The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the chief patent law court in the United States, today issued an Order setting In re Bilski for rehearing en banc, which means that it will be reheard by the entire court. The original hearing in Bilski was on October 1, 2007, in front of a three judge panel, which is how all cases start out at the Federal Circuit. Occasionally, when an extremely important point of law needs to be decided, or when the Court is considering a modification to the existing patent laws, the Federal Circuit will sit en banc, with all of the judges hearing the case and participating in the written decision. Requests for en banc rehearing are fairly common, but are routinely rejected by the Court. The Court deciding among the Judges themselves to rehear a case when a rehearing has not been asked for is exceptionally rare, although not unprecedented. This should be considered to be a signal of important things to come though, which likely will include the limitation on business method patents.
Recently Hollywood executives approached both AT&T and Verizon to seek their help in preventing piracy over their networks. According to a New York Times article, AT&T is working with the entertainment industry to figure out how to identify illegally copied material that is being transmitted over its broadband network. Verizon, on the other hand, said — NO — we are not going to be the police force for the entertainment industry online.
Method and system for exterminating pests
US Patent No. 6,647,661 [ PDF ] [ HTML ] Issued November 18, 2003
This invention first locates pests, weeds, pathogens and the like through the use of a microwave scanner. Once located, said vermin are then immediately killed by what the patent calls “a lethal impact.” Being skeptical at this point you are probably expecting to see something unsophisticated like the apparatus being dropped onto the pest, like you might expect to happen to Wile E. Coyote, super genius, in one of the Roadrunner cartoons. But that is definitely not the lethal impact in question. No, this invention comes straight from Dexter’s Laboratory! The lethal impact in question is a blast of guided radiation of up to 10 Giga Hertz, with a radiation capacity of up to 100 Kilo Watts, for duration as long as 3 minutes! Not to worry though, the patent explains that the blast of radiation will be localized. Nevertheless, you might want to get one of those lead smocks from your dentist prior to use.
As I sit here eating my Burger King French Fries and McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger, (ketchup only, of course), I can’t help but think of a recent conversation I had with my very innovative 11 year old son Joey.We had just left the doctor’s office and were a bit pressed for time, so we decided to stop at Burger King for lunch on the way to our next destination.I ordered the BK Whopper Jr. with Fries and a Soda and Joey chose the Chicken Fries with Fries and a Soda as well.
While enjoying my BK fries and not so much enjoying my Whopper Jr. I said to my son “McDonald’s Burgers are so much better than Burger King’s, but Burger King makes the best fries!” I recall as early back as my first year in college, driving through the McDonald’s drive through for my Quarter Pounder with cheese and you guessed it, ketchup only.And then I’d drive up the street to the Burger King and order my fries. I have always felt this way and I am sure there are many others that feel the same. But I digress.
After my comment, Joey looked at me and nonchalant as could be he said, “Too bad you can’t have a company that sells both.Maybe we should start our own company!”My son is always “inventing” things, from fast cars of the future to children’s games.I’ve got hundreds of his “patent drawings.”My response to Joey, which I said with a sly chuckle was, “Well if we did start a company like that, then we’d have to steal the recipes.”And so the wheels in my mind started to turn.
By now it would seem that virtually everyone knows of the enormous upset pulled off by the New York Giants against the New England Patriots (17-14) in the Super Bowl on Sunday. As soon as I saw Bill Belichick, the Coach for the New England Patriots, who I have taken to calling Belicheat, I knew the Patriots were in trouble. He always wears a gray hoody, but for some reason he decided to tempt fate and wear a red one for the biggest game of the year, and what could have been the biggest game of his life. You see, the New England Patriots were trying to become only the second team to ever complete an NFL season undefeated and with a championship. Athletes can be very superstitious, so this seemed a particularly odd thing to do.
In any event, not only did the Patriots lose, but believe it or not, more than two weeks before Super Bowl XLII the New England Patriots filed a United States Trademark Application on both “19-0″ and “19-0 The Perfect Season.” Not to be deterred though, and just a little bit insulted that the Patriots would be so overly confident, the New York Post filed their own trademark application on “18-1.”
How to Write a Patent Application is a must own for patent attorneys, patent agents and law students alike. A crucial hands-on resource that walks you through every aspect of preparing and filing a patent application, from working with an inventor to patent searches, preparing the patent application, drafting claims and more. The treatise is continuously updated to address relevant Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decision impacting patent drafting.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the chief patent law court in the United States, today issued an Order setting In re Bilski for rehearing en banc, which means that it will be reheard by the entire court. The original hearing in Bilski was on October 1, 2007, in front of a three judge panel, which is how all cases start out at the Federal Circuit. Occasionally, when an extremely important point of law needs to be decided, or when the Court is considering a modification to the existing patent laws, the Federal Circuit will sit en banc, with all of the judges hearing the case and participating in the written decision. Requests for en banc rehearing are fairly common, but are routinely rejected by the Court. The Court deciding among the Judges themselves to rehear a case when a rehearing has not been asked for is exceptionally rare, although not unprecedented. This should be considered to be a signal of important things to come though, which likely will include the limitation on business method patents.
Recently Hollywood executives approached both AT&T and Verizon to seek their help in preventing piracy over their networks. According to a 
As I sit here eating my Burger King French Fries and McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger, (ketchup only, of course), I can’t help but think of a recent conversation I had with my very innovative 11 year old son Joey.
