Patent Search and Filing

EC report ‘a mockery’ say anti-patent protestors (TechWorld)
R&D report strays into patent battle. An European Commission report into intellectual property issues in the IT industry has been criticised by patent campaigners as a “mockery and an insult”.

Supreme Court patent case comes down to stating ‘obvious’ (USA Today)
In unusually spirited arguments Tuesday, several Supreme Court justices challenged the prevailing standard for when an invention is too closely tied to existing works to qualify for patent protection.

Sony Files for Skin-Powered Headphones Patent (WebProNews)
Engineers at Sony are developing a set of wireless headphones that use a person’s skin to transmit a signal between the headpiece and music source. The current system uses two electrodes encased in fabric to send an electrical signal through the human body between 500 KHz and 3 MHz. According to the patent the electrode doesn’t have to be touching the body, but must be very close to it,

Judge denies EchoStar request for new trial in TiVo patent case (ABC 7 El Paso)
MARSHALL, Texas A judge in East Texas has rejected a bid by EchoStar Communications for a new trial in its patent dispute with TiVo. EchoStar owns the Dish…

Court Skeptical of Patent Standards (Sharewatch)
The justices heard oral arguments in KSR International v. Teleflex Inc., a case that focuses on whether an invention is obvious and therefore ineligible for a patent.

Judge denies EchoStar request for new trial in TiVo patent case (KTRE-TV East Texas)
MARSHALL, Texas A judge in East Texas has rejected a bid by EchoStar Communications for a new trial in its patent dispute with TiVo.

Ionfinity Patent Allowed (SYS-CON Media)
VIASPACE Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: VSPC) , a company dedicated to commercializing proven technologies from NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has allowed a patent filed by VIASPACE subsidiary Ionfinity. The patent relates to the use of Ionfinity’s proprietary soft-ionization membrane in an ion thruster engine for spacecraft

Alnylam and partner Isis win broad patent over basic RNAi chemistry (BizJournals)
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. reports the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a key patent to the Cambridge-based company and its Calif.-based partner Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Alnylam secures key patent (bizjournals.com via Yahoo! Finance)
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Monday that it has obtained a key patent involving modifications of RNA interference.

Linux Patent Group Says Microsoft’s Claims Are ‘Baseless’ (ChannelWeb)
A Linux patent group formed by IBM, Sony, NEC, and Phillips said Microsoft is making “baseless” claims when it says Linux users need protection from patent infringement lawsuits.