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The BioCash Patent of the Day goes to BioPay, LLC of Herndon for a System and method for biometrically-initiated refund transactions
07/25/06

7,082,415 System and method for biometrically-initiated refund transactions
  Issued: July 25, 2006
  Filed: April 22, 2004
  U.S. Class: 705/67
Abstract:  The present invention is a system and method of conducting refund transactions via electronic transaction records. System user transaction information entered into the system is stored in association with user biometric information. Transaction information is retrieved via user biometric recognition/verification for conducting refund transactions.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:54:28 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

The Moil Patent of the Day goes to an Independent Inventor from Woodstock for a Simulated disposable foreskin for training surgical procedure of infant circumcision
07/25/06

7,080,984 Simulated disposable foreskin for training surgical procedure of infant circumcision
  Issued: July 25, 2006
  Filed: April 29, 2002
  U.S. Class: 434/267
Abstract:  A circumcision training device that includes a model having anatomical contours simulating a penis; and a simulated disposable foreskin including a generally cylindrical shaft; a first ring formed integrally with the lowermost portion of the shaft; a second ring formed integrally with the uppermost portion of the shaft generally replicating the geometry of the coronal sulcus of the model penis; the shaft having a length in excess of the length of a penis; whereby uppermost portions of the shaft may be doubled back to establish inner and outer layers.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:53:41 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

The AI Music Patent of the Day goes to Polyphonic Human Media Interface, S.L. of Barcelona for a Method and system for music recommendation
07/25/06

7,081,579 Method and system for music recommendation
  Issued: July 25, 2006
  Filed: October 3, 2003
  U.S. Class: 84/608
Abstract:  An artificial intelligence song/music recommendation system and method is provided that allows music shoppers to discover new music. The system and method accomplish these tasks by analyzing a database of music in order to identify key similarities between different pieces of music, and then recommends pieces of music to a user depending upon their music preferences. An embodiment enables a user to evaluate a new song's similarity to songs already established as commercially valuable.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:52:48 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

Requests for Ex Parte Reexamination Filed - 7/25/2006
07/25/06
Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:20:09 am into the following categories: OG Notice Links

Public Attendance At Board Hearings
07/25/06
Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:18:45 am into the following categories: OG Notice Links

DirecTV to Appeal $78.9M Patent Ruling
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 News

Boston Freedom Deal Reached in Patent Infringement Case
07/25/06

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 News

Court Rules in Favor of Roche Diagnostics in Patent Dispute with Enzo Biochem
07/25/06

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 News

Fresenius Successfully Defends Medical Patents
07/25/06

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 News

The Blood Flow Patent of the Day goes to Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International of Kyoto for a Sound generating apparatus and method, sound generating space and sound, each provided for significantly increasing cerebral blood flows of persons
07/18/06

7,079,659 Sound generating apparatus and method, sound generating space and sound, each provided for significantly increasing cerebral blood flows of persons
  Issued: July 18, 2006
  Filed: September 26, 1996
  U.S. Class: 381/98
Abstract:  In a sound generating apparatus, a sound generating space, a sound, and a method for generating a sound, a sound is generated which has a frequency within a first frequency range beyond a predetermined audible frequency range and up to a predetermined maximum frequency, and which is non-stationary so as to change in a micro-temporal area in a second frequency range beyond 10 kHz. Then, the generated sound is applied to a person, thereby increasing cerebral blood flows of the person. This causes improvement and enhancement of the person's state of mind and body, so as to relieve stresses, thereby relaxing the person.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:05:14 pm into the following categories: Patents of the Day

The Search Engine Patent of the Day goes to International Business Machines Corporation of New York for a System and method for integrating on-line user ratings of businesses with search engines
07/18/06

7,080,064 System and method for integrating on-line user ratings of businesses with search engines
  Issued: July 18, 2006
  Filed: January 20, 2000
  U.S. Class: 707/3
Abstract:  A computer program product is provided as a business rating system to rank business that are relevant to a given Internet search topic. Business ratings are stored in a ranking repository that can be optionally searched by the user along with a user-defined search engine query. The business ratings are compiled from on-line questionnaires attached to the search engine results and/or on-line surveys obtained through other web based rating services. The business ratings assess the quality of the businesses in terms of "interactive" criteria such as customer satisfaction, professionalism, and cost and ease of use of the businesses' products or services. The business rating system is comprised of an on-line indexing engine, a query transformer, a search results transformer, a ranking based result sorter, an on-line ranking system, a metadata repository, and an on-line ranking repository. The business rating system integrates the ratings with the search results, and ranks the search results based on such business ratings. In this manner, the user of a search engine receives feedback from other users about businesses of interest. Eventually, businesses with higher ratings will be ranked at the top of the search list, while business with lower ratings will be ranked lower.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:04:42 pm into the following categories: Patents of the Day

The Game Theory Patent of the Day goes to an Independent Inventor from Chicago for a Method and system for approximating value functions for cooperative games
07/18/06

7,079,985 Method and system for approximating value functions for cooperative games
  Issued: July 18, 2006
  Filed: October 8, 2005
  U.S. Class: 702/185
Abstract:  A method and system for approximating a value functions for cooperative games. The method and system include approximating value functions for large cooperative games. The method and the system may be applicable to other types of value function problems such as those found in engineering, finance and other disciplines.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 02:02:54 pm into the following categories: Patents of the Day

Changes to Practice in Applications and Examination
07/18/06
Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:39:19 pm into the following categories: OG Notice Links

Request for Comments on Removal of Paper Search
07/18/06
Posted by GEN-ERIC at 01:38:29 pm into the following categories: OG Notice Links

Judge offers Rambus lower damages or new trial
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 News

Akamai, MIT hit Limelight with patent suit
07/18/06

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 News

Rawlings Sued for Patent Infringement Over Catcher's Knee Protector
07/18/06

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 News

The Cargo Container Patent of the Day goes to an Independent Inventor from Phoenix for a Mobile firefighting flashover training unit and arson investigation lab & method of fabricating same
07/11/06

7,074,043 Mobile firefighting flashover training unit and arson investigation lab & method of fabricating same
  Issued: July 11, 2006
  Filed: June 8, 2004
  U.S. Class: 434/226
Abstract:  A firefighting training unit and a method of fabrication such a unit. The fabrication involves modifying an existing structure such as a steel cargo container. The modification procedures first require that combustibles be removed and a steel floor welded in place of the existing wood floor. Viewing ports and access doors are provided in the sidewalls. Roof ventilation vents are cut in the roof and the opening controlled by a hinged hatch. The units are economical, mobile and may be used for both fire training and forensic investigation.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:52:44 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

The Search Placement Patent of the Day goes to Overture Services, Inc. of Pasadena for Search engine account monitoring
07/11/06

7,076,479 Search engine account monitoring
  Issued: July 11, 2006
  Filed: August 3, 2001
  U.S. Class: 707/3
Abstract:  A system and method of generating an ordered search list via a pay-for-performance search engine by determining various account balances to determine if a search listing is given preferential placement in a search list. If a web site advertiser's account is below a threshold, for example zero dollars, the search listing associated with the advertiser is not given preferential placement in a search list regardless of the advertiser bid amount for that search listing. Various balances may be used. Some of the balances may be closer to real-time balances and other may be more accurate, for example by removing click charges that were later determined to be non-chargeable. By using the various account balances, the pay-for-performance search engine prevents over-delivery of preferential placement and possible over-billing of the advertisers.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:52:15 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

The Smell This Patent of the Day goes to Panache Porcelain, LLC of Colorado for Jewelry for emitting fragrances and a method therefor
07/11/06

7,073,729 Jewelry for emitting fragrances and a method therefor
  Issued: July 11, 2006
  Filed: January 15, 2002
  U.S. Class: 239/36
Abstract:  An item of jewelry is provided to receive a fragrance composition. The jewelry piece includes a securement member, a setting, and a piece of porous material. The securement member supports the setting and enables the jewelry item to be worn by the person in the manner in which it is intended. In some embodiments, the setting supports the piece of porous material relative to the securement member such that ambient air may flow between it and the securement member, maximizing the exposed surface area of the porous material. The porous material is a ceramic that contains sintered aluminum oxide and receives a liquid fragrance producing composition such as perfume or cologne. A method for applying the fragrance to the piece of porous material is also provided and includes the step of washing the porous material with a solvent suitable to diffuse the carrier liquid of the fragrance producing composition.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:51:40 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

Revision of Notice of Allowance and Fees - 7/11/2006
07/11/06
Posted by GEN-ERIC at 09:47:02 am into the following categories: OG Notice Links

Request for Comments for Patent Eligibility - 7/11/2006
07/11/06
Posted by GEN-ERIC at 09:46:36 am into the following categories: OG Notice Links

UAH to receive $25 million in settlement of patent infringement lawsuit
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 News

Klausner Technologies Sues Vonage Over Internet Voicemail Services
07/11/06

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 News

Entrust settles patent-infringement suit
07/11/06

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 News

Medegen files patent suit against ICU Medical
07/11/06

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 News

The Email Tracking Patent of the Day goes to Ihance, Inc. of San Francisco for a Method and system for monitoring e-mail and website behavior of an e-mail recipient
07/05/06

7,072,947 Method and system for monitoring e-mail and website behavior of an e-mail recipient
  Issued: July 4, 2006
  Filed: November 6, 2002
  U.S. Class: 709/217
Abstract:  A system for monitoring email and website behavior of an email recipient is provided. According to one exemplary embodiment, the system includes a mail enhancement server and a logging server. The mail enhancement server is configured to intercept all outgoing emails from a mail server. The mail enhancement server then modifies each outgoing email to include a tracking code. The tracking code is embedded in an image call which in turn is also inserted into the outgoing email. If the outgoing email contains hyperlinks, each hyperlink is also modified to include the tracking code. The tracking code is uniquely associated with the outgoing email. The image call (and the tracking code) is used to detect when the recipient of the outgoing email has opened that email. The tracking code, when embedded in a hyperlink, is also used to monitor whether the recipient has opened the email and/or clicked through on one or more of the hyperlinks in the email. The logging server associates a cookie with the recipient of the outgoing email. When the logging server receives an image call, the corresponding image and the cookie are concurrently delivered to the recipient. The cookie is used to monitor the behavior of the recipient at a website, regardless of how the recipient arrives at that website, be it through a click-through from the email or otherwise. The logging server is configured to capture and store relevant information relating to the outgoing email thereby allowing the sender of the outgoing email and the recipient to be linked and the behavior of the recipient to be monitored via the tracking code, the image call and the cookie.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:02:59 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

The Feedback Search Patent of the Day goes to Triogo, Inc. of New York City for a Process for improving search engine efficiency using feedback
07/05/06

7,072,888 Process for improving search engine efficiency using feedback
  Issued: July 4, 2006
  Filed: June 16, 1999
  U.S. Class: 707/5
Abstract:  A process for refining the results of a query to an internet search engine database by the use of user feedback is disclosed. It is a method to allow a user to rate the relevancy of URLs returned for a specific query. The relevancy ratings for a specific query are combined by the internet search engine with data from a user profile of personal information defined by the user. The internet search engine can determine which items of data in the profile are common between users who have rated a query result highly. The search engine can then modify the search algorithm to return those URLs rated highly by users with common profile attributes. The benefit to the internet is more efficient searching and retrieval of information for users.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:02:23 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

The Molecular Evolution Patent of the Day goes to President and Fellows of Harvard College of Cambridge for an Evolving new molecular function
07/05/06

7,070,928 Evolving new molecular function
  Issued: July 4, 2006
  Filed: March 19, 2002
  U.S. Class: 435/6
Abstract:  Nature evolves biological molecules such as proteins through iterated rounds of diversification, selection, and amplification. The present invention provides methods, compositions, and systems for synthesizing, selecting, amplifying, and evolving non-natural molecules based on nucleic acid templates. The sequence of a nucleic acid template is used to direct the synthesis of non-natural molecules such as unnatural polymers and small molecules. Using this method combinatorial libraries of these molecules can be prepared and screened. Upon selection of a molecule, its encoding nucleic acid template may be amplified and/or evolved to yield the same molecule or related molecules for re-screening. The inventive methods and compositions of the present invention allow for the amplification and evolution of non-natural molecules in a manner analogous to the amplification of natural biopolymer such as polynucleotides and protein.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 10:01:36 am into the following categories: Patents of the Day

Requests for Ex Parte Reexamination Filed - 7/4/2006
07/05/06
Posted by GEN-ERIC at 09:47:14 am into the following categories: OG Notice Links

Reissue Applications Filed - 7/4/2006
07/05/06
Posted by GEN-ERIC at 09:46:02 am into the following categories: OG Notice Links

Palm settles patent suit with Xerox for $22.5M
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 News

FireStar Sues Red Hat Over JBoss Technology
07/04/06

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 News

Agere settles patent dispute
07/04/06

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 News

Intermec sues Alien Technology for patent infringement
07/04/06

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 News
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