As a patent attorney in Erie County I often get asked, "how can I get my products on the shelf in Walmart?" Shelf space is like real estate and every inch inside the store has to be accounted for and the product on that shelf must earn a profit equivalent to the cost to keep that shelf space available in the store.
An independent inventor has to be able to sell his idea to Walmart such that Walmart will remove other things currently in the store to make room for that product. This is a very difficult thing to do for an independent inventor.
Well this might have changed because right now, on the Walmart webpage they have a contest to "get on the shelf".
Even if you don't win the contest you certainly can get some exposure on their webpage which is visited by thousands of people while the contest is going on.
You can go to the Walmart webpage and enter your invention up until February 22, 2012. If you win the contest you will get your product on the shelf at all the Walmarts throughout the country.
You can get your friends and family to vote for you and hopefully your great idea will get on the shelf at Walmart and you can be on your way to becoming a successful profitable entrepreneur with a new invention.
I think it's a great opportunity for inventors to get out there with their great ideas. Hopefully you're the next new inventor and your product is sold at all the Walmart stores. Good luck.
Asian companies hold eight of the top 10 spots on the 2011 patent list and 25 or half of the top 50 U.S. patent-grant recipients with U.S. firms having17 spots. Asian countries represented in the top 50 include Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Most of the companies in the Top 50 were up from 2010, many shattering records and posting double-digit percentage gains.
IBM has held down the #1 patent rankings position for 19 consecutive years, with a record 6,180 patents in 2011, up from 5,896 in 2010. IBM was the first company to break 5,000-patent in a single year in 2010 and in 2011 the first to break the 6,000-patent mark in a single year.
IBM’s 2011 patent total was almost five times as many as Hewlett-Packard’s 1308 and exceeded the combined issuances of Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, EMC, Apple and Google.
More than 8,000 inventors residing in 46 different U.S. states and 36 countries generated the IBM's record-breaking 2011 patent tally. IBM inventors residing outside the United States were responsible for 26% of the company's 2011 patents.
Although in terms of patent grants, IBM has been No. 1 for the lat 19 years, Samsung's published applications eclipsed those of IBM in the last two years... so is the "writing on the wall" that the 19 year streak will end in the next couple years?
List of the top 10 company's to receive a US patent in 2011:
International Business Machines (US) 6180
Samsung (Korea) 4894
Canon K K (Japan) 2821
Panasonic Corp (Japan) 2559
Toshiba (Japan) 2483
Microsoft Corp Corporation (US) 2311
Sony Corporation (Japan) 2286
Seiko Epson Corp (Japan) 1533
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd (Taiwan) 1514
Hitachi (Japan) 1465
Where are the most inventors with patents coming from in the U.S.? The inventors come from every state and all of the territories. In 2011, the top five states that led the list in numbers of patents were:
California 30,397
Texas 8,054
New York 8,026
Washington 5,227
Massachusetts 5,003
According to the "Performance and Accountability Report of 2011" of the 244,430 patents that were issued a little bit less than half (120,178) were issued to United States citizens. The remaining 124,252 issued patents went to citizens of a foreign country.
Even though a jury ruled that the software that runs the famous Facebook site infringed on the patent of Leader Technologies, Facebook still won the case. The reply appeal brief was just filed last month.
I think the issues in this case are relevant for all inventors. Inventors should be aware that disclosure of their invention prior to filing a patent application could invalidate the patent after it is allowed.
If you are an inventor and you have an idea and you want to "get it out there" into the market, you better file a patent application less than one year after you offer it for sale, publish it anywhere or use it in public.
On November 19, 2008, Leader filed a patent infringement suit against Facebook alleging infringement of United States Patent No. 7,139,761 (Leader Technologies, Inc. v. Facebook, Inc., (D.Del. 2008). Fed. Cir. Case No. 2011-1366). On July 28, 2010, the jury rendered a verdict that Facebook infringed all of the asserted patent claims and that the claims were neither anticipated nor obvious in light of the prior art. But the jury also ruled that even though Facebook directly and literally infringed on the patent...the patent was invalid because of 102(b) disclosures.
A patent is invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) if the patentee publicly used or offered for sale a product that embodied the patented invention more than one year before filing the patent application.
The jury found the patent invalid on the theory that Leader had publicly used the patented invention and offered it for sale more than one year before filing the patent application.
Leader Technologies is an innovative software company based in Columbus, Ohio. Chairman and founder Michael McKibben created Leader in 1997 with the goal of using "the internet as a platform for doing large scale communications and collaboration."
At that time, the internet was in its infancy, with the number of users measured in the mere millions. Leader recognized the untapped potential of the internet-"an unclaimed market space"-and moved to enter that marketplace.
Leader won the part of the trial that most people would think would be the most important: Leader won on "literal infringement" of 11 of 11 patent claims and no published prior art regarding Leader's U.S. Patent No. 7,139,761 (PDF).
In other words, the engine running Facebook is Leader's invention. But Facebook won because of a statutory bar called "on sale bar and public disclosure."
The case is now on appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. The appeal briefs have been filed and a date for oral argument is going to be set. The Leader brief (PDF) argues that Facebook had no evidence of sale/public disclosure and confused the jury with court room theatrics. The Facebook brief (PDF) argues their evidence was "substantial."
It is pretty unbelievable that this case has not gotten more publicity.
The case raises many questions:
Could Mark Zuckerberg have invented Facebook in "one or two weeks" while studying for finals?
Is it just a coincidence that Leader inventor's son Max was in the dorm next to Zuck?
Could Zuckerberg have hacked into the inventor's son's Harvard email account that described McKibben's invention which Zuck just mimicked and launched a month later?
Is there evidence that Facebook had to wait until the Leader patent published in the summer of 2004 to add the "groups functionality" in Facebook because they couldn't figure out how to do it without the patent?
But none of the questions of who invented really matter now because of the statutory bar. Perhaps Leader can overturn the jury's decision. The blog "Origin of Facebook's Technology?" breaks down the appeal briefs and points out all the weaknesses in the Facebook arguments. Perhaps the blog is a little one-sided, I wonder what the agenda is? But who knows what's going happen in this case.
The lesson every inventor should take away from this case is: file your patent application as soon as possible.
Last year I interviewed professional patent searcher Martin E. Keller after he sent me his 2011 patent calendar. Each month on the calendar is accompanied by a drawing of a funny device described in a US patent.
This year I received a PDF version of the calendar which I share with you here. It is entitled "The 2012 Keller Patents Top Twelve Calendar." Martin indicates in his calendar he has
"conducted a few thousand patent searches in (his) career, starting in the “paper only” days - all the way up to the present EAST system. Everything from simple mechanical and electrical novelty searches to validity and infringement studies.
In the 2012 calendar Keller shares some fun patents with us. Here are a couple drawings I pulled off the patent calendar that you might find interesting.
One patent describes how to save the lives of airplane passengers in a disabled airplane by separating the passenger compartment from the fuselage of the airplane. It's kind of like the idea of the saucer section of the Starship Enterprise separating in an emergency.
I'm sure it would have been valuable in the 911 terrorist attacks. But who would decide when to deploy the parachute's? The captain or the stewardess.
And if there were hijackers aboard and have taken over the captain's cabin should the stewardesses be able to do it on their own? And I'm sure it would not be the best ride in the world.
What about these wheels on this guy's feet. This invention was from the 1980s. I am an ice skater but I I wonder if I could wear these. Of course the prototype probably has a lot of kinks to work out of it.
How about this motorized traveling case scooter. It appears that it's probably so heavy it needs to be wheeled. But this was made in 1967. Before anybody used suitcases with wheels.
Too bad for him he didn't try to sell the suitcase with wheels.
He might have been much more successful. You remember that in 1967 a suitcase didn't have wheels. Now you can't find a suitcase without wheels.
What about this gasoline powered blender PDF? There's a Nissan commercial that leads a new ad campaign that asks "What if everything ran on gas?" This guy certainly wasn't thinking green.
How about this bicycle fan from 1890. Seems like a good idea to me. Wouldn't you want this on a hot summer day? I wonder why some of these inventions never took off?
Thanks Martin for the calendar. Here's Martin's contact information:
Martin E. Keller
Professional Patent Searcher
1940 Duke St., Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
T:703-624-0310
F:703-636-7700
e-mail: kellerpatents@gmail.com
Steve Jobs revolutionized our world through his inventions. There are very few inventors in the world that give us devices that change the way we live. There are not many households in the world that don't have some form of technology created by Apple.
My house is littered with almost every generation of iPod, the iPad I and II, Apple TV and a couple laptops made by Apple. I remember my first computer was a Mac in the early 1980s.
Steve Jobs co-founder of Apple passed away at the young age of 56. It makes me consider my mortality. You can have everything in the world but you can't control your time here.
We all live on the edge of life and death every minute but no one ever considers that death is going to take them away right now. So I try to remind myself to live my life now.
Inventors attempt to come up with ideas to change the world but there are very few people that actually do it.
Steve jobs and Apple revolutionized our world through the electronic devices he and his company invented.
The personal computer. In 1976 the Apple I was one of the first rudimentary computers made available for computer enthusiasts at the cost of $666.66.
Throughout the next 40 years the Apple personal computer evolved to a point where everyone could interact with the computer in our own language in a seamless iconic way.
The iPod forever changed the way we listen to music. It's iconic commercials of a young person listening to music with the earphone buds and long wire swinging to the music changed the music industry.
The iPad forever changed the way we interact with apps and the endless store of information on the Internet.
I would guess this is just the precursor of screens attached to walls and other devices that we swipe and tap with our fingers to manipulate the electronic images and music and remote control of virtually all electronic devices.
The iPhone the most popular smart phone in the world forever changed the way we communicate with each other.
Steve Jobs has been compared to Edison, da Vinci and all the great inventors of all time and I agree he certainly deserves to go down in history as an iconic figure that changed the world forever.
As with many great inventions, this one was developed partially by accident. McIntire worked for Dow Chemical Company during World War II, and part of his job was to design a material with the insulation properties of polystyrene that would be more rubber-like. In doing so, McIntire discovered that when he combined the polystyrene with isobutylene, bubbles of the latter formed in the polystyrene. This new foam was more flexible than polystyrene alone, as well as thirty times lighter!
While it was not quite the material that McIntire had hoped for, STYROFOAM was inexpensive to produce and also boasted moisture-resistance.
Since receiving its patent in 1944, STYROFOAM has been used in a variety of ways worldwide. It has become a primary brand of insulation for both homes and commercial buildings; STYROFOAM has proven to be effective in increasing energy efficiency as well as protecting against the elements.
But did you know that STYROFOAM has never been used to make coffee cups or coolers? The trademarked blue colored foam is formulated differently than the white foam that we typically associate with these products.
McIntire spent his entire career working for Dow Chemical. His positions included research director and director of technology. He retired in 1981.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued US patent number 8,000,000 on August 16, 2011. I've been considering writing a blog post for the last month or so about who will receive United States patent number 8,000,000 and as it turns out on Friday, August 19th my law office received a patent that we wrote numbered 7,999,701 that was issued the same day number 8 million was issued.
It was then that I realized how close we were to a truly milestone patent. It would have been pretty cool if we could have written the patent having the number 8,000,000.
But it was not to be because on August 16, 2011 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued patent number 8,000,000 to Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., for a visual prosthesis apparatus that enhances visual perception for people who have gone blind due to outer retinal degeneration.
The invention uses electrical stimulation of the retina to produce the visual perception of patterns of light. The product - the Argus® II - is currently in U.S. clinical trials and has received marketing approval in Europe.
In his press release Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos said
“The USPTO plays a major role in serving America’s innovators by granting the intellectual property rights they need to secure investment capital, build companies and bring their products and services to the global marketplace.”
But even though it was number 8,000,000 it wasn't really the 8 millionth patent. The first United States patent was issued, signed by George Washington himself, in 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for his invention of potash. But based on the current patent numbering system, US Patent No. 1 was granted to John Ruggles in 1836 for a type of train wheel.
So why is there a discrepancy between the first patent issued and patent number one? It is because when patents first began being issued in the United States, they did not receive a number. Now, they are referred to as the “X patents,” because they have since been assigned numbers, preceded by an ‘X,’ based on the order in which they were issued. In 1836, the system for patent applications was overhauled, and resulted in a new numbering system that started with the number 1.
Here are a couple of milestone patents of interest posted by the USPTO:
It took 75 years after Patent No. 1 was issued, for US Patent No. 1,000,000 to issue to Francis Holton. It took less than six years to get from patent 7 million to patent 8 million.
Holton received his 1911 patent for an improved, more durable and puncture-resistant tire. Described as a pneumatic tire with solid material in its core, Holton’s tire was acclaimed by the New York Times as one of the “crying necessities of this modern world.”
On April 30th, 1935, the United States Patent Office celebrated another milestone: its 2,000,000th patent issued. On behalf of the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company, Joseph Ledwinka developed an improvement of the railway car in which a combination of a pneumatic tire and a rail wheel were used to enable the cars to safely travel at high speeds.
Ledwinka was not new to the world of patents; since 1899, he had been granted 247 others. The Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company, which was a major player in the railway industry in the early and mid twentieth century, still exists today as ThyssenKrupp Budd.
Some of the most useful products in our daily lives were developed completely by accident— and among these is Superglue.
While working as a research chemist at Eastman Kodak during world war II, Coover worked with cyanocrylates in an effort to produce an optically clear plastic to use for precision gunsights.
These chemicals proved to be unsuited to this particular task, but Coover recognized their potential applications as an adhesive.
Originally called Eastman 910, so named for its ability to dry within ten seconds, we now know this substance as Super Glue or Krazy Glue.
This is the formula for polymerization of methyl-2-cyanoacrylate:
This discovery of cyanoacrylates, a class of chemicals with powerful adhesive properties, opened the door to a wide range of industrial, consumer, and medical applications.
Invention Impact
During the Vietnam war, field surgeons made dramatic use of cyanoacrylate by spraying it on potentially fatal wounds to stop bleeding instantly, thus allowing them to treat the wounds later in a conventional manner.
Cyanoacrylate adhesives are currently used for medical procedures such as performing sutureless surgery to rejoin veins and arteries, sealing punctures or lesions, and sealing bleeding ulcers.
Inventor Bio
Harry Coover was born in Newark, Delaware. He received his B.S. from Hobart College and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University.
Coover holds 460 patents is responsible for advances in the fields of graft polymerization, organophosphorus chemistry, and olefin polymerization.
Harry Coover's honors include:
Southern Chemist Man of the Year Award for his accomplishments in individual innovation and creativity.
I have always been amazed at the complex inventions that have come about hundreds of years ago. Leonardo Da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) was an Italian Renaissance genius who memorialized many of his of inventions in thousands of pages of notes and drawings.
Although it is said that he intended to order them all in a single volume, the pages were never put in the order that he wanted. And it is said that the 6000 pages that were saved are only about 20% of the total that he created. One can only imagine what was lost to all of humanity because those pages were not saved.
Most enduring to his legacy are his inventions and designs. In an attempt to share some of da Vinci's genius a sampling of many of the machines that he drew have been faithfully constructed from Leonardo's notebooks by a modern team of scientists and craftsmen in the heart of the Renaissance, Florence, Italy and now are currently on display in the exhibit called "Machines in Motion" in the Buffalo Museum of Science until August 28.
The uniquness of Machines in Motion lies in the fact that many of the mechanisms are life-sized and fully operational and combine a fascinating hands-on experience with an exploration of the principles da Vinci employed to create each machine.
Registered patent attorney, Brendan Lillis and I went down and experienced the hands-on feel for the forty machines based on Leonardo da Vinci's visionary designs.
Because all the exhibits are hands-on you can explore the range of mechanical principles Leonardo employed. When you compare Leonardo's designs with today's innovations you can't believe he lived almost 5 centuries ago.
His ideas range from Flying machines, machine gun, parachute, automated printing press, armored tank, robot--and much more.
The 2011 National Trademark Expo will be held at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia on Friday, October 14th, and Saturday, October 15th.
The free two-day event is intended to educate the public about the importance of trademarks in the global marketplace.
Exhibitors are invited to showcase their trademarks through educational exhibits. Over 10,000 visitors of all ages attended last year’s 2010 National Trademark Expo.
As a patent attorney in Buffalo, New York I often run into inventors who are trying to invent something new. Recently I ran into a Buffalo ambassador who has reinvented something very old.
In September of 1907 a group of Buffalo ambassador's created a celebration called "Buffalo Old Home Week" to bring back Buffalo natives that had drifted away.
In 2006 there was a desire to build community pride more than ever and Buffalo Old Home Week was revived by a small band of Buffalo enthusiasts. It was successful beyond all expectations.
Buffalo Citybration 2011, is a marvelous four-day event which will showcase Buffalo's assets, highlight its opportunity and celebrate the city's many successes.
In 2011, Buffalo Citybration will take place during the last weekend of June (June 23-26) and will focus on Buffalo's waterfront, helping to connect Canal Side and the waterfront to Downtown Buffalo.
There are some great events planned on the waterfront like a tours, bike rides and a floating cocktail party on the Niagara River.
One event that I am looking forward to participating in is taking a ride in the hot air balloon over the beautiful Buffalo City Hall.
How cool is that.
Here's a summary of all the events planned:
Citybration proactively addresses the retention and attraction problems that have led to ongoing population losses in true Buffalo spirit -- by throwing a party!
Happy Easter to all! I can still picture in my mind my mother boiling the eggs and preparing the Easter egg coloring kit and that unique vinegar smell that came along with that coloring process. And I can recall the excitement we all felt knowing that soon we all would receive a chocolate Easter bunny almost as big as us.
I wonder who was the first person to color an Easter egg? According to Wikipedia® "The egg is a symbol of the rebirth of the Earth in celebrations of spring and was adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus."
I'm not sure who was first but I found a patent issued in 1890 for an Easter egg. I guess people have been marking eggs for a long time.
In my search I located a couple of Easter baskets from the early 20th century and a couple mechanical Easter toys.
I thought it might be interesting to share those with the readers. It appears that there is an invention and a registered patent for every occasion.
Utility Patents: For any process, machine, composition of matter or manufacture
Design Patents: For any original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture
Here are a couple examples of Easter design and utility patents. Happy Easter everyone! If you click on any of these drawings it will lead you to a .PDF of the actual patent.
The induction comes from her groundbreaking work in implantable medical devices. Her research began at Greatbatch Inc. and continues today at the University at Buffalo.
She led efforts at Greatbatch to invent and refine the lifesaving Li/SVO battery technology, utilized in the majority of today’s implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). ICD batteries have high energy density with the ability to support intermittent high-power pulses.
Esther Takeuchi has earned more patents than any other woman in the United States and has received many local and national awards recognizing her contributions to society through science.
My husband became a Professor of Chemistry at the University at Buffalo. I moved with him to look for suitable positions in my field.
What's the next step after lithium ion batteries or is it already old news?
Lithium ion batteries are continuing to advance. I expect multiple generations of lithium ion batteries to be forthcoming in the next few years. Significant advances continue to be made in how fast they can charge and discharge as well as the total amount of energy they store.
What about green technology and batteries?
Energy and sustainability are strongly linked. These are two of the most significant challenges facing us today. Renewable, environmentally friendly and cost efficient ways of generating and storing energy are issues that need to be addressed on a global scale. The widespread availability of cheap energy may be a key factor in determining the standard of living for many people.
What can we expect in the next generation batteries for medical devices, laptops, and Ipads and cell phones?
We can continue to expect longer life and faster charge. Also, notice that the shape of batteries has changed substantially. Ipads and other devices use very flat batteries. The days of cylindrical batteries for high-end devices are largely over.
Can Buffalo become a leader in developing cutting edge technology?
Buffalo is well positioned to do so. The knowledge base is here. Facilitating launch of companies is something that the region is actively working to improve.
Do you have any opinion on patent reform?
I assume that you refer to the rule of ‘first to file’ versus ‘first to invent’. I am in favor of the ‘first to invent’ as we have in the US.
What advice would you give to science students that wish to follow in your footsteps and become inventors?
Remain curious. Always believe that things can be made better. Also, each individual matters. Every person brings their own unique perspective based on their experience and background. That unique perspective may lead to the next big breakthrough.
How does it feel to be mentioned in the same breath as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Wilbur and Orville Wright?
It is a tremendous honor to be considered in the same company as the other inventors that have changed our lives.
About the National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is the premier non-profit organization in America dedicated to honoring legendary inventors whose innovations and entrepreneurial endeavors have changed the world. Founded in 1973 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the National Council of Intellectual Property Law Association, the Hall of Fame will have 460 Inductees with its 2011 Induction.
The National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the atrium of the Madison Building on the campus of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, at 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA. Admission is free.
The location is particularly appropriate because this year’s class of inductees includes a group of 29 historical inventors who will be recognized posthumously, most of whom would have submitted patent applications to the same building where they will be honored.
Recently I received a calendar (PDF) from professional patent searcher Martin Keller. On each month of the calendar is a patent drawing that is very unique.
So I contacted him because I wanted to thank him for sending me the calendar and see if he would answer a couple questions about preliminary "prior art" patentability searches.
Well here are a few of the "unique patent drawings" from patents that he came across over the years. If you click on the patent drawing it will bring you to a PDF of the entire patent.
Thanks again to Martin for his insight and gracious response to my questions regarding patent searching.
How long have you been employed as a patent searcher?
Since 1985 I have conducted a few thousand patent searches in my career, starting in the “paper only” days - all the way up to the present EAST system.
Have you had a lot of people come to you with regard to the same so called invention and you can just say hey I searched that one before and I know that is already out there? Like the self pasting toothbrush or the flip flop with an interchangeable toe piece?
Just did it the other day for a baby bottle with musical attachment that turns on when the bottle is tilted. Done this search - in a variety of ways. patent: 7134932 (PDF)
What types of things do you look for outside the particular classification of the invention, for example if someone came to you with a reel for a fishing rod would you look at reels on a sewing machine?
I look at all analogous art. I conduct every type patent search from a simple mechanical or electrical novelty search to validity and infringement studies and heavy duty chemical searches.
Google patents is only a fair tool. Better than the USPTO site. Do you use use other search engines or websites such as IP.com as well? Do you ever actually go to the patent office anymore and search?
I go into the PTO every day and use EAST - the same system the examiners use. Nothing and I mean Nothing even comes close to EAST. In fact, the times when I find 102 art quickly on EAST - all other online databases fall very short.
Does anybody go through the old "paper shoes" and make searches? Do you ever make contact with an examiner and discuss the invention with an examiner?
No- all paper shoes are gone from the PTO. And on difficult searches I always consult an examiner.
Martin Keller Professional Patent Searcher
1940 Duke St., Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
tel 703-624-0310
fax 703-636-7700
email: kellerpatents@gmail.com
Watching the former Jeopardy champions versus Watson the IBM super computer makes you wonder how far innovation will take us in the future.
Can a computer think like a man? Here IBM made a computer that can speak and understand language and the nuances of questions like those that are asked on Jeopardy.
But can it carry on a conversation or make life or death or even everyday decisions?
Matt Silverman as a special to CNN wrote that "Watson doesn't really "think" anything, and it struggles with simple questions that most humans can answer without a second thought."
IBM wants to push the limits of science and push the limits of human accomplishment. IBM scientists state that there are two types of innovation:
Incremental innovation improving existing products and advancing them in a linear fashion; and
Exploratory grand challenges like making a computer think like a man.
I was wondering how many answers these guys knew but were just not as quick as the computer and here is what Ken Jennings had to say on on People.comTV Watch:
"Is it really head and shoulders above the best human Jeopardy! players, the way it looked on TV? Not by a long shot," Jennings wrote. "The reflexes of even a very good human player will vary slightly, but not Watson's. If it knows the answer, it makes the perfect buzz. Every single time. And it's hard to win if you can't buzz."
John Timmer of Ars Technica wrote for Wired Science that the world’s total CPU power can't compare to "one human brain." And if our brains are the ultimate computer why can’t we organize and pull up information the way Watson can?
I attempted to Google the information as quick as the answers were given and the Google search engine invariably came up with the right information for the question somewhere on the page. Remember in Jeopardy Alex Trebek gives the answer and the contestant must supply the question.
But the real question is can the computer understand the nuances of language? Even though a computer beat the grand champion Jeopardy players isn’t it still prone to silly mistakes?
In the second day the machine wrongly guessed Toronto to the answer: "Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero, its second largest for a World War II battle." The Final Jeopardy category was U.S. Cities. Shouldn't the computer have known Toronto is not a a US city? Luckily for the computer it wagered very little in Final Jeopardy.
The challenge is over. Watson, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter concluded their final round of Jeopardy! and the winner was… resoundingly, humankind. Watson’s advances in deep analytics and its ability to process unstructured data and interpret natural language will now be applied to humanity’s most vexing problems. If we can teach a computer to compete on Jeopardy! what could it mean for science, finance, healthcare and the future of society?
How can this type of technology help the human race? Will computers get to the point where we can simply carry on a conversation with them? The Watson computer by IBM certainly is the most advanced computer in the world and I didn't hear Alex Trebek try to start a conversation with the computer.
But even so, it never ceases to amaze me as to how fast technology improves. In fact I am dictating this blog post using a Dragon app on my iPad. And although I am not carrying on a conversation with this computer, I am talking to it and it understands my language and interprets it and puts it in writing on this electronic device on my lap. And I just take it for granted that it operates as such.
The IBM people speak about how they helped put a man on the moon in 1969. At that time the computing technology was so inferior to today's but yet I remember in 1969 thinking that our technology was so great and that what we accomplished in those few years after Pres. John F. Kennedy gave us the space challenge was more than all the technology the world could gather up until that point.
I truly was proud to be an American when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and I am proud of the US innovation of today. I like the idea of IBM pushing the limits of technology and I hope that someday soon we can all profit from this technology either in the medical field or our everyday lives as they discussed on the Jeopardy show. I certainly wish that my car would understand me better when I try to get directions using the voice recognition.
Orville and Wilbur Wright, American inventors and aviation pioneers, achieved the first manned, powered sustained, and controlled flight of an airplane without any assistance at takeoff.
Wilbur first became interested in the idea of mechanical flight after reading of Otto Lilienthal's successful gliding experiments in Germany.
From these studies and observations, the Wrights built their first machine in 1899. It was a biplane kite which they fitted with wings that could be mechanically twisted.
One of the major breakthroughs of the Wright brothers was the ability to control and maneuver their aircraft. Since we live in a three dimensional world, it is necessary to control the attitude, or orientation, of a flying aircraft in all three axis; roll, pitch, and yaw.
The Wright brothers' ideas for flight control were tested on a series of unpowered aircraft between 1900 and 1902. The first aircraft to achieve complete active control was the 1902 glider.
They completed their first powered machine, the Kitty Hawk, in 1903, and made history's first powered, sustained and controlled airplane flights from level ground without any assistance at takeoff on the morning of December 17, 1903.
Many of the pages contain "Interactive" programs so that you can learn by exploring. Clicking on the title will deliver a page with a slide and a scientific explanation of the contents. Some of the pages contain modern information which was not known by the brothers in 1905.
In 1908 they were able to conclude an agreement for production of the Wright airplane for the U.S. Army. Wilbur made the first public flight on August 8, 1908 in France and continued his exhibition flights there to the end of that year.
Invention Impact
They made history's first powered, sustained and controlled airplane flights from level ground without any assistance at takeoff.
Inventor Bio
Wilbur was born in Millville, Indiana; Orville in Dayton, Ohio. They were the sons of a bishop of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Both completed high school courses, but neither graduated formally. In 1893 the brothers opened a shop for the sale, repair, and manufacture of bicycles. Income from the shop supported them during the early years of their aeronautical experiments.
Orville Wright was a founding member of NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) and served on NACA for 28 years. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Agency) was created from the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics in 1958.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted an all-time high 219,614 United States utility patents in 2010 – up 31 percent over 2009. All but one of the companies in the Top 50 are up from 2009, most shattering records and many posting double-digit percentage gains.
IBM continues to hold down the #1 patent rankings position, which it has done for 18 consecutive years, with a record 5,896 patents, up 20 percent from 4,914 in 2009. IBM is the first company to Break 5,000-Patent Mark in a Single Year.
IBM’s 2010 patent total nearly quadrupled Hewlett-Packard’s and exceeded the combined issuances of Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, EMC, and Google. More than 7,000 IBM inventors residing in 46 different U.S. states and 29 countries generated the company's record-breaking 2010 patent tally.
I spoke with Darlene Slaughter, general manager of IFI CLAIMS Patent Services and she said that they provide statistical data to perform preliminary patent searching, infringement searches or freedom to operate searches." With that information companies can:
Determine which companies are key players in a particular technology
Identify strategic partners
Gain an insider's view of a competitor's patenting activity
Review the number of new patents in each category for the past year
Track patenting trends across industries
Darlene Slaughter, reiterated that protecting innovation through the patent office is not slowing down
"Companies with the most patents focus on their IP and believe that protecting the innovation through patent is important in maintaining an edge on its competition."
Is this increase in patent grants a sign that innovation is not slowed by recession? Or is it a sign that United States Patent and Trademark Office is becoming more efficient at prosecuting patent applications and the increased number of patent examiners are reducing the back log of patent applications?
I think the increased number of patent grants can be directly tied to the number of applications filed.
For the year 2010 the USPTO Technology Center Technical Support Staff of 274 legal instrument examiners and legal document review clerks:
Entered more than 2.9 million documents;
Verified more than 264,000 allowed patent applications;
Reviewed and counted over 2,300,000 office actions; and
Processed more than 257,000 new patent applications.
These stats represented all-time records for the USPTO, reflecting all-time record workflow through the Agency including interviews conducted, office actions processed, notices of allowance, and final rejections. David Kappos
The bottom line is that the United States patent office has been swamped with a rising flood of applications over the past 20 years:
174,711 applications were filed in 1990 and 100,975 patents were issued.
478,649 applications were filed In 2010 and 219,614 applications were issued.
The 1990 gap between patent applications filed versus issued patents was 73,736
The 2010 gap has grown to 259,035.
Okay we know it is not humanly possible for 6,000 examiners to keep up with the 721,831 backlog of patent applications... but have the examiners increased their ability to process applications?
Dennis D. Crouch of Patently-O Blog posted a chart comparing the yearly number of patents issued per examiner over the course of the past decade. Dennis points out that apart from the “2007-2009 period where the grant rate dropped so precipitously” this chart does not suggest that the examiners are any more efficient today of disposing patents than they were in previous years.
So I would guess that the only solution to decreasing the backlog of patent applications is to hire more examiners.
John Schmid of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that despite efforts to improve, U.S. patent approvals are moving slower. And because of the huge backlog and the fact that the US publishes entire patent applications online 18 months after they are filed, “That puts American ingenuity up for grabs, free to anyone with an Internet connection.” In the article he quotes Paul Michel, recently retired chief justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as saying
"In China, there are thousands of engineers who don't work in laboratories inventing new technologies. "They sit in computer rooms reading U.S. patent applications on the Internet. And they can use the technology anywhere in the world, including in America, for free.
But even with all the suppoed deficiencies of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, foreign and US corporations want to protect their innovations and have filed a record number of applications this year.
And as a result US companies own about half and the rest of the world owns the other half of the granted patents this past year. (see chart below World Wide Ownership of US Patents 2010)
Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co Ltd (Japan) 734
Mitsubishi Denki K K (Japan) 700
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N V (Netherlands) 685
NEC Corp (Japan) 680
Boeing Co 662
Qualcomm Inc 657
SAP AG (Germany) 649
Oracle America Inc/Sun Microsystems Inc* 646
Bosch, Robert GmbH (Germany) 593
Fuji Xerox Co Ltd (Japan) 574
Apple Inc 563
Du Pont de Nemours, E I & Co 509
Sanyo Electric Co Ltd (Japan) 504
3M Innovative Properties Co 496
Freescale Semiconductor Inc 494
*Sun Microsystems changed name to Oracle.
Do you think an increase in the amount of patents equates to an increase of productivity? Will that translate into bigger profits at the stock market? Here are the biggest percentage gainers on the 2010's Top 50 Companies Awarded a Patent List:
Apple, +94%
Qualcomm, +84%
NEC, +74%
SAP, +70 %
GM Global Technology, +68%
Hynix Semiconductor, +65%
Silverbrook Research, +58%
3M Innovative Properties, +53%
Toyota, +50%
Brother, +45%
Hon Hai Precision Industry, +44%
LG Electronics, +40%
In 2010, American-headquartered companies collectively recaptured a lead on the total number of U.S. patent grants (just over 50%) after losing out slightly to foreign companies for the previous two years. In 2009, American firms received less than a majority at 49 percent. Here is a chart showing the ownership percentage number of patents awarded by country.
Market Sectors with the Heaviest New Patent Activity
Multiplex Communications (US class 370) 3.3 %
Solid-State Devices and Transistors (US class 257) 3.1 %
Semiconductors (US class 438) 2.72 %
Data Processing and File Management (US class 707) 2 %
Computers and Processing Systems (US class 709) 2 %
Drug Compositions (US class 514) 2.1 2 %
Biotechnology (US classes 435 and 530) 2%
IFI's full report, which offers comprehensive 2010 patent information on more than 2,000 companies, can be accessed online through IFI's Patent Intelligence & Technology Report, available on its website in a free-trial version.
Companies have to use innovation to compete in the corporate world. Inventors have to be able to take ideas to the market as real products.
In order to be a success in anything you have to believe that no matter what you can overcome the odds and succeed if you can "think big and kick ass.”
In this book Donald Trump and Bill Zanker describe how they have attained success by using momentum, positive attitude, experience, hard work, luck and their ability to recognize opportunity.
This book presents the real-life stories of people who've applied the think BIG principles in their own lives.
From these stories the authors have put together many "points to remember" and lists of vital characteristics in which one necessarily needs to succeed in business and in life.
The authors explore real-life situations that bring home each point in the checklist. Here is an example of such a checklist:
Find your passion and love what you do
Give your goals values that are not monetary
Do not do anything just for the money
Always do your best with passion
Know in your mind that passion conquers fear
Take action every day
Focus on the solution not the problem
Handle passion by not dwelling on negative thoughts or opinions of others
Learn from mistakes but do not let them take you down
Be mentally tough and never give up
Push yourself out of your comfort zone
My review of the book
I really enjoyed the real-life situations that the authors share with the reader. For example, Donald Trump speaks about his near bankruptcies and his fluke meeting with a banker who wanted to destroy him and how he worked out a deal to save his empire.
I thought it was funny how Donald instructs us about the value of a prenuptial agreement. I’m sure he doesn’t think it’s funny.
Bill Zanker tells us how his first office was his apartment and he used the table of one of his neighbors to seat some of his first employees during the workday and how he had to sneak them out before his neighbor got home.
I like this book for inventors or anyone who owns a business because I believe that the principles are sound. I believe if you’re already successful these principles will help you stay there. If you’re starting from scratch these principles and motivational words of wisdom will help you become successful.
I became motivated after hearing the many success stories. I find myself saying how can I look at this situation and use the “think big” attitude? But even with that said, Trump by his own admission states that
“Winners in life have a special quality that sets them apart from 98% of the population. He calls it: “the trump it quality”
So I guess the question you have to ask yourself is, can I be one of the 2% of the population that can be a true winner in life? Here are some of the characteristics needed for success that are discussed in the book:
Dream big because the goals you set are what you will achieve. So don't set small goals. At every level set even higher goals and challenges for yourself
Be lean and hungry
Take action every day and stay focused for the long haul
Learn something every day so you always know what you're doing
Pride yourself on your ability to find creative solutions to the tough problems
Be passionate about your work and never take no for an answer
Learn to trust your gut
Hire the best people and do not trust them
Get even with people who do you wrong
Never stop focusing on your objectives even when things are good
About the Authors
Everyone knows who Donald J. Trump is… he’s readily recognized by his trademark haircut, his flamboyant appearance and his visionary real estate developments which will persevere long after "the Donald" himself has left this planet.
Donald J. Trump is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance. As the Emmy-nominated star and coproducer of the hit television show The Apprentice and the author of seven bestsellers, he has established himself a media giant.
Clicking through a few of the trademarks I saw merchandise such as furniture, men's suits, precious stones, chocolate, vodka, tea, natural spring water and men's cologne (PDF) to name a few. Donald Trump is the very definition of the American success story.
Bill Zanker grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and majored in film towards a master's degree at The New School.
Zanker started The Learning Annex in 1980 with $5,000 of his own money and grew The Learning Annex from a $5 million a year company into one that's generating over $100 million a year in sales.
The Learning Annex is a producer of seminars, lectures, classes, and workshops that teach people how to change careers, make more money, improve their relationships, empower their lives, and grow in body and in spirit.
Nikola Tesla invented the induction motor with rotating magnetic field that made unit drives for machines feasible and made AC power transmission an economic necessity.
In 1887 and 1888 Tesla had an experimental shop at 89 Liberty Street, New York, and there he invented the induction motor. He sold the invention to Westinghouse in July 1888 and spent a year in Pittsburgh instructing Westinghouse engineers.
Invention Impact
Alternating current (AC) became the premier form of electrical energy after it overcame objections by Thomas Edison who designed direct current (DC). Tesla also showcased his invention at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair where he and Westinghouse won the bid to illuminate the International Exhibition. Alternating current captivated the public with its efficient lighting and lessened heat.
Nikola Tesla developed polyphase alternating current system of generators, motors and transformers and held 40 basic U.S. patents on the system, which George Westinghouse bought, determined to supply America with the Tesla system.
AC has an electric current whose direction reverses cyclically rather than staying in a constant direction like DC. The waveform of AC is also more efficient than the DC. AC is the form in which electricity is carried to homes and businesses.
Radiant Energy Patent
When thinking about the 1900 turn-of-the-century you don't think of high-tech but Nikola Tesla certainly was one of the geniuses of the century. One of the most interesting patents I found was US patent number 685,958 (.PDF) for a Method of Using Radiant Energy.
If you look closely at the original patent drawing below you can see someone hand wrote: "electric stepping motor energized by corpuscular energy from the sun." Was this the precursor of the Solar Panel?
This reminds me of how in 1880 Alexander Graham Bell invented the photophone-transmission of sound on a beam of light- a precursor of today's optical fiber systems.
Inventor Bio
Born in Smiljan Lika, Croatia, the son of a Serbian Orthodox clergyman, Tesla attended Joanneum, a polytechnic school in Graz and the University of Prague for two years. He started work in the engineering department of the Austrian telegraph system then became an electrical engineer at an electric power company in Budapest and later at another in Strasbourg.
While in technical school, Tesla became convinced that commutators were unnecessary on motors; and while with the power company he built a crude motor which demonstrated the truth of his theory. In 1884, Tesla came to the United States and joined the Edison Machine Works as a dynamo designer.
Telsa obtained more than 100 patents in his lifetime. Despite his 700 inventions Tesla was not wealthy. For many years he worked in his room at the Hotel New Yorker, where he died.
What are some of the best gifts for the patent people and inventor types on your Christmas list?
The other night I was watching Jay Leno on The Tonight Show and he was demonstrating what he thought were the coolest gadgets and I paused the show on my DVR after he demonstrated each toy while I found each one through the wireless Internet connection on my iPad.
Isn’t technology wonderful!
Here are a few of the cool gift ideas and the cool gadget websites where you can find other great gift ideas:
Parrot AR.Drone Quadricopter Controlled by iPhone/iPod touch/iPad
At Parrot.com we find the AR.Drone remote-control quadricopter is a groundbreaking device combining the best of many worlds, including modeling, video gaming, and augmented reality.
The AR.Drone is remote-controlled by either an iPhone, iPod touch or an iPad and features a number of sensors, including a front camera, vertical camera, and an ultrasound altimeter, accelerometer, gyro sensors, and ultrasound sensor combine with a powerful on-board computer to make piloting the AR.Drone easy.
The AR.Drone can also be used in the video game AR.FlyingAce, a dogfight between two AR.Drones.
The Beer Pager
Here is a gift that every college student could use. It is found at the Remote Control Beer Pagersite.
It began with a Memorial Day party when two friends set their beers down by the BBQ for a spirited game of Cornhole, a beanbag tossing game that builds quite a thirst. Parched, our heroes returned to the grill only to be confronted with 7 open beers. Tragically, they did not know which beer was their own.
In a life changing moment of inspiration, one of these men said, "If only beers came with alarms so we could beep em and find em, like when you lose your car in a parking lot". This ingenious thought was greeted with hilarious laughter. Once the laughing died down the two men realized this was a gift that needed to be shared with the rest of the world.
Melodyhorn Air Powered Steampunk Synthesizer
This is a really cool site, Think Geek " Stuff for Smart Masses” it is where I found the Melodyhorn. It is a brand of melodica. It has the keys of a piano, is played like a woodwind instrument, but is polyphonic like a keyboard or a harmonica.
This is how they describe this instrument, “Before you start thinking we're crazy for bringing you a wacky frankeninstrument, take a look at this list of famous recording artists who have used the melodica on their albums or in their live shows: Ben Folds, Faith No More, Oasis, Depeche Mode, The String Cheese Incident, Cake, Cyndi Lauper, Indigo Girls, Herbie Hancock, and even The Beatles. Ever wondered what instrument plays the opening theme song to the US version of the TV sitcom The Office? That's a melodica, too.
Get in on the hottest, wackiest musical trend and wrap your lips around this steampunk synth!”
The Table Tennis Trainer
From America's Longest Running Catalog Hammacher Schlemmer- The Table Tennis Trainer.
Similar to a tennis ball machine, this automatic table tennis trainer serves a steady stream of balls for solo practice to fine tune one's game.
A turn of a knob selects one of three spin settings: Underspin (where the bottom of the ball rotates away from the player, requiring a chopping stroke to return); Topspin (where the top of the ball rotates away from the player); and a challenging Heavy Topspin (high rpm rotation that must be returned with a controlled downward stroke).
The trainer holds 110 balls and, with an adjustable speed dial, delivers them at any rate from 12 to 70 per minute. And of course batteries are not included.
Jaguar C-X75
This was not show on the Jay Leno show but I thought it was so cool I wanted to share it. It was posted on a cool gadget website called Shiny New Want. It is a futuristic electronic powered car by Jaguar.
It has 4x 195hp electric motors pumping out a 780hp, the lithium-ion batteries can be recharged from your garage’s 220v outlet.
The Jaguar C-X75 also has 2 x 96hp micro gas turbines, to recharge the batteries on the go if you need to go further than the 68 mile battery only range, with the turbines running on gasoline, ethanol, diesel, bourbon or whatever other combustible liquid you have lying around the car can go a total of 560 miles
LoTempio Law Blogjust turned one year old. It is hard to believe it has already been a year since I started writing this blog. Looking back I wonder where the time went.
I would like to thank some people who have assisted along the blogging path:
Kevin O’Keefe and the staff at LexBlog who have done everything possible to assist in making the blog look as professional as possible;
the mysterious Ed from Blawg Review, without whose help and guidance I would not have embarked on this new and creative outlet. Ed has been generous enough to offer suggestions on everything from topics to write about to how to construct blog pages. He also allowed me to host Blog Review #274 which was a blast!;
and, you the readers for your trust and interest in what I have to say.
Thank you!!!
Blogging has enriched my life in so many different ways. I've really enjoyed it.
As it turns out writing for the blog has forced me to learn about more than just blogging but a wide variety social networking including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook and as a result I made many connections with business people, lawyers, old friends and people in the media.
My goal when I started this project was to provide helpful information regarding intellectual property to a wide audience. I've tried to reach a range of readers from independent inventors to large corporations.
In order to do that I've had to stay on top of many of the burning issues in the intellectual property field and in my endeavor to try to write something new every week I have become a better lawyer.
Hopefully I provided a lot of useful information about patent, trademark and copyright law. If you have a topic you would like me to write about, just let me know. I love feedback from readers.
Again thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy reading the LoTempio Law Blog as much as I enjoy writing it.
Throughout his career, Edison consciously directed his studies to devices that could satisfy real needs and come into popular use. Indeed, it may be said that in applying himself to technology, he was fulfilling the ideals of democracy, for he centered his attention upon projects that would increase the convenience and pleasure of mankind.
One of the outstanding geniuses in the history of technology, Thomas Edison created the world's first industrial research laboratory. Edison earned patents for more than a thousand inventions, including:
In September 1878, after having viewed an exhibition of a series of eight glaring 500-candlepower arc lights, Edison boldly announced he would invent a safe, mild, and inexpensive electric light that would replace the gaslight in millions of homes; moreover, he would accomplish this by an entirely different method of current distribution from that used for arc lights.
To back the lamp effort, some of New York's leading financial figures joined with Edison in October 1878 to form the Edison Electric Light Company, the predecessor of today's General Electric Company.
On October 21,1879, Edison demonstrated the carbon-filament lamp, supplied with current by his special high-voltage dynamos. The pilot light-and-power station at Menlo Park glowed with a circuit of 30 lamps, each of which could be turned on or off without affecting the rest.
Three years later, the Pearl Street central power station in downtown New York City was completed, initiating the electrical illumination of the cities of the world.
In 1887 Edison moved his workshop from Menlo Park to West Orange, New Jersey, where he built the Edison Laboratory (now a national monument), a facility 10 times larger than the earlier one.
In time it was surrounded with factories employing some 5,000 persons and producing a variety of new products, among them his improved phonograph using wax records, the mimeograph, fluoroscope, alkaline storage battery, dictating machine, and motion-picture cameras and projectors.
During World War I, the aged inventor headed the Naval Consulting Board and directed research in torpedo mechanisms and antisubmarine devices. It was largely owing to his urging that Congress established the Naval Research Laboratory, the first institution for military research, in 1920.
Inventor Bio
Born in Milan, Ohio, Edison was an inquisitive child. By the time he was 10 he had set up a small chemical laboratory in the cellar of his home after his mother had aroused his interest in an elementary physical science book. He found the study of chemistry and the production of electrical current from voltaic jars especially absorbing and soon operated a homemade telegraph set.
In 1868 he obtained a position in Boston as an expert night operator for Western Union Telegraph Company; by day he slept little, however, for he was gripped by a passion for manipulating electrical currents in new ways. Borrowing a small sum from an acquaintance, he gave up his job in the autumn of 1868 and became a free-lance inventor, taking out his first patent for an electrical vote recorder.
In the summer of 1869 he was in New York, sleeping in a basement below Wall Street. At a moment of crisis on the Gold Exchange caused by the breakdown of the office's new telegraphic gold-price indicator, Edison was called in to try to repair the instrument; this he did so expertly that he was given a job as its supervisor.
Soon he had remodeled the erratic machine so well that its owners, the Western Union Telegraph Company, commissioned him to improve the crude stock ticker just coming into use. The result was the Edison Universal Stock Printer, which, together with several other derivatives of the Morse telegraph, brought him a sudden fortune of $40,000. With this capital he set himself up as a manufacturer in Newark, New Jersey, producing stock tickers and high-speed printing telegraphs.
In 1876 Edison gave up the Newark factory altogether and moved to the village of Menlo Park, New Jersey, to set up a laboratory where he could devote his full attention to invention. He promised that he would turn out a minor invention every ten days and a big invention every six months. He also proposed to make inventions to order. Before long he had 40 different projects going at the same time and was applying for as many as 400 patents a year.
I would like to thank the Buffalo, New York legal community for selecting me as one of the “Who’s Who in Law" in the 2010 edition of the award published by the Buffalo Law Journal and the Buffalo Business First.
"Who's Who in Law" is an annual feature by the Business First of Buffalo, in which attorneys practicing in the 8th Judicial District nominate their peers as leaders in the legal community. I was selected in the intellectual property category.
I would also like to congratulate all the attorneys who were selected in the 2010 edition. Of the more than almost 4,000 nominations for this coveted award, just 216 attorneys were chosen, this is a testament to the exclusive nature of this honor in general and their excellent work in particular.
Today is Christopher Columbus Day and if you remember he invented America. No that's not right... he discovered America. Of course he thought he landed in India and we've been mistakenly calling Native AmericansIndians ever since and today we celebrate his mistake.
It used to be you would plant a flag into the ground and stake a claim to that land for your country or your family. Today if you invent something you file a patent application and put everyone on notice that this is my intellectual property.
This past weekend I saw the movie "The Social Network," which is about how Facebook was invented and how they fought over who owned the company and the intellectual property rights for the Facebook "idea." The movie is set as a series of flashbacks of what the witnesses testify about in a pretrial discovery deposition. What is at stake? The multi-billion dollar pie that is Facebook.
The movie "The Social Network" revolves around two lawsuits. One brought by Cameron and TylerWinklevoss, twins at Harvard who claim they had hired Mark Zuckerberg to build for them a Facebook type website. Instead Zuckerberg took the idea and created Facebook. They settled for $65 million.
And a lawsuit brought by Eduardo Saverin, Facebook’s initial CFO and investor, who was "tricked" out of his 30% share of the company by Silicon Valley venture capitalists when Facebook was reorganized.
Mark Zuckerberg the founder and creator of Facebook is listed by Forbes as one of the world's 212 billionaires, he is listed as number 35.
The Harvard dropout's fortune surged $4.9 billion over the last year as private equity deals place Facebook's value at around $23 billion. (Illiquid private shares in secondary markets point to an even richer valuation.) Facebook has more than 500 million members.
This movie is so attractive to viewers because it is everyone's dream is to be the next billionaire. "The Social Network" is the no.1 movie at the box office this week. When clients ask me whether or not a patent will stop anybody from copying their idea, I answer "most likely when you start making money somebody will copy it. But that is a good thing because it means you're making money."
Ezra Klein a Washington Post Staff Writer delves into the deeper issue of "how do we protect and promote innovation?" in the article entitled "A story bigger than Facebook."
The movie recasts a story of inevitable technological change as the saga of a socially inept genius, two or three of his most important relationships and the social pressures of Harvard University. That makes for a better film, of course. But it misses the richer drama behind transformative innovations like Facebook, and it's part and parcel of the way we misunderstand, and thus impede, innovation.
Soave wonders "what if" the twin brothers were able to serve and enforce a "cease and desist" order through a United States court early in the process and stopped Zuckerberg from going forward with Facebook? Would it have been fair to stifle Zuckerbergs' innovation and eliminate the muti-billion dollar Facebook before it ever started to get rolling?
Simply put, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss can’t claim ownership over what they accuse Zuckerberg of stealing. Ideas — in this case, an online student network — bear none of the qualities of property. They are abstract and intangible. They don’t exist in any physical sense. If another thinker has the same idea, the original thinker is not suddenly deprived of access to the idea; it simply multiplies.
I recently posted that ideas alone are not protectable, the thing, not the idea, is what generates IP rights. But what about protecting the idea by contract? A contract that says "we're going to work together on a project and you will not take the idea and compete against me." So why couldn't Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss claim "Breach of Contract?"
Often times these contracts are called a non-competition or a non-compete contract or agreement. This is the case when a company hires somebody to start a new project and a contract is signed that enunciates that the intellectual property is owned by the company and if the employee leaves the employee will not be able to use that information to compete with the company.
It used to be that a social contract based upon a handshake was all you needed to be protected.
Recently the US Supreme Court handed down the decision in the Bilski case that ruled that "abstract ideas" were not patentable subject matter.
Is Facebook an abstract idea? Is there a machine or transformation of matter that would allow Facebook to pass the Bilski test? If I was to start a Facebook page that was identical to Facebook right now and call it FacePad would I be able to get away with using ideas such as "a wall" and a "profile" page etc.? Just checked, too late... they are using Facepad already.
Facebook has been working on getting their own patents and purchasing patent rights from others to protect their ideas. Certainly their name Facebook (.PDF) is a registered trademark, try to use something close like the word BOOK. It is very interesting to see how intellectual property has evolved through the virtual world of the Internet. Is Facebook an abstract idea?
Well I turn 50 years old today and I am looking forward to the next 50 years. I was wondering what were the best inventions in the last 50 years. Computers, VELCRO®, video games or is it something else? There was a list in Popular Mechanics. But there wasn't anything listed for 1960 the year I was born.
Lasers were invented in 1960 by Theodore Harold Maiman, an American physicist. Hughes Research Laboratory in Malibu, California is the place where Maiman made the first working laser. The 694 nm (wavelength) red light was produced with the help of flashlamp-pumped and solid-state synthetic ruby crystal.
Looking back over 50 years I have to be thankful for many things. Here are a few things besides my birth that happened in 1960 that were remarkable:
1960 marked the first televised debate for a presidential election. Senator John F. Kennedy debated Richard M. Nixon. Nixon seemed nervous and pale, but Kennedy was cool and looked like a movie star. They say that those that listened to it on the radio thought Nixon won and those that watched on TV thought Kennedy won. The problem for Nixon is that most people watched it on TV. In a small Irish bar in the first Ward in Buffalo New York when Nixon spoke they turned off the volume.
In 1960 NASA sent up ECHO, the first communications satellite to be seen with the naked eye.
American "U2" spy plane shot down over the USSR.
The Olympic Games were held in Rome and Wilma Rudolf won three gold medals. And a young man named Cassius Clay won the gold medal in the light heavyweight boxing category.
Recently I authored a blog post regarding whether or not you can patent an idea? Remember you can get a patent for the" thing" you make not the idea.
In order for an idea to become a patented invention, the inventor must be able to teach someone of ordinary skill in the art how to make and use the invention.
I used the example of the “idea” for the transporter in the Star Trek television series as an idea that can only be patented if someone could make it.
Thanks to @ifones for tweeting this week about how Apple may take on a new role in video gaming if its latest patent application, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week, ever makes it into a product.
Take a look how Patently Apple breaks down the Apple patent application that teaches new methods to convert a computer user's video game play into a "book, e-book, or comic book."
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor..." 35 U.S.C. 101
A patent on an invention may not be obtained if the differences between the invention sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the invention would have been obvious at the time it was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made. 35 USC 103
That last sentence basically means that if an invention came about because of many hours of diligent work and effort or in a flash with no effort at all it doesn’t affect whether it is patentable... even if invented by accident.
There are many products that were invented by accident that changed the world but here are examples of a couple interesting inventions that came about accidentally:
In 1905 an 11 year old Frank Epperson mixed some soda water powder and water, which at the time was a popular drink. He left the mixture outside overnight with the stirring stick in it. The temperature dropped to a record low that night and the next day Frank had a stick of frozen soda water. In 1923 Frank Epperson began a business producing Epsicles in seven fruit flavors. The name was later changed to the Popsicle®.
Frank realized the commercial possibilities of his invention and was granted a patent in 1924. By 1928, Epperson had earned royalties on more than 60 million Popsicle® ice pops. In 1998 Popsicle® celebrated its 75th anniversary and continues to be one of the top frozen novelty brands in America. The trademark is registered to Unilever Supply Chain, Inc.
Post-it® Notes was actually the product of an engineering mistake by 3M scientists who accidentally stumbled upon an adhesive that could stick and be repositioned on just about any surface. Spencer Silver was working in the 3M research laboratories in 1970 trying to find a strong adhesive. Silver developed a new adhesive, but it was even weaker than what 3M already manufactured. It stuck to objects, but could easily be lifted off. It was super weak instead of super strong.
Another 3M scientist named Arthur Fry was singing in the church's choir and used Silver's adhesive to coat his markers. Success! With the weak adhesive, the markers stayed in place, yet lifted off without damaging the pages. 3M began distributing Post-it ® Notes nationwide in 1980 -- ten years after Silver developed the super weak adhesive. Today they are one of the most popular office products available.
In 1943 during World War II, Richard James an engineer in the United States Navy saw a torsion spring fall to the floor and flip-flop as he watched. James and his wife Betty James perfected a long steel ribbon tightly coiled into a spiral. They began production of Slinkys® out of 80 ft of wire in 1945 under the company name James Spring & Wire Company. According to one estimate more than 300 million Slinkys have been sold. In 1998, Betty James sold the Slinky to Poof Products, Inc.
Welcome everyone to Blawg Review #274! Blawg Review is still the place to find out where the best law blogs are posted, and because today is the 20th anniversary of the Americans Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) I am going to share some informative and interesting stuff about the ADA. But I will also try to point your browser at a few excellently written posts by Blawgers.
Although the legal community may be thinking of other things on July 26, 2010 I thought I would let you know that this particular piece of legislation signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush advanced the rights of a large segment of the citizens of the United States of America. The ADA was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990 to "establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability."
The protection of the rights of individual United States citizens has come a long way since John F. Kennedy was president, I believe that he was our moral compass and set this country in the right direction.
We are confronted primarily with a moral issue, it is old as the scriptures and is clear as the American Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities? Whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated?
"The ADA is kind of like our own civil rights act," said Rick McWilliams, program manager for the Westmoreland County Disabilities Task Force to Cody Francis of the Pittsburgh Tribune. "We liken it to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We like to not only make people with disabilities aware but also increase public awareness that people with disabilities are like everyone else."
I don't think anybody really wants to be like everyone else. Today kids get tattoos so as to separate themselves from the crowd. But being separated from the crowd because of something negative is not what anybody strives for. I like the idea of taking pride in who you are, knowing that no matter the level of your ability you can help make society a better place.
This month, therefore, is a time for celebration of what has been termed the “declaration of independence” of individuals with disabilities. For far too long, individuals with disabilities had remained largely hidden due to discriminatory attitudes and misconceptions which prevented them from working, taking mass transit, going to theaters, museums, and restaurants, and other places where the public gathers.
There were many events to commemorate the ADA that occurred in the past week and are planned for today.
Disability pride parades were held this weekend in Chicago and San Jose. I think the idea of not hiding in the closet because you have any disability but to revel in who you are is wonderful. The theme in San Jose was "Say it loud, We're disabled, and we're proud."
A guest post for the Fehribach Group BlogJuli Paini, the director for the City of Indianapolis Office of Disability Affairs, says that "The ADA helped raise my comfort level talking about my disability, as well as the comfort level of the people around me.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disability. The ultimate goal of the ADA is to break down the stigma associated with people with disabilities and to "to promote equal opportunities for persons living with disabilities" in all major life activities such as:
Employment: Employers may not discriminate against an individual with a disability in hiring or promotion if the person is otherwise qualified for the position. Employers must provide “reasonable accommodation,” such as job restructuring and modification of equipment when necessary.
Public Entities: State and local governments must remove communication and physical barriers that restrict people with disabilities from using their services and activities.
Public Accommodations (and Commercial Facilities): Auxiliary aids and services must be provided to individuals with hearing or vision impairments.
Telecommunications: Telephone companies must provide telecommunications relay services for hearing-impaired and speech-impaired individuals 24 hours per day.
“When I asked Harvard if it tracked disability as a diversity category among alumni, and how I might reach others with disabilities, I didn’t receive a lot of support, let alone understanding. Why would we track disability? Isn’t that a bad thing, one we don’t talk about?”
Generally speaking, “Disability” under the ADA means a person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. While it is important that the act defines the term "disability" in the end it is just a matter of semantics.
What's in a name anyway? The term "retardation," once viewed as clinical and neutral, is now considered so demeaning that it required "Historic" legislation signed by Gov. David Paterson to remove the term "mental retardation" from the title of the New York’s agency “Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities” and from anywhere in the state statutes and regulations. Now it is the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities.
You may be wondering by now why a patent and trademark attorney was asked to host Blawg Review. I lost my hand and part of my right arm in an accident in 1972. But I continued to participate in many sports. People that know me don't consider me disabled. But believe me there is a stigma with name calling as children and it carries over as discrimination in the job market and other areas of life when we become adults.
Although Rick McWilliams says he wants to be like everyone else, I think what he really means is he wants to be treated like everybody else. Click on the picture below and take a look at the video of me demonstrating how to catch and throw a ball with one arm with my daughter and let me know if you think I'm disabled or if you have an opening for me on your softball team.
Are you disabled? Think of a number in your mind. How many times do you need to fall before you give up? What about Aaron Fotheringham? There is no number of times for this guy, he doesn’t know how to give up. Watch the number of times he falls in the beginning of this video and then go and get your in-line skates or bike and try to do what he does in the wheel chair. Not too many takers? I thought so.
What about just getting community-based services to help you bathe, dress and eat?
Michele Haddad, a 49-year old mother, was in a motorcycle accident with a drunk driver which caused a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed. Michele needed community-based services for the bare necessities of life. The state of Florida would only provide her the services if she would first enter a nursing home for 60 days even though it would have been less expensive just to provide the services. Haddad’s lawsuit argued that by failing to provide community-based services to Medicaid-eligible individuals with spinal cord injuries who are at risk of institutionalization, the State of Florida violated the ADA because it would deprive her of her right to live in her community.
The ADA requires that individuals with disabilities be provided services in the most integrated setting appropriate, as determined by the Supreme Court in the landmark decision Olmstead v. L.C.
What do you do if you are refused access to a RV park because of your disability?
Charles Glover was undergoing treatment for late-stage non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He and his wife, Sylvia, were in the process of adopting their two-year-old foster-child, C.G., who was born with HIV. The Glovers reserved an RV campsite at Wales West RV Resort for the month of July. After one day in the park they were asked to leave because of their medical conditions even though no one else was put at risk.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit against Wales West LLC, alleging that it violated Title III of the ADA when it unlawfully denied full and equal services. In January 2010, the Department and Wales West reached a settlement under which Wales West agreed to pay $36,000 in damages to the Glover family and $10,000 to the United States as a civil penalty. Wales West also agreed to adopt nondiscrimination policies at its RV resort and will annually train all staff on these policies.
While the Justice Department has had its share of success stories and Walter Olson's blog post at Cato@Liberty lists a few large monetary recoveries, he points out that it shouldn't be immune from criticism. Like any other well-intentioned act, there is no such thing as perfect.
What we take for granted in the digital age is an obstacle for many with disabilities. With the high cost of print text books, colleges and universities nationwide are eliminating traditional print text and replacing it with electronic course materials. But in order for some individuals with disabilities to take full advantage of new technologies, those technologies must be accessible.
On June 30, Assistant Attorney General for Civil RightsThomas E. Perez and Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil RightsRusslyn Ali jointly issued a letter to colleges and universities expressing concern over their use of electronic book readers that are not accessible, and soliciting the assistance of university leadership in ensuring that emerging technologies used in education are fully accessible to individuals with disabilities in the future.
This resulted in a series of settlement agreements that the Department of Justice entered with colleges and universities using the Kindle DX in the classroom as part of a pilot study with Amazon.com Inc.
The Justice Department is fully committed to ensuring that all individuals, including those with disabilities, have equal access to new technologies in the digital age. Samuel R. Bagenstos, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties where he stated
“…access to the Internet and emerging technologies is not simply a technical matter, but a fundamental issue of civil rights. As more and more of our social infrastructure is made available on the Internet - in some cases, exclusively online - access to information and electronic technologies is increasingly becoming the gateway civil rights issue for individuals with disabilities.
What about pro-golfer Casey Martin, who was unable to compete at a high level of golf without the aid of a golf cart (which was prohibited by the rules of the Pro Golfing Association for tournaments). "Without the ADA I never would have been able to pursue my dream of playing golf professionally."
What about something as simple as walking up the stairs? AT Program News (ATPN) blog created to serve the common mission of the State Assistive Technology Act Programs bloged about how there "Ain’t No Mountain High Enough."
"Twenty years ago this past spring, a group of ADAPT activists demonstrated the need for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by abandoning their wheelchairs at the foot of the United States Capitol and crawling up the steps that, at the time, afforded the only means of access to the legislative branch of the U.S. government.
This action, which is now an iconic part of U.S. civil rights history, was just one of a series of protests the group organized that week in D.C. As with previous civil rights movements, protesters were arrested for acts of civil disobedience; unlike scenes typical to earlier movements, however, the authorities had trouble carrying out their law enforcement obligations. At the time, few court houses, jail cells, or even elevators were accessible to law-breakers with disabilities.
One of the things you should note when you go to AT Program News (ATPN) blog is that there's a gadget to click labeled "listen now. "
I guess I should apologize to all the disabled readers that need this in order to participate in Blawg Review and read my blog. I will look into having this technology added to my blog.
In case you're wondering the construction of the U.S. Capitol began in 1793 and since that time, the U.S. Capitol and its stately dome have become international symbols of our representative democracy. But as a result of ADA people with disabilities have equal opportunities to visit.
So you don't want to climb a mountain? What about being prevented from crossing the street because the curb is too high? Take a look at Media dis&dat blog where they are changing landscape of disability “news.”
Nearly five years after a federal judge ordered the City of Detroit to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act by installing curb ramps at intersections, several streets still have not been fitted with properly constructed access ramps."
Dog Law Reporter blog reported that the U.S. Supreme Court held that ADA requirements regarding disabled passengers applied to a foreign-flag vessels, so if you want to go on the cruise and your dog is considered a service animal you are covered under the ADA.
Unfortunately, the ADA does not guarantee access for emotional support animals in public places. The ADA and other federal and state laws do, however, support the right to emotional assistance animals in housing according to the Animal Law Attorneys blog.
It must be difficult to figure out what you can do and what you can't do to make sure you are in compliance with the ADA. That's why employment law blog posted a link to an online tool to help you figure out the dos and don'ts of the act entitled DOL Offers Disability Law Advisor Tool Online.
Starting with Erik Heels post about the Supreme Court decision in Bilski versus Kappos, A Mere Mortal's Guide To Patents Post-Bilski (Or Why §101 Is A Red Herring). God I wish I posted this one. Great job Erik! This post concludes the Supreme Court blew a chance to define what is patentable method of doing business, instead all we end up with is a bunch of questions.
I think that by simply ruling an abstract idea is not patentable (presumably including any business method) whether or not it (1) produces a useful, concrete, and tangible result, (2) is applied in a useful way, or (3) is reduced to a practical application may allow many legitimate new internet based methods of doing business go unprotected.
Doesn't the Supreme Court understand that many abstract ideas (such as virtual ways of doing business on the Internet) aren't tied to any machine or transformation?
Patently-O has a nice 3 part series Patenting by Entrepreneurs: The Berkeley Patent Survey (Part I of III) where Guest Posters Robert Merges and Pamela Samuelson, UC Berkeley School of Law and Ted Sichelman, University of San Diego School of Law answer the question "Why do entrepreneurs and startup companies file for patents?"
Legal Tech (iPad etc)
In Technology’s Effect on the Legal Profession, by Law Sites Blog, he looks back at some old stuff… right now writing this I feel enslaved but I do hope to feel empowered by the time I’m done.
Do you think you can anonymously make comments on a blog or on an Internet webpage regarding a product ? Well you better be careful what comments you make on the Internet because as the Citizen Media Law Project will tell you in Internet Anonymity cases the federal courts have recently created an expansive category of "commercial speech" which is not entitled the same freedom of speech protections afforded to US citizens in the Constitution.
JD Supra Powers New LinkedIn Legal Updates, JD Supra content will now be seamlessly integrated into Linkedin. I haven’t tried this but it looks promising. I think I’m going to play around with it if I ever finish this Blawg review.
In the Blog of Rights post entitled Our Secret Security Establishment: the Big Picture, Jay Stanley tells us the government is spending $75 billion to obtain information and that much of the information is obtained in violation of our civil liberties. As usual the US government is drowning in a sea of information..."it is no exaggeration to say that our secret intelligence establishment has spun out of control."
The Influence of Law Blogs (2006-Present) gives blawgers evidence of their relevance in solid numbers. In fact you can download an excel spread sheet of all law blogs that have been cited in law journals since 2006.
Getting into blawging late in the game, I ‘m still trying to wrap my head around what it is all about. Kevin O’Keefe calls it “sipping from the fire hydrant.” But I think Kevin’s got it right when he says it’s all about Relationships. I met Kevin in Toronto this past December when I started on this Social Network path and I understand why he is such a success, I feel as he is a friend I’d like have beer at a Cubs game with, because I know he will help me succeed and he's a cool guy. Relationships is again the reason Why blogs ought not drive traffic to your law firm's website.
Please comment on this post if you would like expand your network of relationships...I will reply.
Now I would like to "handoff" the baton to the next host of Blawg Review, this month's host of Carnival of Trust, Charlie Green, author of The Trusted Advisor, at his blog Trust Matters. Good luck.
Blawg Review has information about next week's host, and instructions how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.
I'm scheduled to host Blawg Review to mark the 20th anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on Monday July 26, 2010.
Blawg Review is the blog website for everyone interested in law blogs. "A peer-reviewed blog carnival," where the host of each Blawg Review decides which of the submissions and recommended posts are suitable for inclusion in the presentation.
Please submit blogs that can be used in the blog review by just leaving a comment here! Thanks.
The official United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)Facebook page promises to deliver the latest USPTO news, photos and videos.
Through Facebook the USPTO will directly connect with the public and the intellectual property community.
According to David Kappos the USPTO’s Facebook page is meant provide
“a place where users can tell US what YOU think. Users are encouraged to comment on our posts and tell us what you “like” and “dislike” about to the USPTO."
The Invent Blog reported that under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos said:
“Technology has profoundly impacted the way we all consume information and communicate with one another... “I’m confident our Facebook presence will complement the USPTO Web site as a means of communicating and connecting with the public and our stakeholders in the intellectual property community.
With more than 400 million people on Facebook, we knew it was an important place for us to be.”
USPTO Director David Kappos welcomes Facebook users with the following message:
Welcome to the USPTO’s page on Facebook! We're excited to be launching this forum to communicate with you and share the latest news from the USPTO. We know thousands of innovators, members of the intellectual property practice community, and USPTO employees are active on Facebook, so we’re pleased to be able to bring information and updates to you here...
Check back here daily, as we will be providing regular updates including press releases and other news, details on upcoming events, speeches, updates from my blog, photos, video, fun facts and more. Just like checking your Facebook page, we hope visiting our page will become part of your daily routine.
The USPTO’s Facebook page is a supplemental page to the official USPTO web page. It makes you think, doesn't everyone need a Facebook page? I enjoy connecting with over 1000 long lost friends from the good ole days at my Vincent LoTempio facebook page and I launched a page for my law office at Kloss, Stenger & LoTempio, although I have to admit there has not been much action there. But I love this social networking. Everyone is getting involved.
Thanks to Innovator, Consultant, Strategist, Emerging Media, Social TV, Canadian Expatriate Richard Kastelein for tweeting @expathos this week about a Sony patent application that may give us a preview on how viewers could interact with their TVs. What is the future TV of and TV apps?
We all know that one day the computers and TVs will be the same; there will be central location in your house that will control all your entertainment from movies, games, music, internet and the television. But who will bring us there first? Will it be the Sony 'Smart TV'?
Richard Kastelein reported for appmarket.tv that Financial Times (FT) and the UK Times said that Google and Intel are expected to announce Google’s I/O conference on May 19th, in San Francisco a significant breakthrough into consumer electronics and the broadcast industry with the launch of a “Smart TV” platform.
“The technology is allegedly powered by Android and Intel's chips, and will make Sony televisions and even Blu-ray DVD players function like computers, running Google's search, Chrome Web browser, YouTube and other programs.
Kastelein thinks that this smart TV will be a windfall for the App industry, he quoted Julie Jacobson
"...that by 2015, more than half of all TVs shipped worldwide will have a network connection - and seven out of ten of those units will ship with an embedded app platform and app store, according to a new report from Gigaom Pro called, “TV Apps: Evolution from Novelty to Mainstream” (subscription required)."
The patent application essentially describes a network media player able to generate and consume XML-based metadata for programming from any source, including over-the-top, local media and cable TV. This type of metadata would then be stored on a central server and exchanged between users through social networks, or made available by broadcasters or other entities.
Here is a excerpt from the patent application:
It is desirable to provide a mechanism to create, use, and/or share different playbacks of television programs and other sensory works. For example, it is desirable to provide an individual who has recorded the Super Bowl only to watch the commercials with the ability to playback his recording of the Super Bowl on his PVR such that only the commercials are shown. Similarly, an individual who has recorded the Super Bowl only for the football may desire to only see each football play during playback. This [patent application] discusses techniques and systems that may be used to create metadata or the like that controls or varies the playback of a sensory work, such as, a television program.
It also gives a hint as to how big business will profile the American consumer and narrowly direct advertisements at a specific communities. The next step will be to direct ads at a specific household or individual. Talk about "big brother" getting closer to reality. Take a look at this:
In some instances, it may be desirable to insert additional information, video, audio, and the like, during the playback of a sensory work. For example, a user may desire to insert media from another source, from another segment within the same source, or to insert new data. One implementation of this technique would be to insert profile-based advertising during playback. For example, during the playback of the Super Bowl, viewers may be shown advertisements based on demographics or any other information available. Thus, viewers living within one census block group may be shown a Lexus advertisement, while those in another census block group may be shown a Toyota advertisement.
What are you able to afford? The Lexus or the Toyota? So will big business/brother show the Lexus to you or just to your rich brother?
How do you protect your intellectual property? What is intellectual property? Is a special sandwich that you make better than anybody else intellectual property? Imagine you are the owner of a new restaurant who has created a new edible masterpiece. And subsequently, to your surprise, you discover that a copycat sandwich is being made across the street, without your permission.What do you do? What are your remedies?
I don't think they can register the work with the U.S. Copyright Office and obtain a certificate of copyright. Can they file an application for patent registration of the sandwich structure?
Remember for something to be patentable subject matter it must be a new, useful and a non-obvious improvement over something that's already out there. You don't see too many patents on food recipes and sandwiches. Maybe a design patent (.PDF), but I doubt that will give them much protection.
It may be argued that the business conduct of Burger King in this instance is actionable under federal unfair competition provision of the Lanham Act. While the Lanham Act, in general, focuses primarily on obtaining, maintaining, and enforcing trademark and service mark rights, Section 43(a), allows for suits for false designation of origin. But I don't think there is a false designation, Burger King comes right out and says we're making our own version of this old sandwich.
And it's not a copy of a trade secret (like the McDonald's special sauce) so I don't think there's any grounds for McDonald's to bring a suit. There is probably not much McDonald's can do to stop Burger King from making their version of the egg McMuffin.
What is protectable is the brand name or the trademark. What Burger King is tacitly saying in this clever breakfast commercial is that, McDonald's doesn't own the rights to eggs, sausage, cheese or English muffins. McDonald's owns the trademark "Egg McMuffin(.PDF)."
But are McDonald's executives upset with this campaign? Have lawyers been rallied and accusatory calls been made?"We haven't received any direct feedback from competitors," said Brian Gries, Burger King's vice president of marketing impact. Gries further defends his company's choice to be up-front about the similarities between the BK Breakfast Muffin and the McMuffin, saying, "We are not above taking a product that we know customers like and delivering it to our guests at a great price."
I love the guile of Burger King making a full admission in the commercial that they are copying this sandwich. I would love to see the internal memos from the lawyers arguing about whether or not they should allow this commercial to air. It is not like McDonald's has not been involved in a number of lawsuits involving trademark issues in the course of its history. But I think if McDonald's brings a lawsuit in this instance it would fuel of a lot of bad press and they would have little chance of success.
Thanks to @BarackObama for tweeting this week about a fee that would recover every penny loaned to Wall Street during the financial crisis and stop the reckless abuses that nearly caused the collapse of our financial system.
Do you think the American people will ever see any of that money again? I think the big financial firms are going to push through the massive bonuses. We'll see.
Congratulations and Happy New Year, to Peter Carosa a 7th grader at the Honeoye Falls-Lima Middle School in Western New York who recently e-mailed me regarding his role as member of Gearfreeze, the robotics team which won the regional championship of the fifth annual Finger Lakes FIRST LEGO League Tournament hosted by the University of Rochester on December 6th, 2009. FIRST is the acronym For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.
Thirty six teams of children ages 9 to 14 competed with robots that they designed and built out of LEGO.
For the competition, each team designed a robot out of the classic plastic building blocks and performed a variety of tasks such as navigating to difficult-to-access places and retrieving objects in a 4-by-8-foot arena speckled with obstacles.
In addition to the robotic portion of the contest, the team gave a presentation, on the year's theme: transportation. The contestants were asked to pick a real-world transportation challenge, research it, and draw up a poster, skit, or other demonstration. Peter describes his team’s presentation:
"Our project is that GM fuel cell cars produce H2O in a warm gas and liquid form and emits it. This can cause black ice, because of our climate, and pot holes. This will cause accidents. So my idea during one of our brain storms was to make a pumping system to pump the water emissions to the windshield wiper reservoir."
The 36 teams which qualified to compete at the regional contest at the University of Rochester, first had to prove their engineering and communication prowess at one of six preliminary qualifying events at different locations around Western New York, where the field was winnowed down from a pool of more than 100 teams.
As winners at the regional championship they will travel to Atlanta, Georgia in April 2010 for the World Festival, where they will meet teams from more than 50 countries. Good Luck to Peter and his team!
Aron Lee Ralston presents the full story behind the 2003 event that became worldwide news:during what began as a routine day hike he was trapped by a boulder in the Canyonlands National Park in eastern Utah, he was forced to amputate his lower right arm in order to free himself. He then fashioned a tourniquet for the arm, rappelled 75 feet down the canyon and started walking. He walked seven hours before being found by rescuers.
My review of the book
Does life sometimes present you with hard choices? How may times will one decision irrevocably change your life? What if you had to cut off your own arm to save your life? Could you do it? Could anyone? Aron Ralston did it and he describes it in detail in the pages of this book.
In order to read this book you have be in the right frame of mind because Aron is extremely articulate and his graphic descriptions “pull no punches.” The good news is once you have read this book, the answer to the questions I posed at the beginning of this post will be: whatever problems I have, really aren’t so difficult for me to handle.
I read this book because I thought if anyone could relate to Aron I could. I cut off my right hand when I was 12 years old. It wasn’t intentional but the result was the same; we had to stop the bleeding by tourniquet until there was medical attention; we had to learn to become left hand dominant even though we were born right handed; and we had to tackle life with a new awareness. Aron finishes the book with this quote:
“Our purpose as spiritual beings is to follow our bliss, seek out our passion and live out our lives as inspirations to each other, everything else flows from that.”
People tell me they are inspired by me, they say, “I couldn’t rebound like you did with that injury.” But I say it’s no big deal, you could and you would because your only choice is to live life to the fullest and go forward. Giving up is not an option.
I found inspiration in the strength of Aron Ralston’s words and deeds. He has reinforced my belief that the human spirit is much more resilient than we give ourselves credit. Remember no matter what the circumstance just follow your bliss!
About the Author
Aron Lee Ralston was born October 27 1975 in Indiana, USA. He was a student of mechanical engineering and French at Carnegie Mellon University and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Carnegie Mellon, he served as a Resident Assistant, studied abroad, and was an active intramural sports participant.
Did you know? Technologies are changing so exponentially fast the stuff freshmen and sophomores are learning in school today will be obsolete before they graduate in two years.
Did you know? It took radio 38 years, television 14 years, the Internet 4 years and Facebook only 2 years to reach an audience of 50 million people.
Where are we headed? Share your thoughts in the comments below
I really had a great time in the studio recording the half-hour discussion about IP Law. Penny Wolfgang is truly a marvelous interviewer and host. I think she could make any topic interesting. We discussed many of the things an inventor should be aware of regarding patent, trademark and copyright law.
I have to share with you my experience walking into the studio, I ran into a great ambassador for Buffalo, my friend, classmate from St. Joe's high school and now client, the Buffalo "Wing King" Drew Cerza.
As we're walking into the studio we met and shook hands and said, "What are you doing here?" And we both answered, "I am here to do a radio talk show with Penny Wolfgang." Each of us thought maybe we wrote down the wrong day that we were supposed to be a guest on the show. As it turns out two shows were scheduled to be recorded back-to-back. We had a good laugh.
Since Drew's interview was recorded first I got a great opportunity to listen to the President of the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau talk about all the great things that are happening in Buffalo today. I couldn't help thinking that what makes a place great are the people who live there and people like Penny Wolfgang and Drew Cerza certainly make Western New York a better place to live.
Drew is no stranger to protecting his intellectual property rights. He has registered his mark for the National Buffalo Wing Festival, National Hamburger Festival and his moniker known by one and all across the country the "Wing King.
For specific times on when Penny's show airs, see after the jump.
iPod touch is an iPod, a pocket computer, and a portable game player. Listen to music. Watch a movie. Surf the web. Check your email. Get directions with Google Maps. Discover addictive games and apps. The iTouch is the iPhone's brother without calling capabilities. The only catch is that this brother lacks AT&T's backing so unless you want to become better friends with your local Starbuck's employees while you mooch off of their free wireless every time you want to check your email or check a YouTube video, I'd spring for the iPhone.
The Kindle is as thin as a magazine, fitting perfectly in your hands. It can hold up to 1,500 books and weighs 10.2 ounces. Just to put that into perspective, your cell phone probably weighs between three and five ounces. With the Kindle you can bookmark and easily take notes. It also has a helpful dictionary app, so there's no need to grab that dusty book off the shelf again or rather pull up dictionary.com.
I think it would be really wonderful to take my entire library with all of its options on a road trip with me or on the subway to work, but if I'm sitting at home I'd rather turn pages then click to open them.
Walking with a classic pedometer can be exceedingly annoying with its obnoxious click-clack noise wherever you go and its tendency to slip off your belt loop crashing to ground, losing your daily millage. The Omron HJ-112 Pocket Pedometer is an advanced, high-tech pedometer that- Hallelujah! Dual sensor technology!- can be carried in your pocket or bag.
Of course you can be lame and hook it to your belt loops like the classic pedometer. But now your loved ones can just drop this stress-free gift in their purses or pockets and ponder the lengths of your thoughtfulness. Not only will it measure your steps but the calories burned during your workout, as well as the total distance you've traveled.
The StressEraser is perfect for your, quite obviously, stressed out family members. It fits right in your pocket and is drug-free and non-invasive. It uses a finger sensor to convert your pulse into a wave form.
This wave guides you to synchronize your breathing with your heart rate cycle. Weird, huh? But we all know that slowing down your breathing can slow down your heart rate which in turn helps you relax. So it makes sense that this little gadget works so well.
If you claim that you didn't want to be James Bond at least one time in your life, it's probably safe to say you're lying. This pen doubles as video and voice recorder, and how can you say that that's not cool? Obviously the video quality isn't exactly Stephen Spielberg, but this whimsical gift is still worth it if only to satisfy the spy in you.
Along with the one I'm thinking of purchasing for my nephew, I might even buy one for myself. Just call me Bond. James Bond.
This is the world's smallest GPS tracker at 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Trying to find your car in a mall parking lot the size of Rhode Island, this baby's a godsend- that is you can find it cheap. At the prices I've been seeing, I think I'm going to wait for the post-holiday sales and in the meantime I'll just set off my car alarm and follow the sound.
This photo frame not only displays a slide show of pictures, but can also play music with either its MP3 compatibility or USB port to attach iPods or stereos. It has a high resolution LCD screen, internal speakers and even headphone ports.
I think that giving this frame already filled with photos and music is a heartfelt gift with a homemade feel. Plus its a lot less mess and hassle than making a scrapbook.
Thanks to @ipdotcom for tweeting this week about the Internet's birthday.
And linking from thier Twitter stream @ipdotcom to this very interesting YouTube video giving us an insight of Internet pioneer and UCLA computer science professor Leonard Kleinrock about the meager beginnings of the Internet.
of Fiscal Year 2011
patent of 
Seems like a good idea to me. Wouldn't you want this on a hot summer day? I wonder why some of these inventions never took off?
st rudimentary computers made available for computer enthusiasts at the cost of $666.66.
I would guess this is just the precursor of screens attached to walls and other devices that we swipe and tap with our fingers to manipulate the electronic images and music and remote control of virtually all electronic devices.
.jpg)
.jpg)
cocktail party on the 
.jpg)
Easter egg .jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
and coproducer of the hit television show 
n money and grew The Learning Annex from a $5 million a year company into one that's generating over $100 million a year in sales.
Inventor Bio
site.
It is a futuristic electronic powered car by Jaguar.
ty for selecting me as one of the “Who’s Who in Law" in the 2010 edition of the award published by the 
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
This holiday season we would like to share some ideas of the best gifts for the patent people and inventor types on your list..jpg)
