Patent Search and Filing

Descriptive Geometry in Patent Illustration (dBusinessNews.com)
In the best practices of both utility patent illustration and design patent illustration, there’s an approach which is often very useful, but which is also often overlooked.

Nokia Files Patent for Kinetic Energy Mobile Device Charger (eWeek)
Nokia filed a U.S. patent for a phone charger that harvests kinetic energy, a technology that s been used in laptops, PDAs and GPS receivers, according to Nokia. Essentially, the mobile devices would be powered, in part, through the movements of their owners.

Apple’s Patent Attack: This Too May Be Overhyped (E-Commerce Times)
Many factors likely fueled Apple’s lawsuit against mobile handset manufacturer HTC. Patent suits have become a competitive weapon — one that any company dare not allow its rival to use without using it as well. Lawsuits are sometimes filed because a firm believes it’s about to be slapped with one. There’s a case to be made, of course, that HTC has, in fact, infringed.

Apple/HTC suit signals smartphone patent war (EETimes)
Whether Apple can put a chill on iPhone imitators or set a new standard is one of the big questions for the smartphone sector in 2010 after Apple sued Taiwan smartphone maker HTC, the first shot in what could be the next big mobile patent war, according to a report from Nomura Securities. IPhone – Apple – Smartphone – HTC Corporation – Patent

New Patent Law Ruling Could Cost You Big Bucks (Inc Magazine)
Got a patent, or have you labelled your product “patent pending” before you’ve actually put the application in the mail? A recent court ruling on false marking could make you liable for some big bucks and anyone (not just a competitor) can file a lawsuit. Patents, of course, stop competitors from stealing your ideas, and if you don’t mark them on your products, you’re limited in the amount of …

Google awarded location-based advertising patent (V3.co.uk via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News)
Google has been granted a patent for the use of location information in adverts to increase the relevancy to users, a decision which could directly impact the plans of rival Apple in the space.

Facebook’s News Feed Patent Lock – Vaguely Menacing? (TechNewsWorld.com)
Facebook last week won the right to call the news feed its very own. Patent 7,699,123 was issued by the U.S. Patent Office last Tuesday to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and seven other Facebook executives. It’s described as a method for displaying a news feed in a social network environment.

Bits Scan: Facebook s Patent, Nokia s Woes and Phishing on Twitter (New York Times)
Facebook Granted Patent on the News Feed As we noted Thursday , Facebook has been granted a patent for the its central feature, the news feed. ReadWriteWeb spotlights the discussion in the blogosphere on the topic, with many questioning if Facebook actually invented the algorithm-driven newsfeed.

Crocs wins appeal in patent claim over copycat shoes (Denver Post)
Crocs won an appeals-court ruling that revived patent-infringement claims over what it considers copycat footwear.

Amazon and Microsoft agree to share access to each other s patent portfolio (InternetRetailer.com)
Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have agreed to provide each other access to their patent portfolio, including the technology behind Amazon s Kindle e-book reader, Microsoft announced yesterday.