http://www.ipwatchdog.com Patents, Patent Applications, Patent Law Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:51:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/06/secretary-locke-promises-strongest-ip-protection-in-the-world/id=7182/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/06/secretary-locke-promises-strongest-ip-protection-in-the-world/id=7182/#comments Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:51:55 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7182

Help Arrives! Nick Godici Returns to Patent OfficeU.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke yesterday announced the appointment of former USPTO official and long-time patent professional Nicholas P. Godici as a special advisor to the USPTO.  On announcing the return of Godici, Secretary Locke said: “I’m counting on Nick to use his decades of experience to help us strengthen the management of the USPTO [...]...

David Kappos Shines at Senate Confirmation HearingTo start the confirmation proceedings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced David Kappos this morning with a lengthy and impressive recitation of Kappos’ credentials and experience.  He started out with IBM as an engineer after graduating with highest honors from the University of California Davis with a degree in electrical and [...]...

Rob Clarke Named New USPTO Chief of StaffYet another high profile senior level management position has been filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the trend of qualified “get it” people continues.  Rob Clarke, who is currently the Director of the Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA), has been asked by Director David Kappos to become the new USPTO [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/06/secretary-locke-promises-strongest-ip-protection-in-the-world/id=7182/feed/ 0 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/06/kappos-talks-patent-reform-at-uspto-inventors-conference/id=7172/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/06/kappos-talks-patent-reform-at-uspto-inventors-conference/id=7172/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:52:26 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7172

David Kappos Confirmed as USPTO DirectorWith no notice to the public, and after the Senate was reported to have adjourned for their August recess, on Friday, August 7, 2009, David Kappos was confirmed as Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. While I applaud the quick action by the Senate to [...]...

Independent Inventors Conference @ PTOThe 13th annual Independent Inventors Conference will be held on the campus of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia August 8-9. A pre-conference workshop, for anyone interested in learning about the basics of patents and the importance of intellectual property protection, will be held on August 7 from 5 to [...]...

Kappos Lays Out Ambitious Agenda for USPTO in Speech at IPOLast week David Kappos addressed the IPO annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois.  Kappos’ remarks were varied and really set a new tone for the future of the USPTO under his watch.  Kappos continued the theme he has already established in differentiating how the USPTO will run under his regime, as compared to how it ran [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/06/kappos-talks-patent-reform-at-uspto-inventors-conference/id=7172/feed/ 12 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/04/gene-quinn-declared-patent-twit-of-the-week/id=7161/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/04/gene-quinn-declared-patent-twit-of-the-week/id=7161/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:49:49 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7161

Quinn and Koepsell Discuss Gene Patents on GritTVLast Monday, October 26, 2009, I had the opportunity to discuss gene patents on GritTV with host Laura Flanders. I appeared on the show via Skype video along with David Koepsell, the author of Who Owns You? , who was in the studio. I was supposed to be in New York City with [...]...

Beware the Anti-Patent Misdirection and LiesAnyone who has been reading IPWatchdog.com over the last several days knows that anti-patent advocates have been lambasting me for taking the position that patents are not evil and that more than a 0 year patent term is appropriate.  This debate was progressing about as well as you could expect I suppose.  I was making [...]...

Reality Check: Anti-Patent Patent Musings Simply BizarreI stumbled across an interesting article today from The Post and Courier regarding how interest in US patents is picking up in Cuba.  First, it was interesting enough to learn that it is possible for companies and individuals in Cuba to obtain a US patent given how Cuba and the US have been on rather [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/04/gene-quinn-declared-patent-twit-of-the-week/id=7161/feed/ 58 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/04/bilski-eyewitness-report-and-expert-analysis/id=7150/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/04/bilski-eyewitness-report-and-expert-analysis/id=7150/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:18:10 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7150

History of Software Patents III: In re AlappatOn October 30, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a landmark decision in In re Bilski. The United States Supreme Court has accepted the Bilski case and will hold oral arguments on Monday, November 9, 2009. My plan is to be present for the oral arguments, and I [...]...

How to Patent Software in a Post Bilski EraThose familiar with the ongoing debate regarding the patentability of software and business methods know, the United States Supreme Court has decided to take up In re Bilski during its next term, which will start in October 2009.  In the meantime, what exactly do you do if you want to patent software or computer related [...]...

US Supreme Court Grants Cert. in BilskiOn Monday, June 1, 2009, the United States Supreme Court granted cert. in Bilski v. Doll.  This means that the last chapter on business methods and software has not yet been written, which could be good news or bad news depending upon your particular take.  I have wondered out loud about allowing software patents as [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/04/bilski-eyewitness-report-and-expert-analysis/id=7150/feed/ 6 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/03/fired-up-challenging-the-constitutionality-of-the-patent-act/id=7144/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/03/fired-up-challenging-the-constitutionality-of-the-patent-act/id=7144/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:40:26 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7144

District Court Rules ACLU Gene Patent Challenge May ProceedIn one of the worst opinions I have ever read from any federal court, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled earlier today that the ACLU challenge against the Myriad Genetics patents and the United States Patent and Trademark Office for issuing patents can proceed. Procedurally the posture [...]...

ACLU Files Frivolous Lawsuit Challenging PatentsThe ACLU should be sanctioned for its frivolous lawsuit challenging gene patents, which was filed Tuesday in the United States Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York.  This lawsuit is nothing more than grandstanding, it presents frivolous arguments and outright lies.  The ACLU would have you believe that the patents cover naturally [...]...

San Francisco Chronicle Thinks Gravity is an IdeaThere are a lot of crazies coming out of the woodwork with respect to the ACLU’s efforts to have the patent laws of the United States declared unconstitutional.  Perhaps you have heard, the ALCU is standing up for breast cancer patients because Myriad Genetics has patented genes.  How awful really.  Not that Myriad has patented [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/03/fired-up-challenging-the-constitutionality-of-the-patent-act/id=7144/feed/ 18 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/03/honorable-mention-nanobots-%e2%80%93-an-invention-of-the-future/id=7128/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/03/honorable-mention-nanobots-%e2%80%93-an-invention-of-the-future/id=7128/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:21:32 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7128

Inventors Digest Essay Contest for TeensIn honor of National Inventors Month in August, Inventors Digest magazine and partners are sponsoring the 2059 Essay Contest for middle school and high school students.  IPWatchdog.com is proud to be one of the sponsors for this exciting essay contest, which asks those in ages 12 to 17 to write a 500 word (or less) [...]...

Inventors Digest Extends Deadline for Teen Essay ContestAbout 6 weeks ago I mentioned that Inventors Digest was holding an essay contest for teens in order to celebrate National Inventors Month, which is in August ever year. Realizing that the timing was conflicting somewhat with the annual pilgrimage to get new clothes, school supplies and the frenzy otherwise associated with the parental [...]...

The Case Against Gene PatentsI favor innovation, and am interested in ensuring that science and technology work hand in hand to both better our standard of living, and enrich those who create new and useful works. But it is not necessarily true that current intellectual property laws always accomplish this. Nor is it so that everything under [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/03/honorable-mention-nanobots-%e2%80%93-an-invention-of-the-future/id=7128/feed/ 0 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/district-court-rules-aclu-gene-patent-challenge-may-proceed/id=7115/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/district-court-rules-aclu-gene-patent-challenge-may-proceed/id=7115/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:56:51 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7115

Fired Up: Challenging the Constitutionality of the Patent ActThe Plaintiffs allege that because human genes should not be patented.  Hardly something that anyone can argue.  The only trouble is that this is not what the US Patent Office allows, and it is not what Myriad Genetics has been granted a patent on.  Nevertheless, the frivolous ACLU lawsuit that seeks to use the US [...]...

Federal Circuit to Rehear Tafas and GSK v. DollOn Monday, July 6, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (minus Judge Lourie who did not participate in the poll of judges) decided to rehear the claims and continuations rule challenge of Tafas and GlaxoSmithKline en banc.  Additionally, the CAFC has vacated the panel decision that awarded a victory to [...]...

Secretary Locke Promises Strongest IP Protection in the WorldI am just getting back from two days at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, having attended the 14th Annual Inventors Conference.  There is much to report, and much to write about, and I will continue to digest, analyze and write about what I saw and my impressions in the days to come.  It [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/district-court-rules-aclu-gene-patent-challenge-may-proceed/id=7115/feed/ 8 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/rest-in-peace-friend-robert-h-rines-1922-2009/id=7097/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/rest-in-peace-friend-robert-h-rines-1922-2009/id=7097/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:38:40 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7097

Inventors Hall of Fame Moves to USPTOThe United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced the opening of the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the museum of its Alexandria, Va., campus. The Hall of Fame honors and encourages the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible. The Hall of [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/rest-in-peace-friend-robert-h-rines-1922-2009/id=7097/feed/ 2 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/quinn-and-koepsell-discuss-gene-patents-on-grittv/id=7087/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/quinn-and-koepsell-discuss-gene-patents-on-grittv/id=7087/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:41:02 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7087

Gene Quinn Declared Patent Twit of the WeekI just so happened to stumble across an interesting article declaring me Patent Twit of the Week.  Normally one would not be proud of being declared a “twit,” but I have to say that I am enormously proud of this recognition.  It seems that The Center for a Stateless Society has declared me a patent [...]...

Confessions of an Otherwise Respectable BloggerEarlier today Kevin Noonan of Patent Docs posted an article titled Falsehoods, Distortions Lies in the Gene Patenting Debate.  In the article’s first paragraph Noonan explains that ever since the filing of a complaint by the ACLU challenging the propriety of certain gene patents owned by Myriad Genetics, the debate regarding gene patents has gone [...]...

Setting the Record Straight on Gene PatentsOn Wednesday, June 17, 2009, while I was on the road in Boston teaching the PLI Patent Bar Review Course I was invited to chat with David Gleason, the host of State of the Nation, which is a radio talk show that airs in South Africa.  It seems that Mr. Gleason and his staff were [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/quinn-and-koepsell-discuss-gene-patents-on-grittv/id=7087/feed/ 14 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/choosing-the-right-corporate-structure-for-your-business/id=7074/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/choosing-the-right-corporate-structure-for-your-business/id=7074/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:36:29 +0000 Kenneth Sprang http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7074 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/02/choosing-the-right-corporate-structure-for-your-business/id=7074/feed/ 1 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/01/history-of-software-patents-iii-in-re-alappat/id=7059/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/01/history-of-software-patents-iii-in-re-alappat/id=7059/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:50:06 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7059

History of Software Patents II: Arrhythmia ResearchOn October 30, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a landmark decision in In re Bilski.  As those who read IPWatchdog.com regularly know, it is my belief that software should be patentable subject matter, and patenting software is not the same as patenting math.  Notwithstanding, that there are a good [...]...

The History of Software PatentsSince the United States Supreme Court first addressed the patentability of computer software in Gottschalk v. Benson the law surrounding the patentability of software has changed considerably, leaving many to wonder whether software is patentable at all. Originally in Benson, the Supreme Court decided that software was not patentable, but then later retracted the blanket [...]...

Bilski: Eyewitness Report and Expert Analysisn Monday, November 9, 2009, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the much anticipated Bilski case, which could well decide once and for all whether business methods and software remain patentable in the United States. I will be in attendance at the oral argument, which will take place after a [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/01/history-of-software-patents-iii-in-re-alappat/id=7059/feed/ 8 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/10/31/happy-halloween-halloween-patents/id=7027/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/10/31/happy-halloween-halloween-patents/id=7027/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:26:32 +0000 Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7027

Obscure Patents: Chastity Belts for DogsPerhaps I am missing something, but I do not see a huge market for animal chastity belts. We have a dog, and we are dog lovers. We enjoy walking through pet stores and spoil her rotten. I cannot say that I have seen an animal chastity belt in any of my trips [...]...

Obscure Patent: Carry-out food containerCarry-out food container US Patent No. 7,451,889 Issued November 18, 2008 Did you know that on Tuesday, November 18, 2008, a carry out food container was patented? I discussed this patent in a post last week titled Unequal Treatment at the US Patent Office, where I discussed the unfair and inequal treatment that seems to be plaguing the Patent [...]...

Obscure Patent: The Beerbrella Beerbrella US Patent No. 6,637,447 Issued October 28, 2003 Here is a great invention, and one that is particularly appropriate to profile now that the heat of the summer has arrived. This device gets included here as an obscure patent because it is rather simple, something you don’t see every day, and completely ingenious. An umbrella for your [...]...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/10/31/happy-halloween-halloween-patents/id=7027/feed/ 1