The Patent Prospector
News, information, commentary and "sassy entertainment" relating to the life cycle of patents. Patent Prospector is an "open forum" weblog in that submissions are welcome within the blog's categories.
Author: The primary author is former economist Gary Odom, aka the "Patent Hawk." Another regular author is Jordan Kuhn, a former USPTO examiner.
Blawg Related Categories: Intellectual Property Law • Patent Law • Consultant
Recent Posts from The Patent Prospector
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Silver Bullet
Playing catch-up to Apple's QuickTime and Adobe Flash, Microsoft has been pushing Silverlight, its multimedia offering to let users watch video through their web browsers. Massachusetts-based Gotuit Media, a multimedia vendor, is having a…
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Pacing
Paice successfully sued Toyota for infringing hybrid vehicle drive train patents. Toyota couldn't get the verdict overturned on appeal, and SCOTUS blew them off. Not having the sense to settle, Toyota now faces a…
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101 Clarification
An interoffice memo on examining claims for § 101 compliance issued to the USPTO examiner corps in mid-May. Based on Supreme Court precedent and recent Federal Circuit decisions, the Office's guidance to examiners is…
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Fishing Expedition
France-based Gillet Outillage sued Taiwan competitor Fisher Tool in central California over 6,189,190, claiming automobile pliers. Gillet suffered a narrow claim construction, so dropped the suit. Fisher lashed out for malicious prosecution under California…
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Debauchery
Hal Wegner displays astonishing senility in a disjointed and practically schizophrenic review of pulp fiction by academics Bessen and Meurer (B&M). Wegner: "The U.S. patent system is not working. It stands accused on all…
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In Patents We Trust
The Allied Security Trust is an alliance of computer-based technology companies, aimed at buying patents to avoid having them asserted against them. The entrance fee is $250,000, plus $5 million in escrow. Verizon, Google,…
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Doubled Over
Boehringer Ingelheim sued Barr and Mylan for infringing 4,886,812 after the two filed ANDAs seeking to market generic versions of Mirapex, used to treat Parkinson's disease. Delaware district court Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr.…
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Incensed
Fargo Electronics sued IRIS for infringing 5,755,519 and 6,152,625, which claim a ribbon type sensor for a printer. IRIS sells replacement ribbons compatible with Fargo printers. A couple of claims fell on the reasonable…
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Supplied
i2 Technologies wrestled $83.3 million in a settlement from SAP for supply-chain software patents. The case was in forced mediation in the Eastern District of Texas. In the late 1990s, i2 had been a…
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Bottled
Industrial Dynamics (IDC) was found infringing 6,298,974, owned by Heuft Systemtechnik. The patents claim bottle handling inspection for bottling plants. On appeal, IDC successfully challenged the claim construction....