USPTO Director Jon Dudas talks patent reform Over at ZDnet there is very good coverage of a recent speech about patent reform by USPTO director Jon Dudas. Mr. Dudas spoke at the Tech Policy Summit on the issue of whether the patent system was hurting innovation. Mr. Dudas stated that the biggest problem leading to bad quality patents is the obviousness requirement, […] Continue Reading →
On this date: 1842 William Greenough patents the first sewing machine. Patent available at the USPTO here, and at Google here. Continue Reading →
Where is the real “Icebox of the Nation”? In what can only be described as a chilling trademark dispute, the cities of International Falls, Minnesota and Fraser, Colorado are battling over the right to call their respective cities the "Icebox of the Nation." At issue is International Falls' trademark registration, number 1599660, for "COLD WEATHER TESTED CITY OF INTERNATIONAL FALLS IN THE ICEBOX […] Continue Reading →
Happy National Inventors’ Day! Today is National Inventors' Day, a day to celebrate the contributions that inventors have brought into our lives. National Inventors' Day is today (February 11) because it is also the birthday of one of the most prolific inventors of all time, Thomas Alva Edison, who was awarded 1,097 patents over the course of his lifetime, […] Continue Reading →
Inventors Hall of Fame announces 2007 inductees The National Inventors Hall of Fame has announced this year’s inductees. In all, 16 inventors were inducted, 7 living and 9 posthumously. Those honored include: Paul Baran and Donald Davies for digital packet switching Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield for Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Emmett Chappelle for Bioluminescence techniques Leroy Hood for the automated DNA […] Continue Reading →
Are wedding receptions full of copyright infringers? Maybe, if you ask Richard Silver. Mr. Silver claims to have invented the dance known as the “Electric Slide” at a disco in 1976. He registered a copyright on his performance of the dance in 2004. While Mr. Silver’s claims may seem dubious (such as, for example, his claims on his website that he also […] Continue Reading →
Bush proposes 8% increase in USPTO funding for fiscal 2008 In his proposed budget released on Monday, President Bush proposed $1.9 billion in funding for the USPTO in fiscal year 2008. In addition to this amount, USPTO fees would also not be diverted to cover other government programs, instead permitting the USPTO to use the full amount of collected fees for operating expenses, including hiring […] Continue Reading →
Federal jury finds H.264 video compression standard does not infringe patent A federal jury in San Diego recently found that Broadcom, a company that produces chips used in everything from mobile phones to next-generation DVD players, does not infringe two patents held by Qualcomm on video compression technology. Why is this finding important? Qualcomm asserted its patents covered the H.264 video compression standard, which is the […] Continue Reading →
On this date: 1886 Karl Benz patents his "Motorwagen," the first automobile. Below are figures from the patent: The full patent (in German) is available here. Continue Reading →