The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Irked customer spurs patent study:


At the request of a New Zealand actor upset about a slow book delivery, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is re-examining Amazon.com's patent for "1-Click" online shopping, which allows pre-registered users to buy items with a single click of the mouse.

Actor Peter Calveley sought the reconsideration in documents filed in February, pointing out that a patent for similar technology was issued in March 1998, about 18 months before Amazon's. The Patent Office agreed last week that Calveley had raised a substantial question about the appropriateness of Amazon's patent, documents posted on its Web site show.

Calveley wrote on his blog that his crusade is revenge for an "annoyingly slow" book delivery from Amazon. He used the blog to raise the $2,520 re-examination fee.

Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said Thursday that Amazon "remains confident in the validity of its 1-Click patent."

Posted by mikki at 02:04 PM | Permalink

CopyCense: WIPO Separates Broadcast Right From Webcast Right:


"World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) members have agreed to split off webcasting from their ongoing discussions on a potential new treaty intended to define the rights of broadcasters over their transmissions.

"The compromise was reached during the 1-5 May meeting of the 'Standing Committee of Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR),' the WIPO technical body that is considering the controversial draft proposal for a WIPO treaty on the protection of the rights of the broadcasting organizations (SCCR/14/2). Talks on the issue started in 1999; the first draft basic treaty proposal was tabled in 2004 (SCCR/11/3).

"The driving force behind the negotiations has been broadcasting organisations' desire to obtain a level of protection for their transmissions similar to the rights accorded by the 1961 Rome Convention to performers and the recording industry for their works -- albeit updated to account for decades' worth of technological advances, notably the switch to digital transmission. The draft treaty proposes to grant the organisations exclusive rights to authorize the distribution and re-transmission of their broadcasts.

Posted by mikki at 10:39 PM | Permalink

Creative slaps Apple with iPod patent suit - Law & Policy - Breaking Business and Technology News at silicon.com:


Singapore-based electronics maker Creative Technology said on Monday it has filed two legal actions against Apple, charging that the popular iPod MP3-player infringes on its patented technology.
In a complaint with the US International Trade Commission, Creative is seeking an injunction that would stop Apple from selling the iPod and iPod Nano in the US. Separately, Creative said it has also sued Apple in US District Court in California, seeking an injunction and damages.
In both cases, Creative says the iPod and iPod Nano infringe on a patent the company has for the interface in its Zen media player, a patent granted last August.
Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo said in December the company would "aggressively pursue" those that infringed on its patent.
An Apple representative was not immediately available for comment.
Creative is not the first to seek a cut of Apple's iTunes and iPod revenue, citing patent issues. Pat-rights, a Hong Kong company, has said Apple's digital rights management technology infringes on its intellectual property, while another company - Contois Music & Technology - said the iTunes interface uses its patented technology.
Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com

Posted by mikki at 03:30 PM | Permalink

"Injunction Junction: Law Note On Equitable Relief In Trademark Law":

Duke Law & Technology Review iBrief: "Injunction Junction: Remembering The Proper Function and Form Of Equitable Relief In Trademark Law."

Abstract: Injunctions are supposed to be among the most extraordinary remedies in the American judicial system, yet they have become anything but rare in trademark litigation. Although the unique nature of trademark protection may explain the frequency of injunctive relief, the process by which this relief is issued is rapidly devolving into rubber-stamping by the courts. This iBrief argues that courts should (1) recommit themselves to the principles of equity before granting injunctions and (2) seriously apply the specificity requirements of Rule 65(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to avoid overly broad orders.

Posted by mikki at 03:29 PM | Permalink

NRVToday.com - Tech and University of Richmond unite on law degree:


Virginia Tech and the University of Richmond joined forces today and announced a new joint degree program that will enable students to earn both a bachelor of science and a law degree in six years.
The program is a partnership between the Collge of Science at Virginia Tech and the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. The program will concentrate on Intellectual Property Law or Patent Law.
 

Posted by mikki at 11:05 PM | Permalink

Patent office to look into peer review:


Blog: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this Friday will provide details about a pilot project for letting the public assist patent...

Posted by mikki at 12:53 PM | Permalink

DNA - Money - Innovative India outstrips China - Daily News & Analysis:


NEW YORK: The Wall Street Journal has observed in a powerful commentary that New Delhi has gone the extra mile to revamp its intellectual property rights.
 
“It may appear as if India’s recent economic rise is solely due to its low-cost outsourcing opportunities for foreign businesses,” said the US financial daily on Monday. “But this is only part of the story.
 
“India is rapidly evolving into Asia’s innovation centre... Its secret weapon? Intellectual property rights protection.”
 
The Indian Copyright Act was overhauled in 1994 to explain the rights of a copyright holder and the penalties for infringement of copyrighted software. The daily hailed the Indian law as one of the “toughest in the world”.
 
Last year, India’s new patents law extended protection to computer software and pharmaceutical products. “As a result, copyright-based industries such as the Indian IT sector have enjoyed rapid growth,” it said.
 
The Journal said that within the next few years, annual revenues from Indian software exports are tipped to touch $50 billion. It said New Delhi’s actions are in “stark contrast” to China and Brazil.

Posted by mikki at 06:19 PM | Permalink

blackenterprise.com:


In a verdict that could ripple across the pharmaceutical industry, a U.S. jury in a federal lawsuit has ruled that Eli Lilly infringed a patent covering drugs that work through one of the body's basic biological pathways.

The jury, sitting in U.S. District Court in Boston, on Thursday ordered Lilly to pay $65.2 million in back royalties to Ariad Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company that had licensed the patent from Harvard University and two other academic institutions. Lilly will also have to pay a 2.3 percent royalty on future U.S. sales of its osteoporosis drug Evista and its septic-shock drug Xigris.

The case has attracted attention because Ariad claims that the patent, issued in 2002, covers any drug that works by influencing the action of an important protein in the body. Some critics have said that patents covering an entire pathway in the body, as opposed to a particular drug, could hinder drug development.

Executives at Ariad have said that the patent could cover drugs with billions of dollars in annual sales and that it had sent letters offering licenses to more than 50 companies. Last week, the biotechnology giant Amgen filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against Ariad, seeking to shield its lucrative arthritis drug Enbrel from infringement charges based on the same patent.

Lilly argued in the trial that Ariad's patent covered a natural phenomenon and was therefore invalid. It also said its two drugs were under development before the protein at the heart of the Ariad patent was even discovered.

"The Ariad position is equivalent to discovering that gravity is the force that makes water run downhill and then demanding the owners of all the existing hydroelectric plants begin to pay patent royalties on their use of gravity," Lilly's general counsel, Robert Armitage, said Thursday in a statement.

Lilly said it would appeal if a request to set aside the verdict was refused by the trial judge, Rya Zobel. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is re-examining the validity of the patent at the request of Lilly.

Ariad's chairman and chief executive, Harvey Berger, disputed Lilly's arguments.

Posted by mikki at 03:29 PM | Permalink

The Columbus Dispatch - Business:


For decades, the yellow happy-face symbol has encouraged millions to smile.

But now a bitter legal battle over smiley could be enough to make the happy little symbol frown.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which uses a yellow happy face as a signature image, is saying that it has exclusive rights to the familiar image, at least among department stores.

It is fighting a French native who has earned millions in licensing fees on smiley’s back since the early 1970s, when he began securing trademarks for the happy face around the world.

The two sides are expected to wrap up their cases before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the summer, with a ruling sure to bring a smile to one side or another.

If Wal-Mart prevails, it could keep its competitors from festooning the symbol on plastic bags, name badges, balloons, handbags and just about anything else sold in stores, or the ads used to promote them.

Posted by mikki at 01:47 PM | Permalink

Beatles lose Apple court battle:


The Beatles lose their High Court battle with Apple Computer over its iTunes download store.

Posted by mikki at 01:17 PM | Permalink

:


n about two months from now, one of the largest selling drugs in the world Zocor (Simvastatin) will go off-patent, allowing companies to sell generic copies of the $4-billion Merck-owned cholesterol-lowering drug.
 
This is just one of the $20 billion worth of drugs that are slated to go off-patent over the next 20 months, and Indian companies are aggressively filing for permissions to sell the bulk drug (API or active pharmaceutical ingredient) as well as the final formulation in the US through a conscious strategy of “vertical integration”.
 
According to the latest report of Banc of America Securities (a Bank of America subsidiary), seven of the top 10 DMF filers at the US FDA are Indian. DMFs or Drug Master Files are required to get permission to sell bulk drugs in the US (see Chart)
 
Indian companies also account for 21 per cent of the ANDA’s filed. ANDA or Abbreviated New Drug Applications are filed to get permission to market the final formulations, which typically offer higher margins than bulk drugs.
 
This number stands out when compared with ANDA filings from Europe at 1 per cent while the balance 78 per cent is from the US itself.

Posted by mikki at 09:55 PM | Permalink

Macworld UK - Apple patents hint at future 'iUber' iPod:


Apple patents hint at future 'iUber' iPod
By Jonny Evans

A pair of Apple patent applications show the company is constantly working to keep the iPod ahead of the evolving digital music game.

Macsimum News notes that one patent (filed in December 2004 but published yesterday) describes a fully wireless-enabled iPod, but describes the device as a "portable shopping cart".

The patent posits a device that's capable of connecting to a store using mobile phone networks or WiFi networks.

The device described in the filing offers one or more speakers, a microphone, headphone jack, a FireWire or USB port, flash memory slots, and "one or more antennae or ports used to connect to a local networks".

This patent discusses a method of tagging a digital file, such as a song, ringtone, video or PDF (perhaps available on iTunes) using one device (perhaps a mobile phone) for download later to a Mac or PC.

A second patent describes a system to automatically create audio navigation tags for an iPod.

These tags are created from the metadata associated with a song, so could include artist and song name, playlist or genre, for example. This metadata is converted from text to speech and transformed into small audio files, which can be used to offer information to help a user navigate their collection without using the iPod's display.

Posted by mikki at 04:11 PM | Permalink

Patent Baristas: Federal Circuit Sets Out Personal Jurisdiction Standard:


In Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. v. Metabolite Laboratories, Inc., the Federal Circuit summarized the standard for personal jurisdiction in patent cases.

Metabolite holds patents for a method of controlling hyperhomocysteinemia, a condition involving elevated serum metabolite levels, which is an emerging risk factor for heart and vascular disease, and its principal business involves licensing its patents to pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. PamLab has an exclusive license of the Metabolite patents and manufactures and distributes a prescription-only vitamin product containing a specific formulation of B12, folic acid and B6 marketed as FOLTX. Breckenridge, a generic drug company headquartered in Florida, manufactures a similar product, marketed as “Folbee”, which it sells as a substitute for FOLTX.

Posted by mikki at 07:52 PM | Permalink

InformationWeek | Business Innovation Powered By Technology:


Back in November 2004, Apple filed a patent for an "audio user interface for computing devices" such as "an MP3 player, a mobile phone, or a personal digital assistant." The patent application was just published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The patent filing adds weight to speculation offered by a number of bloggers and journalists that Apple is working on a mobile phone, and it suggests that the iPod will eventually become a phone--an eminently sensible endgame for the device, assuming ease of use can be maintained.

In the abstract and noncommittal language of patent filings, Apple summarizes the invention as "an audio user interface that generates audio prompts that help a user navigate through the features of a computing device. The audio prompts provide audio indicators that allow a user to focus his or her visual attention upon other tasks such as driving an automobile, exercising, or crossing a street."

Posted by mikki at 11:04 AM | Permalink

CalTrade Report - US Threatens Action on China IPR Piracy:


WASHINGTON, DC - 05/01/06 - Once again China has topped the US annual list of countries criticized for inadequate protection of copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights (IPR), the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) reports.

Regarding China, the USTR appeared to move closer to filing what would be the first-ever challenge in the World Trade Organization (WTO) against intellectual piracy and counterfeiting.

"Faced with only limited progress by China in addressing certain deficiencies in IPR protection and enforcement, the United States will step up consideration of its WTO dispute settlement options," the USTR report said.

Russia also came in for strong criticism in the 2006 report on implementation of a US law called Special 301. 

Posted by mikki at 08:56 AM | Permalink