Posts in IPWatchdog Articles

Translating patents isn’t like translating press releases or whitepapers. These materials can be reworded, adjusted, modified, and reformatted to accommodate linguistic nuances. Patents, however, require very specialized and precise technical and legal language. In addition, every patent’s style, structure, and formatting must adhere to the particular rules of the patent office where it is being filed. Patent translation demands a level of expertise and experience that is beyond the ability of many translation providers.

Kappos on final rules to implement the AIA: “We put together a good set of rules, but they are by no means a perfect set of rules.” Kappos explained that typically in Washington administrative rules are written and may be changed some time in the future, but not very quickly. That was not the USPTO approach. “Our approach was different,” he explained. The USPTO approach is one of continuing improvement. “We are already talking about convening the state holder community again after a few months when there is data to discuss.” The goal is to get feedback and make any necessary changes to continually improve the rules.

A new face lifting technique that claims to restore the volume loss in the face that is caused by aging has received a U.S. patent – U.S. Patent No. 8,240,314, which issued on August 14, 2012 after initially being filed on April 6, 2010. The ArqueDerma Artistic Restoration Lift technique was invented by Leslie Fletcher of the InjectAbility Institute. The process is unique because it attacks volume loss in a different way compared with conventional techniques. The Fletcher process is desirable because of its long lasting, natural effects and because it can be administered by nurses and other medical professionals without the assistance of physicians.

“I am honored to have been elected President of an outstanding organization that plays a pivotal role in the global IP landscape,” Mr. Lewis said. “The coming year promises to be one of continuing change as the evolving global economy and ongoing advances in technology raise new challenges for the IP industry. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with AIPLA and its membership to address these issues and help to ensure that our intellectual property system remains strong and serves the best interests of its participants.”

Judge Richard Linn: “It is a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to honor my colleague and my dear friend, Judge Pauline Newman. To say that Judge Newman is a woman of accomplishment is a serious understatement. There is no glass ceiling she hasn’t broken. When I asked her what she thought about Justice Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, she said with a twinkle in her eye, “That’s a nice start.” She has accomplished more than most men could ever hope to accomplish, and she did so for the most part at a time when our country and the institutions that operate here were, shall we say, not quite as progressive as they are today.”

The technology that involves cooling fact cells to reduce the amount of body fat is the center of a new trademark complaint. Zeltiq Aesthetics, Inc has filed a claim against Dr. Marco Hallerbach, MD, and Dr. Hallerbach & Associates, Inc. claiming that they are not only unlawfully using a procedure they own, but that in so doing they are infringing various trademarks owned by the company. The complaint was filed in the United States Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division on October 9, 2012. Zeltiq also filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction simultaneous with the filing of the complaint, which requests an injunction to stop Dr. Hallerbach’s advertising and to prevent him from using any of Zeltiq’s trademarked products.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the start of two new regional pro bono patent programs in California and the District of Columbia—the result of the USPTO’s cooperative efforts with the California Lawyers for the Arts and the Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA).

The two companies agreed to settlements with the FTC requiring them to stop making the allegedly deceptive claim that their Dutch Boy Refresh and Pure Performance interior paints, respectively, contain “zero” volatile organic compounds. According to the agency, while this may be true for the uncolored “base” paints, it is not true for tinted paint, which typically has much higher levels of the compounds, and which consumers usually buy.

The 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Intellectual Property Law Association is underway at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel in Washington, DC. Judge James Smith, Chief Judge of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the USPTO gave the luncheon address, discussing the current state of the PTAB and what to expect moving forward.

The decision in this case means that DC Comics will retain all the rights to the Superman characters and can continue to use them in books, movies and other entertainment media. It also means that Warner Bros., which owns DC Comics, will retain the rights for use in books, films, television and other various mediums. Given the enormous popularity of movies portraying Marvel superstars such as Iron Man, Thor and the X-Men, keeping the rights to Superman and not interrupting the new Superman movie, which is scheduled for release on June 14, 2013, is a big win for DC and Warner Bros.

NASA has selected 10 university-led proposals for study of innovative, early-stage space technologies designed to improve shielding from space radiation, spacecraft thermal management and optical systems. The 1-year grants are worth approximately $250,000 each, with an additional year of research possible. Each of these technology areas requires dramatic improvements over existing capabilities for future science and human exploration missions. Early stage, or low technology readiness level concepts, could mature into tools that solve the difficult challenges facing future NASA missions.

Even if the BRI rule made sense in 1932—and it is not clear to me that it ever made sense—the rule no longer makes sense. Dramatic changes in the field of patents have undermined even the alleged reasons for the BRI rule. The solution to the problem of the BRI rule is to replace it with the only rule that is natural and makes sense. After 80 years of inventors suffering under the BRI rule, it is time for Congress or the Supreme Court to say: regardless of whether the patent application has been granted, the claims mean the exact same thing. Always.

AOP, the world’s largest patent research community, has passed another significant milestone. This time the company has passed the $3 million threshold in financial rewards paid to its global research community. Actually, the milestone was reached at the end of August 2012, but AOP only officially made the announcement last week. In fact, as of the writing of this article the reward calculator found prominently on the AOP homepage shows that some $3,371,500 in reward money has been paid to its community of crowdsourcing researchers.

Pierre Favre, an examiner from the European Patent Office who is one of 18 examiners working in the area of solar cell technology, and Tina Heuter, an artist from Berlin, Germany, worked together for many years to create a representation of both the skilled person and the inventor.

A web analytics company has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal law by using its web-tracking software that collected personal data without disclosing the extent of the information that it was collecting. The company, Compete Inc., also allegedly failed to honor promises it made to protect the personal data it collected. The proposed settlement will require that Compete obtain consumers’ express consent before collecting any data from Compete software downloaded onto consumers’ computers, that the company delete or anonymize the use of the consumer data it already has collected, and that it provide directions to consumers for uninstalling its software.