IN THIS ISSUE... 112th US CONGRESS SET TO 'PROMOTE INNOVATION'
On 11 January 2011, US Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), outlined his agenda for the 112th Congress, promising to revive several issues left over from the last Congress, including patent reform efforts.
In an address entitled 'Protecting Taxpayers, Promoting Innovation, Preserving Justice', Sen. Leahy said:
Among our top priorities is the Patent Reform Act. This bipartisan initiative to modernize our patent system has received considerable attention in the last several Congresses. Updating our antiquated patent system will keep America at the forefront of innovation and invention. It will help bolster our economy and protect jobs. And it will do so without adding a penny to the Nation’s deficit. I am encouraged that Chairman Lamar Smith of the House Judiciary Committee agrees that patent reform is sorely needed. In the interest of protecting American jobs and economic leadership, Democrats and Republicans need to complete this important legislative effort.We admire the Senator's optimism, but given past experience with these reform efforts, we trust that readers will excuse our skepticism.
UNILOC'S AUSSIE INVENTOR RESPONDS TO APPEAL DECISION IN MICROSOFT CASE
We reported last week on the US Federal Circuit decision in Uniloc v Microsoft. While the attention of commentators has been focused mainly on the court's criticisms of the damages calculations, and its trashing of the so-called '25% rule' for determining reasonable royalties, we suggested that Uniloc would probably be reasonably happy with the outcome.
The Australian inventor of the 'product activation' system at issue in the case, Ric Richardson, has commented on his blog that:
As the inventor of the Uniloc technology it is a great thing to have put your future in the hands of the US legal system by applying for a patent, then have that patent withstand some of the heaviest scrutiny ever in history and come out intact.
...
The jury verdict last year was a great feeling. The judge's decision to overturn that decision was a major setback. Today’s decision gets us back on track towards justice.Richardson is also quoted in the Wall Street Journal:
“All the discussion is about the claim, the damages amount,” said Mr. Richardson. But from his perspective, the most important part of the ruling was the infringement finding, he said. A federal judge in Rhode Island had previously thrown that out.
[a]cknowledged as one of the top 250 technology licensing lawyers worldwide, and one of only four Australians to have met the requirements for the Certified Licensing Professional qualification, he is a specialist in the structuring and negotiation of patent licences and other contracts for the development and commercialisation of new technologies.
IBM BREAKS (OWN) RECORD FOR ISSUED US PATENTS
Patent research company IFI CLAIMS has released its annual list of top US patent recipients and (surprise) IBM once again heads the table.
In 2010, the USPTO issued a record 219,614 patents, of which IBM received 5,896 patents, smashing the previous record of 4,914 patents issued in 2009 to... IBM. The company has now topped the US patent charts for 18 consecutive years!
Rounding out the top ten were: Samsung (4,551); Microsoft (3,094); Canon (2,552); Panasonic (2,482); Toshiba (2,246); Sony (2,150); Intel (1,653); LG Electronics (1,490); and Hewlett-Packard (1,480).
Patentology will not be accepting bets on who will top the list in 2011!
JUDGE JAGGER? RANDALL RADER REPORTEDLY ROCKS RAFFLES!
[US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Chief Judge Randall] Rader took to the stage at the gala dinner [on 6 January 2011] and entertained the assembled crowd with an energetic rendition of the Rolling Stones' Honky Tonk Woman. He may not have captured Mick Jagger's vocals, but he had the moves down pat. A rock and rolling judge is not something that many of us come across too regularly, let alone one as senior as Rader.
Before You Go…
Thank you for reading this article to the end – I hope you enjoyed it, and found it useful. Almost every article I post here takes a few hours of my time to research and write, and I have never felt the need to ask for anything in return.
But now – for the first, and perhaps only, time – I am asking for a favour. If you are a patent attorney, examiner, or other professional who is experienced in reading and interpreting patent claims, I could really use your help with my PhD research. My project involves applying artificial intelligence to analyse patent claim scope systematically, with the goal of better understanding how different legal and regulatory choices influence the boundaries of patent protection. But I need data to train my models, and that is where you can potentially assist me. If every qualified person who reads this request could spare just a couple of hours over the next few weeks, I could gather all the data I need.
The task itself is straightforward and web-based – I am asking participants to compare pairs of patent claims and evaluate their relative scope, using an online application that I have designed and implemented over the past few months. No special knowledge is required beyond the ability to read and understand patent claims in technical fields with which you are familiar. You might even find it to be fun!
There is more information on the project website, at claimscopeproject.net. In particular, you can read:
- a detailed description of the study, its goals and benefits; and
- instructions for the use of the online claim comparison application.
Thank you for considering this request!
Mark Summerfield
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