Patents Archives

Patent trolls – Lesson No. 1

Patent trolls are organizations that aggressively defend patent libraries without manufacturing products of their own, which is why they are often referred to as Non Practicing Entities (NPEs) or Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs). These NPEs hardly contribute to research and development through innovation since they are rarely the original innovators. Moreover, the NPEs own patent libraries by buying inventions and patents cheaply from individual inventors and small entities who are not seeking to enforce them and licence the acquired patent…

November 18, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 737Views 0Like

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Social Media and IP (Part VIII): Select Patent Cases

Yahoo V. Facebook In 2012, Yahoo sued Facebook claiming infringement of ten of its patents relating to methods and systems of advertising on Social Media. The suit was filed after Facebook announced its plans to go for IPO. Yahoo did the same thing to Google and acquired substantial amount of shares in the bargain. In response, Facebook countersued Yahoo for infringement of its patents. The suit was settled within four months of its initial filing, in July, 2012. As a…

November 18, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents, Social Media Law 0Comment 759Views 0Like

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New Patent Fee Schedule proposed by USPTO

In order to recover the aggregate estimated cost of the patent operation and USPTO administrative services that support patent operations, USPTO is exercising its fee setting authority to set and adjust Patent Fee Schedule. Section 10 of the Leahy‐Smith America Invents Act (AIA) authorizes the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to, in part, “set or adjust by rule any fee established, authorized, or charged” under Title 35 of the United States Code provided that the aggregate patent fee…

November 13, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 719Views 0Like

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House of Mouse Lands in Legal Trouble

What is it about? InCom Corp, a company that provides educational services, in a patent infringement lawsuit filed on 22nd April, 2015 with the federal court, claims that the Walt Disney Company has snagged three of their patents to track what people do and what they buy at the Walt Disney World. The California-based InCom Corp is seeking a jury trial and wants wide-ranging and unspecified damages. Disney introduced the “Magic Band” back in 2013, despite correspondence from InCom Corp…

November 13, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 653Views 0Like

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‘DEMAND’ only if you want to

International preliminary Examination is an optional part on the applicant for an International application, but all PCT applications nevertheless undergo examination either with or without having examiner interaction with the applicant. The Examiner - applicant interaction occurs only when a Demand is filed under Chapter II of the PCT. Filing of Demand is completely optional. A Demand is usually filed in response to the written opinion of the ISA (International Search Authority), especially if it is a negative opinion. Thus…

November 13, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 630Views 0Like

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Sex Patents in India (Land of Kamasutra) – Sex Patents III

This is the third post in the series of Sex Patents. Some refer to India as the Land of Kamasutra, the country where the popular treatise of love and love making was written. Not surprisingly, several patents have been filed in India with respect to sex, love making and related aspects. In this post, we have picked a couple of interesting patents on sexual aids, published on the website of Indian Patent Office. Title: ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SEXUAL STIMULATION DEVICE Application Number:…

November 13, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 1206Views 0Like

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Honda takes comfort and ride quality to next level

Suspension systems in bikes are primarily used to provide safety and comfort to rider as well as pillion. Conventional suspension system on motorbike has a pair of fork tubes for the front wheel suspension. In operation, shock waves produced due to the displacement of the front wheel is dampened/cushioned by the spring and damper component of the fork tubes; thereby ensuring comfort and safety of the passengers. Honda has recently filed a patent application (US 2015274249) titled ‘Front suspension structure…

November 12, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 561Views 0Like

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Apple patents "Power" – literally

Battery life span has always been a major concern for many electronics manufacturers. Recently, Apple has come up with a technology that can extend the life of a portable computing device to several days or even weeks with the use of fuel cells without needing to be plugged in. Apple filed a patent application (US 20150249280) in March which has already been awarded by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent application entitled “Fuel Cell System to Power a…

November 12, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 706Views 0Like

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Automobile Patent: Claim Amendments for Common Rejections during Patent Prosecution

Rejections under this clause are based on the fact that claims do not fall within one of the four statutory categories of acceptable subject matters: process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter. One of the ways to overcome this type of rejection is by claiming an invention by properly reciting the subject matter. In the automobile industry, the claims must satisfy process, machine, and manufacture categories. Example: A method for enabling anti-lock braking in a vehicle…

November 12, 2015 BananaIP Reporter Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 636Views 0Like

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Ford Patents the future with Mechanical Inventions

Befitting its tagline, “Go further”, American multinational automaker Ford Motor Company has gone further and patented a Mechanical Invention concept in the US for an autonomous car that can reconfigure its seats and can make a car interior into a living room. The future open ups its possibilities into the world of autonomous cars or self driving cars. Ultimately, the goal of self-driving cars is to require nothing of the passengers, therefore seats that face the front of the car…