more of the bots, along with the usual damages. Adding further to the intrigue is the fact that Robot FX was founded by a former iRobot employee, who is specifically named in the second lawsuit claiming misappropriation and misuse of confidential information relating to the Packbot. Sadly, it seems that the whole matter will have to be settled in court, and not in a winner-take-all robot death match as we would have hoped. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:31:41 am into the following categories: In The News08/21/07
Pall Corp., which makes filters and purifiers, said late Thursday it received a favorable claim construction ruling in a patent infringement lawsuit against a 3M Co. division. The lawsuit claims Cuno Inc.'s Polypro XL and LifeAssure filters infringe two patents related to Pall's Ultipleat filters, which use a laid-over pleat design that allows more material to be packed into a smaller envelope. U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert of the Eastern District of New York stated Wednesday in a memorandum and order that Pall's product "was a major breakthrough" when it was created, as it established a more efficient and long-lasting filter without increasing the size of the product. Pall is seek compensatory damages and a permanent injunction against Cuno selling the products named in the lawsuit. The court ruled in 2002 that an earlier Cuno product infringed on the same patents, Pall said. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:30:45 am into the following categories: In The News08/14/07
7,257,570 Geographical location extraction  08/14/07
7,255,277 Method of designating dating status  08/14/07
7,257,388 Pre-paid mobile phone with temporary voice mail  08/14/07
EchoStar Communications has gained some ground in defending its digital video-recording technology against patent-infringement claims, but a big case with giant Tivo is still pending. The Douglas County-based satellite- TV provider said Friday that it prevailed in a patent-infringement case filed by Forgent Network Inc. EchoStar said it won $90,000 in court costs after a Texas appellate judge upheld a jury verdict last spring that Forgent's patent claims were invalid. EchoStar, operator of Dish Network, also said this week that the federal patent office recently rejected all of the hardware-related claims asserted by Tivo. But the patent office affirmed Tivo's software claims related to a $90 million Texas court verdict against EchoStar last year. EchoStar reiterated in a regulatory filing this week that it does not believe it has infringed on any of Tivo's patents and that it will prevail on appeal. An appellate court has stayed an injunction prohibiting EchoStar from using the technology, pending appeal. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:02 am into the following categories: In The News08/14/07
On Monday, Apple was sued in Texas for violating the patent rights of a Michigan-based inventor. Attorney Joseph Zito of Washington, D.C.-based law firm Zito tlp filed the patent infringement lawsuit in a Texas federal court on behalf of Thomas Harvey, claiming that the Apple Portable Power Adapter violates two related patents granted to Harvey for an illuminated portable recharging device. Harvey "invented a power adapter with an illuminated connector end," the complaint says, citing a patent applied for in 2001 and granted in 2004. "...Apple manufactures and sells a device referred to as the 'Apple Portable Power Adapter.' The power adapter, in combination with an Apple notebook computer, has all the elements of the claims of [Harvey's patents], including: a portable electronic device recharger, a rechargeable battery, a battery compartment, a power adapter, an illuminated connector terminus." Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:03 am into the following categories: In The News08/14/07
Broadcom Corporation , a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that a U.S. District Court judge in Santa Ana, Calif. has ordered Qualcomm Incorporated to pay double damages of $39.3 million for past infringement of three Broadcom patents. The judge also ordered Qualcomm to pay Broadcom's attorneys' fees in the litigation. An injunction hearing in the case, in which Broadcom is seeking to bar future infringement of the patents by Qualcomm, is scheduled to begin Tuesday. In May, a federal jury in Santa Ana found that Qualcomm had "willfully infringed" the three Broadcom patents, and awarded Broadcom $19.64 million in damages. The "willfulness" finding provided the judge with the discretion to increase the damages. In doubling the amount of damages initially awarded by the jury, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna reasoned, "There is a spectrum of improper conduct for determining the amount to award. That Qualcomm's conduct was not at the most egregious end of the spectrum does not mean that no enhanced award is due." He found awarding the attorneys' fees "appropriate for the same reasons as the damages enhancement. Broadcom has demonstrated that this case is exceptional by clear and convincing evidence." Judge Selna issued a tentative ruling on the awards August 9; today he made the order final. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:01 am into the following categories: In The News08/14/07
Callaway Golf Co. has filed two suits accusing TaylorMade Golf Co. of violating its patents on three golf clubs and a ball-covering material. The maker of Big Bertha and Steelhead brand clubs is seeking monetary damages and an order that all the infringing TaylorMade products be destroyed. The company also wants an order permanently blocking TaylorMade from using the disputed technology. The suits contend that the patent violations have caused Callaway "irreparable injury," according to court documents. Since the introduction of its oversize Big Bertha driver in 1991, Carlsbad, Calif.-based Callaway has led an arms race among professional golfers and weekend duffers. The company, whose sales topped $1.02 billion last year, sells a line of Big Bertha irons and drivers as well as the full range of golf clubs, balls and other equipment. TaylorMade, a unit of Adidas Group, also is headquartered in Carlsbad and its products are used by a number of professional golfers. The TaylorMade patents targeted in these suits include a polyurethane golf ball cover that produces a softer feel and increased ball spin along with a club head used for longer drives, court documents show. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:01:12 am into the following categories: In The News08/07/07
7,254,092 Method and system for swimmer denial  08/07/07
7,254,839 Secured access using a coordinate system  08/07/07
7,253,727 Security checkpoint  08/07/07
A U.S. judge on Monday threw out a record $1.5 billion verdict against Microsoft Corp, ruling the world's largest software had not infringed on audio technology patents held by France's Alcatel-Lucent. Microsoft said the reversal was a victory for other technology companies who could have been at risk to patent infringement charges if Alcatel won. A federal jury in San Diego ruled in February that Microsoft had violated two patents related to MP3 audio files and handed Alcatel-Lucent the largest-ever damages award in a U.S. patent case. MP3 is the standard digital music format, which allows audio to be compressed so that it can be easily played on computers, mobile phones or digital music players. The court heard a post-trial motion on July 25 and 26 when Microsoft asked for the verdict to be reversed, a new trial or dramatic reduction in damages. U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster said in a 43-page order that the jury's damages could not stand because Microsoft had not violated one of the two patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:19:13 am into the following categories: In The News08/07/07
Apple is the focus of a recently-filed lawsuit over the iPhone's touchscreen keyboard. A virtually unknown company called SP Technologies has filed a suit against Apple for infringement on a patent on for a touchscreen keyboard. The company is now demanding that the courts issue a permanent injunction against Apple and is asking for damages and attorney's fees. The patent, "Method and medium for computer readable keyboard display incapable of user termination," describes a software system that takes touch input on a virtual keyboard—a keyboard that cannot be minimized or closed and is therefore integral to the use of the device it's installed on, much like the iPhone's keyboard. The patent was filed in August of 2000 and awarded in August of 2004. SP Technologies claims that Apple has willfully and deliberately infringed on this patent by developing iPhone, and is apparently continuing to do so in a flagrantly in-your-face manner by having the gall to sell it. SP Technologies also makes a point of bringing up Apple's legal run-in with Creative, saying that Apple has been "repeatedly sued" in the past over patent infringement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:17:54 am into the following categories: In The News08/07/07
In what could be a high-stakes battle between two of the biggest makers of liquid crystal displays, Sharp Corp. has sued Samsung Electronics Co., accusing its rival of infringing five of its patents on LCD technologies often used in televisions, computer monitors and cell phones. The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, centers on patents related to various methods Sharp said it developed to improve the quality of LCD displays. The Japanese electronics company is seeking unspecified damages, a ban on infringing products and a jury trial. The lawsuit does not specify how many products are in question, but analysts say the scope will likely be in the millions, and the monetary stakes high. "We are currently in a cutthroat time in the industry, where prices of finished goods are falling so fast that any kind of technological edge one company has over the other is completely vital," said Eric Haruki, an analyst of TV technologies at market researcher IDC. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:16:08 am into the following categories: In The News08/07/07
RealNetworks, the company behind the digital media player, Real Player, has won a patent infringement lawsuit brought by San Francisco-based technology licensing company, Friskit. Frisket had been seeking damages of over US$70m (AUD$82m) against Real, but Judge William W. Schwarzer of the US District Court for the Northern District of California granted RealNetworks' motion for summary judgment invalidating the claims of four patents asserted by Friskit. In its motion, RealNetworks relied upon the recent legal decision in KSR vs Teleflex, in which the Supreme Court ruled on the proper standard for determining obviousness in patent cases. The Supreme Court rejected any "rigid" application of existing tests for obviousness in favour of the "expansive and flexible approach" set forth in the Supreme Court's earlier decisions. RealNetworks relied upon that analysis to argue that Friskit's patent claims relating to systems for enabling continuous streaming playback from internet sites were "obvious combinations of elements found in the prior art", including RealNetworks' own internet products. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:14:46 am into the following categories: In The News07/31/07
7,251,320 Call initiation via calendar  07/31/07
7,250,853 Surveillance system  07/31/07
7,251,665 Determining a known character string equivalent to a query string  07/31/07
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by Coca-Cola Co. (KO) that charged its rival PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) with patent infringement on a collapsible bag that dispenses syrup for fountain sodas. It was the third such lawsuit Atlanta-based Coca-Cola has brought against PepsiCo or its affiliates in the past six years. The decision was issued Wednesday by Judge Richard Story of the U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Coca-Cola Co. is the biggest soft-drink company in the world. Purchase, N.Y.- based PepsiCo Inc., is second-largest. "It confirmed what we knew all along, that there was no infringement," PepsiCo spokesman Dave DeCecco said. Coca-Cola was reviewing the decision and an appeal may be forthcoming, said spokesman Dana Bolden. The company has 30 days to decide. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:32 am into the following categories: In The News07/31/07
A U.S. district court judge has ruled that eBay Inc. can continue to use its "buy it now" feature even though a patent infringement ruling against the feature continues to stand. Judge Jerome Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied an injunction request by MercExchange LLC, which successfully sued eBay for patent infringement in 2003. But Friedman also said he would move forward with MercExchange's efforts to collect the US$25 million patent infringement award against eBay. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:32 am into the following categories: In The News07/31/07
The inventor of a computer software encryption scheme filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming the operating system giant is illegally using that technology in Windows XP and Vista. The patent for “computer implemented secret object key block cipher encryption and digital signal device” was granted in 2001 to Luciano Paone, then of Safecourier Software in Kings Park, N.Y. Paone is seeking damages, triple damages and an injunction against Microsoft. The technology in question is based on a 4,096-bit encryption model and a 2,048-bit secret key digital signature process. In addition, the object keys are dynamic, changing throughout the encryption process. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:01:52 am into the following categories: In The News07/31/07
Biothera and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) filed a patent infringement lawsuit today against Biorgin, a Brazilian company, for selling beta 1,3/1,6 gluco polysaccharide ingredients in the U.S. for nutritional supplements and functional foods. Biothera and MIT charged Biorigin with six counts of patent infringement in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. Massachusetts Institute of Technology owns and licenses to Biothera certain patents that are part of the litigation. The plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction and unspecified damages from Biorigin. “Biothera has a formidable intellectual property portfolio that provides exclusivity to market our gluco polysaccharide in the U.S.,” said Richard G. Mueller, Biothera president and chief executive officer. Biothera has more than 40 U.S. patents and patents pending, as well as additional patents in more than 20 countries, protecting the matter of composition, manufacturing and use of beta 1,3/1,6 gluco polysaccharide derived from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:00:56 am into the following categories: In The News07/24/07
7,247,782 Genetic music  07/24/07
7,249,175 Method and system for blocking e-mail having a nonexistent sender address  07/24/07
7,248,159 User-centric event reporting  07/24/07
Taiwan's Acer Inc. said Friday it has filed a counterclaim in a U.S. court against a patent infringement lawsuit by Hewlett-Packard Co. Acer said in a statement it filed the counterclaim Thursday with the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. In late March, HP filed a lawsuit at the same court, alleging Acer had violated five patents covering technologies that included DVD editing, managing power consumption in portable computers and ways to use multiple microprocessor chips. HP also filed another lawsuit against Acer in April at the International Trade Commission alleging infringement of four of the same patents. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:14:28 am into the following categories: In The News07/24/07
General Protecht, an electrical product manufacturer based in East China's Zhejiang Province, has won a three-year patent infringement lawsuit in the United States. According to a Federal Court ruling in New Mexico, the ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) products of General Protecht did not infringe upon the patents of the US company Leviton. Beginning in April 2004, Leviton filed lawsuits against several customers of General Protecht in New Mexico, Florida and California, alleging several patent infringements of its products. GFCI is a small electrical device often used in houses. They can reduce the risk of electrocution. "It's a great win for General Protecht, which has always respected the intellectual property rights (IPR) of others," said Chen Wusheng, president of the company. It shows a Chinese company, which conducts business in the US, can be treated fairly and impartially according to the rule of law, he added. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:11:46 am into the following categories: In The News07/24/07
The suit alleges the Staples Corp brand of computer accessories Gel Mousepads and Wristrests infringe Prokop Labs US Patent 5,566,913.The suit seeks compensatory damages and a permanent injunction precluding Staples Corp from selling the infringing products in the U.S. The lawsuit was filed in Seattle at the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. “Our Patents are core assets. They represent countless hours of research to develop our Gel-eez® line of ergonomic products, they have sold world wide for several years. We plan to vigorously defend our patent rights, preferably through negotiated license agreements, or through the courts” said, David Prokop, founder of Prokop Labs, LLC (a former Microsoft Program Manager and Kinesiologist). Prokop Labs Gel-eez ® line of computer accessories Gel mousepads and wristrests represents an engineering breakthrough. It’s patented thermal gel offers several advantages for computer users, with a cool, comfortable Gel Wristrest pad. This is a key benefit particularly in computer office ergonomics, where comfort and proper hand position help reduce inflammation caused by keyboard carpal tunnel and repetitive motion injuries. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:09:20 am into the following categories: In The News07/17/07
7,246,068 Computerized system for combining insurance company and credit card transactions  07/17/07
7,245,704 Automated third party call activated when 911 dialed  07/17/07
7,246,157 Systems and methods for underwriting coverage for data transmissions  07/17/07
Eye drug developer QLT Inc. (TSX:QLT) is on the hook for nearly US$70 million in past penalties and tens of millions of dollars for future sales of its Visudyne drug in the wake of a legal decision by a U.S. district court Tuesday. The Vancouver company said the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts affirmed a 2006 decision by a federal jury that had found QLT liable for unfair trade practices and ordered it to pay damages to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Under the decision the company must pay US$69.6 million as past damages for royalties, plus interest and legal fees, and royalties on future Visudyne sales. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:12 am into the following categories: In The News07/17/07
Competitive Technologies, Inc. announced today that CTT, its client, the University of Illinois, and all Fujitsu defendants have reached a settlement in the long-standing patent infringement suit regarding US Patent Nos. 4,866,349 and 5,081,400 covering plasma display panels (PDPs) and related circuitry. As part of the settlement, CTT will pay Fujitsu a minor portion of the approximately $233,000 costs awarded to Fujitsu by the courts in 2006. The parties will dismiss with prejudice all claims and counterclaims in the suit. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:02 am into the following categories: In The News07/17/07
Warner Music Group said Thursday it would drop its patent infringement lawsuit against social-networking site imeem, instead offering access to the music giant's catalog for a cut of the startup's revenue. Imeem didn't disclose the percentage of revenue it would share with Warner. In May, Warner Music sued San Francisco-based imeem , charging the company let users share copyrighted content without permission. Imeem now says it wants to offer other record labels a share of the profit from its music-sharing service in exchange for access to copyrighted content. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:01:36 am into the following categories: In The News07/17/07
Medtronic Inc., the world's largest maker of devices used to regulate heart rhythms, was sued by Spectranetics Corp. over a technology for sucking deposits out of blood vessels, the heart and lungs. Medtronic's Export XT 6F model aspiration catheter is among the products that violate a U.S. patent covering a device and method for removing intravascular, pulmonary and cardiac obstructions, Spectranetics said July 10 in a complaint in federal court in Austin, Texas. Spectranetics, a maker of medical lasers based in Colorado Springs, asked the court to block Minneapolis-based Medtronic from using the patented technology and to award cash compensation for past infringement. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:00:43 am into the following categories: In The News07/10/07
7,240,619 Identifiable bullet which is unduplicatable  07/10/07
7,243,231 Sensory verification of shared data  07/10/07
7,240,688 Retrofitting a fire hydrant with secondary valve  07/10/07
Call it a case of Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0. The controversy stems from development work done at Ikimbo, one of the original Internet companies. The company was developing an enterprise-level groupware application framework. In a 2001 position paper, Ikimbo described itself as “developing a real-time platform for accelerating business communications across the value-chain.” Ikimbo closed down in 2004, but it left behind a patent, applied for in 2000 by the inventors and subsequently issued by the U.S. Patent Office 2003, that became the property of Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, a venture capital management firm based in Radnor, Pa. The patent, entitled “System for creating a community of users with common interests to interact in,” was a continuation of another patent issued in 1998 to the inventors. Cross Atlantic contends that the patent was issued prior to development of the now-popular Facebook Web site—a poster child of the Web 2.0 era—which uses the same technology and which went live on Feb. 4, 2004. Cross Atlantic filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, claiming that Facebook is in violation of that patent. Cross Atlantic is seeking an injunction, royalties and punitive damages. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:04:37 am into the following categories: In The News07/10/07
Sonosite Inc., a Washington state-based ultrasound firm, has filed a patent infringement suit against General Electric Co. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in Madison, Sonosite said Thursday. The complaint is filed as a counterclaim to a GE complaint filed in May alleging Sonosite, which makes hand-held ultrasound systems, of infringing five of its patents. Sonosite is filing its answer to the complaint denying all of GE’s claims and alleging that the asserted patents are either invalid, not infringed or both. A GE spokesman did not return phone calls seeking comment. Complaints from both companies seek "unspecified monetary damages" and an injunction to prevent the companies from using the technologies in question. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:03:35 am into the following categories: In The News07/10/07
Baxter International Inc., the world's biggest maker of treatments for blood disease, settled a patent-infringement suit with Talecris Biotherapeutics Inc. over a means of preparing injectable antibodies, on the eve of trial. Talecris, based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, sued Baxter in federal court in Delaware in 2005 over the patent, licensed from Bayer HealthCare LLC, for a method of clearing viruses from serum to treat people with weakened immune systems. A jury trial was set to begin today in Wilmington, Delaware, before Chief U.S. District Judge Gregory M. Sleet. "I can confirm that the terms of the settlement are confidential," Talecris spokeswoman Lacy McMahon said in a statement. Baxter spokeswoman Deborah Spak said the trial was canceled and also declined to give details of the settlement. In the complaint, Talecris contended it would be "irreparably harmed" by the importation and sale of Baxter's infringing Gammagard Liquid product, and asked for a ruling to stop sales until the patent expires in 2020. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:02:18 am into the following categories: In The News07/10/07
Shares in biotechnology company Ciphergen Biosystems Inc. fell Friday after it agreed to pay $600,000 to Health Discovery Corp. to settle a patent infringement case. Under the terms of the agreement, Ciphergen will pay Savannah, Ga.-based Health Discovery and receive a non-exclusive license to use its support vector machines, Health Discovery said. Fremont, Calif.-based Ciphergen also dropped all counterclaims against HDC, a biomarker discovery company. Biomarkers act as the signals that stem cells give off when exposed to a certain drug or disease. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:00:53 am into the following categories: In The News07/03/07
7,239,723 Method for verifying the identity of a passenger  07/03/07
7,239,912 Electric modulation of sympathetic nervous system  07/03/07
7,240,290 Telephone call initiation through an on-line search  07/03/07
Sometimes it pays to stay local. On Monday search engine Local.com's shares rocketed almost 70% Monday after it announced received a patent for the technology it uses that responds to directory assistance inquiries with voice-enabled and text-messaged systems. The patent also includes a referral system which monetizes local searches. The Irvine, Calif.-based search engine offers local search results and advertising to 10 million visitors a month. The site’s mobile service, Local Mobile, sends search results directly to cellular phones and devices. Posted by GEN-ERIC at 12:11:55 am into the following categories: In The News |