Patent Law Practice Center

Kyocera Challenge to ADC Personal Communicator Patent Among the Reexamination Requests Filed the Week of May 7, 2012

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

This past Friday, Kyocera requested reexamination of an ADC Technology patent – U.S. Patent No. 6,985,136 – for a “personal communicator,” i.e., a portable computer for wireless data transmission (see inter partes Request No. (4)).  ADC is currently pursuing an infringement action against Kyocera in Illinois.  The ‘136 patent survived an earlier reexamination attempt, with the patentability of all claims confirmed.

Attack on Helferich Patent Licensing/Wireless Science Patent, Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of May 7, 2012

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

Helferich Patent Licensing has been extremely aggressive and extremely successful in asserting its portfolio of mobile wireless communications patents against the world’s media and retail giants. According to the patent search outfit M-CAM, Helferich has sued licensed 42 companies, including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, NEC, Nissan, Nokia, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba.

In a case filed in 2010, Helferich sued CBS for infringement of 21 patents.  This February, it obtained U.S. Patent No. 8,116,741, adding it to the CBS litigation and to six other infringement actions.  On Friday, CBS and the other defendants in those cases, requested reexamination of the ‘741 patent (see inter partes Request No. (1)).

This is by no means the first reexamination asserted against Helferich, who so far appears to have been quite adept at overcoming the prior art asserted against and adding numerous claims to its patents in reexamination.

Helferich holds an exclusive licensee to the patents in its portfolio, a license it obtained from Wireless Science.  Wireless states on web page that their “intellectual property portfolio contains numerous pending and issued domestic and international patents (over 1600 patent claims issued, allowed and pending) related to a variety of wireless and web-based messaging technologies.”

There was also an interesting reexamination request filed by Medtronic against an implantable valve prosthesis patent owned by Edwards Lifesciences (see ex parte Request No. (2)).  The two companies have been in a long-term struggle over this technology. (more…)

Challenges on Intellectual Ventures Computer Circuit Patents Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of April 23, 2012

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

An undisclosed party requested reexamination of two computer circuits patents owned by Intellectual Ventures (see ex parte Request Nos. (13) & (14)).  IV patents in this technology have come under attack by Xilinx in recent times, and it was quite possibly Xilinx that filed these requests. Incidentally, one of the IV patents was originally owned by LG Semicon and the other by Motorola.

Requests were also against four auto-navigation patents owned by Beacon Navigation (see ex parte Request Nos. (8) to (11)).  Beacon has sued quite a few auto-makers in Delaware for infringement of those patents, including Honda, Porsche, BMW and Ford.

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Bicycle Rental Station Patent, Subject of Reexamination Request Filed Week of April 16, 2012

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

If you live in Washington D.C. or in any of a number of other places, you have undoubtedly noticed the bicycle stations scattered across town: with a credit card you can rent a bicycle to ride around town and return it at your convenience to the same or another bicycle station.  Isabelle Bettez and Jean-Sebastien Bettez own a patent – U.S. Patent No. 7,898,439 – claiming a solar-powered station.

It is not yet evident from the Patent Office dockets who filed the request.

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Google Attack on Computerized Menu Patent Among the Reexamination Requests Filed the Week of April 9, 2012

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

Last September, DietGoal Innovations sued a who’s-who of fast food companies (such as McDonalds and Burger King), plus Google, for infringement of a computerized menu patent: U.S. Patent No. 6,585,516 (see inter partes Request No. (1)).  Last week, it was Google that requested reexamination of the ‘516 patent. DietGoal’s patented menu comprises a user interface, a database of food objects organized into meals, and a picture menus, so “that a user can select [a meal] to meet customized eating goal.”

Avery Dennison requested reexamination of two 3M patents for retro-reflective sheeting (see inter partes Request Nos. (8) & (9)). 3M has sued Avery in Minnesota for infringement of those two patents, as well as two other similar patents.  Judge Michael Davis issued a claim construction order last month in that infringement action.

Finally, in what might be a first, the United States requested reexamination of a patent for neutralizing landmines (see inter partes Request No. (12)).  The inventor-owner of the patent is pursuing an infringement action against the U.S. in the Court of Claims.

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