Patent Law Practice Center

Top 5 Patent Law Blog Posts of the Week

Today we continue our weekly installment highlighting the best of the patent blogosphere from the past week. If there are any patent blogs you think should be highlighted by our Top 5, please comment on this post and we’ll check them out.

1) Firstlegoleague.org: FLL Global Innovation Award Ceremony – On June 19, 2012, the FIRST® LEGO® League – a robotics program designed to get children excited about science and technology – recognized the finalists and winner of the FLL Global Innovation Award Food Factor® Season. According to the site, “The FIRST® LEGO® League Global Innovation Award is designed to encourage and assist FLL teams of 10 children and 1 adult to further develop their innovative solutions to real-world problems.  This year, the FLL Food Factor season challenged kids around the world to solve a food safety problem.” The winning entry was the “Shield of Protection Fruit Safe Label”, a sticker made out of food grade materials that would not peel off readily. To remove, the label must be scrubbed off with water, thus reminding people to wash fruit thoroughly prior to consumption.

2) Reuters: Kodak Sues Apple, Claiming Interference in Patent Sales – This article discusses how Kodak filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming Apple is the largest infringer of patents in Kodak’s digital-capture portfolio on top of being a  potential purchaser of those patents. According to the article, “Apple’s strategy has been to use its substantial cash position to delay as long as possible the payment of royalties to Kodak” and interfere with the sale, Kodak said.” (more…)

Reexamination Requests Against Abbott Labs’ HIV Drug Patents Among the Reexamination Requests Filed the Week of June 11, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

Earlier this year, Abbott Labs sued Roxane Labs for infringement U.S. Patent Nos. 7,148,359 and 7,364,752 which claim the HIV protease inhibitor ritonavir, in one patent as a crystalline polymorph, and in the other as a solid dispersion in a water soluble carrier.  On Friday reexamination was requested for both patents (see inter partes Request Nos. (7) & (8)).  Although the Patent Office records do not yet show the identity of the requester, it is quite likely Roxane.

Sony requested reexamination of a Jay Walker patent for a game user to enter preferences (see inter partes Request No. (1)). Walker Digital had sued Sony and Microsoft in Delaware for infringement of the patent.

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Don’t Forget to Register for: “Buying Patents by the Pound: Today’s Patent-Acquisition Boom and Tomorrow’s Antitrust Consequences”

On June 26, 2012, PLI will be hosting a one hour briefing entitled, “Buying Patents by the Pound: Today’s Patent-Acquisition Boom and Tomorrow’s Antitrust Consequences”. The briefing will feature Charles S. Crompton of Latham & Watkins LLP, and Ronald S. Laurie of Inflexion Point Strategy, LLC.

The panelists will discuss the forces driving the current strategic patent acquisition market, market developments that can be expected, how a potential market participant can prepare for antitrust scrutiny, and the possible approaches taken by the courts and regulators.

The question of how to value a patent portfolio as a whole, as well as how to value a patent “per pound”, remains tricky for many on the financial analysis side of the equation as well as for patent attorneys who recognize the value of a patent in both the present application as well as its future potential.

Be sure to hear these relevant issues discussed on June 26th, from 1pm to 2pm! To register for “Buying Patents by the Pound: Today’s Patent-Acquisition Boom and Tomorrow’s Antitrust Consequences,” click here.

Minnesota Pro bono Program Yields First Patent

On June 6, 2012, a patent was granted to a small inventor who received assistance with his patent application from a Minnesota  pilot pro bono program. Nick Musachio, an independent inventor in St. Paul, Minnesota, turned to the LegalCORPS Inventor Assistance Program after his initial patent application was rejected. With the professional expertise from attorneys at Fish & Richardson, Musachio was granted Patent Number 8157712 – a patent covering a “resistance exercise and physical therapy apparatus”.

This recent development is the first of what is expected to be many instances of small inventors contributing to the nation’s innovation via means of pro bono legal assistance. In the name of promoting innovation and equal access to the patent application process, the America Invents Act provides that the USPTO should “work with and support intellectual property law associations across the country in the establishment of pro bono programs designed to assist financially under-resourced independent inventors and small businesses.” In Minnesota, the LegalCORPS Inventor Assistance Program was co-founded by three Minneapolis firms: Lindquist & Vennum; Meyer & Njus; and Patterson Thuente Christensen Pedersen. (more…)

Top 5 Patent Law Blog Posts of the Week

Today we continue our weekly installment highlighting the best of the patent blogosphere from the past week. If there are any patent blogs you think should be highlighted by our Top 5, please comment on this post and we’ll check them out.

1) Director’s Forum: Top Reasons Why USPTO Is Moving to CPC – This post from the USPTO’s Director, David Kappos, discusses the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) project, how it is important, and highlights why they are cooperatively pursuing this initiative with the European Patent Office (EPO).

2) Spicy IP: New Patent Prevents Textbook Sharing (in US) – This post discusses a U.S. patent granted to economist Joseph Vogel, professor at University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. The patent restricts textbook sharing amongst students as a means of attempting to cut down on piracy. “The patent is designed to prevent “unauthorized access to copyrighted academic texts is provided in which trademark licenses, discussion boards, and grade content are integrated into a Web-based system.”” (more…)