19 November 2015

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USPTO’s Novel Initiative – EQPI

Recently, the USPTO announced two new programs under the Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative (EPQI) that are designed to improve the quality of Patent Prosecution in the United States. This program will add more detail to the record of each U.S. patent application. According to the PTO Director Michelle K Lee “Patents of the highest quality can help to stimulate and promote efficient licensing, research and development, and future innovation without resorting to needless high-cost court proceedings. Through correctness and clarity, such patents better enable potential users of patented technologies to make informed decisions on how to avoid infringement, whether to...

18 November 2015

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US-ITC versus Clear

Posted by BananaIP Reporter

in Intellectual Property, Patents, Trade Secrets

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently passed a decision against an order of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) which sought to block the import of digital data that violated patents. The decision was passed on 10th November this year, in the case of ClearCorrect Operating, LLC, ClearCorrect Pakistan (Private), Ltd., v. International Trade Commission and Align Technology, Inc. Align Technology is a multinational medical device company based out of San Jose, California. Align Technology filed a patent infringement case in 2012 with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) when it found that ClearCorrect operating...

18 November 2015

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Infringement Analysis of SEPs

Posted by BananaIP Reporter

in Intellectual Property, Patents

Featured image reads Patents, as the post is about patent infringement. To read the post click here.

Standards are important for the purposes of compatibility and inter operability of components/devices and products. Technical standards mainly decide the interoperability in operation. These standards are mainly defined and set by a competent body such as an SDO (Standards Development Organization), even though there is no universally set standard used to qualify a patent as an essential patent. The process of qualifying and determining a patent as a standard essential patent(SEP) may depend on many factors, such as the type of SDO, the power, influence and the interest of the members of SDO, the technological solution and the potential commercial...

18 November 2015

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Patent trolls – Lesson No. 1

Posted by BananaIP Reporter

in Intellectual Property, Patents

Patent trolls are organizations that aggressively defend patent libraries without manufacturing products of their own, which is why they are often referred to as Non Practicing Entities (NPEs) or Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs). These NPEs hardly contribute to research and development through innovation since they are rarely the original innovators. Moreover, the NPEs own patent libraries by buying inventions and patents cheaply from individual inventors and small entities who are not seeking to enforce them and licence the acquired patent technology for commercial gains. Patent trolls often make broad claims of infringement based on their patents of questionable validity, taking advantage...

13 November 2015

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New Patent Fee Schedule proposed by USPTO

Posted by BananaIP Reporter

in Intellectual Property, Patents

In order to recover the aggregate estimated cost of the patent operation and USPTO administrative services that support patent operations, USPTO is exercising its fee setting authority to set and adjust Patent Fee Schedule. Section 10 of the Leahy‐Smith America Invents Act (AIA) authorizes the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to, in part, “set or adjust by rule any fee established, authorized, or charged” under Title 35 of the United States Code provided that the aggregate patent fee revenue equals the aggregate estimated cost to for patent operations, including administrative costs. An initial proposal for the new fee...

13 November 2015

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House of Mouse Lands in Legal Trouble

Posted by BananaIP Reporter

in Intellectual Property, Patents

What is it about? InCom Corp, a company that provides educational services, in a patent infringement lawsuit filed on 22nd April, 2015 with the federal court, claims that the Walt Disney Company has snagged three of their patents to track what people do and what they buy at the Walt Disney World. The California-based InCom Corp is seeking a jury trial and wants wide-ranging and unspecified damages. Disney introduced the “Magic Band” back in 2013, despite correspondence from InCom Corp over how similar their technologies are. The aforementioned patents-in-suit are US 8353705, US 7336185, and US 7812779 respectively. What does a magic band...

13 November 2015

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‘DEMAND’ only if you want to

Posted by BananaIP Reporter

in Intellectual Property, Patents

International preliminary Examination is an optional part on the applicant for an International application, but all PCT applications nevertheless undergo examination either with or without having examiner interaction with the applicant. The Examiner - applicant interaction occurs only when a Demand is filed under Chapter II of the PCT. Filing of Demand is completely optional. A Demand is usually filed in response to the written opinion of the ISA (International Search Authority), especially if it is a negative opinion. Thus filing a demand is a way of overcoming the objections raised by the ISA on the patentability to obtain a more...

13 November 2015

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Sex Patents in India (Land of Kamasutra) – Sex Patents III

Posted by BananaIP Reporter

in Intellectual Property, Patents

This is the third post in the series of Sex Patents. Some refer to India as the Land of Kamasutra, the country where the popular treatise of love and love making was written. Not surprisingly, several patents have been filed in India with respect to sex, love making and related aspects. In this post, we have picked a couple of interesting patents on sexual aids, published on the website of Indian Patent Office. Title: ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SEXUAL STIMULATION DEVICE Application Number: 4668/DELNP/2007 Abstract: A device for use by a female for sexual stimulation comprising an inner arm dimensioned for insertion into a vagina, to...

12 November 2015

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Honda takes comfort and ride quality to next level

Posted by BananaIP Reporter

in Intellectual Property, Patents

Suspension systems in bikes are primarily used to provide safety and comfort to rider as well as pillion. Conventional suspension system on motorbike has a pair of fork tubes for the front wheel suspension. In operation, shock waves produced due to the displacement of the front wheel is dampened/cushioned by the spring and damper component of the fork tubes; thereby ensuring comfort and safety of the passengers. Honda has recently filed a patent application (US 2015274249) titled ‘Front suspension structure for saddle riding type vehicle’, which appears to provide better suspension. Let’s check how it works. The invention disclosed in the aforementioned...

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