Posts in Technology & Innovation

With apologies to the great humorist, the report of the death of software patents is an exaggeration. The Court set forth a two-step test grounded in Bilski v. Kappos and Mayo v. Prometheus. While the Court may not have defined a clear boundary for so called “abstract ideas” specifically, it did squarely place this case within the “outer shell” of the law set forth in Bilski and Mayo. In doing so it articulated an approach that focuses not on finding the boundary line, but rather on the core properties of an ineligible patent claim.

A device that better provides assistive therapies to elderly or physically handicapped individuals is discussed in today’s featured patent application. This device is more cost-effective and easy to wear than prior exercise support devices designed to assist walking, providing effective response to a wearer’s leg movement. We also noticed a couple of patent applications describing improvements to multiplayer video gaming environments, including one method that improves the ability for an advertiser to reach players through an in-game avatar. . . We noticed a number of patents directed at gesture and speech recognition technologies and selected a trio from those to share that improve computer recognition of speech patterns and partial gesture commands. We also discuss a patent protecting a system of home security automation through a mobile electronic device.

At least initially, the USPTO instructions to examiners seems extremely patentee friendly, which I must say comes as a surprise given the largely anti-patent rhetoric that has come from the White House over the last 16 months. Indeed, the USPTO has told examiners that the reason Alice’s claims were determined to be patent ineligible was because “the generically-recited computers in the claims add nothing of substance to the underlying abstract idea.” Hirshfeld also told examiners: “[T]he basic inquiries to determine subject matter eligibility remain the same as explained in MPEP 2106(I).” Therefore, nothing has changed as far as the USPTO is concerned.

Using an all too familiar “logical” construct, the Supreme Court determined that what Aereo did was not a public performance within the meaning of the Copyright Act, but was still infringement because it was a public performance. This construct, which often appears in patent cases, is logically absurd, but without anyone to review the Court’s decisions they seem completely comfortable rendering internally inconsistent and logically flawed decisions, particularly when dealing with intellectual property. The Supreme Court likely struggles with intellectual property because the Court is simply not comfortable with technology. In the past…

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host its next Software Partnership Meeting on Tuesday, July 22, 2014, at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, from 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm.

The value of such innovation is best measured through the improved health outcomes for patients. In this context, a few examples from the developing world are even more illustrative. Given that those who most vehemently oppose protection for incremental innovations frequently cite the need for treatments for neglected diseases and maladies of the developing world, it is important to note that many of the treatments that do exist for the world’s most vulnerable populations are themselves incremental innovations. Numerous incremental innovations have resulted in improvements that have specific application to neglected diseases and the maladies of the developing world.

Evidence about man’s attempts to provide some sort of cooling technology to beat the heat in warmer climates extends back almost 2,000 years. Early air conditioning systems from 2nd century China, for example, involved a manually-powered rotary fan designed to force air through a room. In 3rd century Rome, a system was developed for the importing of ice from the mountain regions via donkey train to cool the garden of Emperor Elagabalus… Another attempt at improving air conditioning technology arose in response to one of the sadder days in the history of the United States. On July 2nd, 1881, U.S. President James Garfield was shot by an assassin and passed away more than two months later, on September 19th of that year. In order to provide comfort to the commander in chief during his final weeks, engineers from the U.S. Navy constructed a cooling unit that blows hot air over a water-soaked cloth, forcing cool air to travel underneath the hot air.

On Thursday, june 19, 2014, the United States Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in Alice v. CLS Bank. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Thomas the Supreme Court Court held that because the claims are drawn to a patent-ineligible abstract idea, they are not eligible for a patent under Section 101. In what can only be described as an intellectually bankrupt opinion, the Supreme Court never once used the word “software” in its decision.

The Samsung Group is one of the most active patent-seeking organizations in the world, and it has added hundreds of patents to its intellectual property portfolio in the past few weeks alone. A couple of patents we discuss today focus on the corporation’s home appliance offerings, including one for a removable cutlery basket within a dishwasher which allows for easier removal of knives, forks and more. Another patent protects a method for allowing a user to easily select the proper format for 3D image display corresponding to their stereoscopic glasses. We were also intrigued by a recently issued patent that improves upon Samsung’s previous activities in the field of robotics, which relates to a method of generating human-like motion in a humanoid robot.

As always, we start with a close look at one featured patent application, and we were intrigued by one technology designed to encourage group completion of fitness activities. This lifestyle companion system can also suggest fitness activities to users based on personal interviews conducted by the system. Other inventions directed at personalized services, including a method of creating avatars reflecting a user’s current emotional state, are also described in a series of patent applications discussed in today’s column. Apple’s patent filing activities always result in a great deal of patent grants from the USPTO, and recently the company was issued many patents protecting improvements to various software and device hardware products. Improvements to media editing programs for recording voice-overs, a smarter progress bar for conveying project completion information and a processing system for determining that a person’s shoes have become worn out and should be replaced are also protected by recently issued patents.

Other patent applications describe some fairly unique innovations which stirred our imaginations, including an electronic blackboard as well as a method of simulating boomerang flight paths through a mobile device. Hon Hai Precision is constantly patenting new technologies and our search of patents recently issued to this corporation from the USPTO rendered up a number of patents protecting some useful improvements to various electronics systems. A couple of patents are directed at components for dissipating heat from electronic devices. Container data centers, which house servers and other advanced computing electronics, are also the focus of a couple of issued patents, one of which focuses on heat dissipation while the other is directed at a system for reducing corrosion near areas with high atmospheric salinity.

We begin our look at Toshiba’s recent inventions with a thorough look at today’s featured patent application, which describes a system designed to increase the speed with which transactions via check can be reconciled with a financial institution. This system creates a digital image of a check which can be analyzed for quick financial reporting, reducing typical delays in processing checks. An apparatus for aiding people attempting to write in a foreign language and a system for scanning produce items without barcodes are also discussed. Toshiba is issued a great amount of U.S. patents week after week from the USPTO, and we’ve found some recent patents which protect improvements for systems involving public utilities. A couple of patents are directed at technologies for energy generation and transmission, including a device that would allow home customers to more easily switch between forms of energy being used, such as solar or natural gas. Another patent protects a system for improving the ultraviolet treatment of water for public use. We also noticed an invention aimed at helping to identify counterfeit bank notes through detection of magnetic elements within the currency.

IBM is renowned for its development of supercomputing programs, which is the focus of today’s featured patent application. This filed application describes a system of analyzing digital content in various forms in order to automatically determine the appropriate security level for that content, eliminating the need for network users to manually apply security measures on their own. We also found a couple of technologies for migrating consumer services to cloud-based environments, and a unique method of determining broken lamps in public lighting systems by utilizing satellite images. Dozens of patents have been issued to IBM by the USPTO just this past week, and in them we found an interesting assortment of useful technologies for consumers. One patent protects a computerized system for adaptive speech responses which can more closely approximate a user’s speaking style. Another patent describes a system which better protects businesses from barcode fraud committed by customers at self-checkout aisles. We also found a couple of patents directed at vehicular technologies, including one system of recommending driving routes based on pollution scores for various areas.

We start today’s check into Yahoo!’s innovations with an in-depth look at one patent application describing an online marketplace for advertising services which can be bought for business purposes. This marketplace enables advertising services to bid for rates and can analyze consumer interactions with a business website to suggest effecting online marketing tools. Other patent applications describe various other software tools for business purposes, including one system for providing advertisements which are optimized for mobile device screens. Yahoo!’s recently patented technologies cover a wide variety of novel Internet technologies. One patent we discuss establishes a new method of ranking search engine results based on how interesting some content may be for a user. A sidebar for community updates within online networks comprising many members, and a method for recommending e-mails for others to read, are also discussed below.