“When the nation’s most prolific patent company says that it is going to change the way in which it does business, folks tend to listen, particularly when so much of this nation’s commerce is tied up in commercialized intellectual property. IBM wants to change the way the patent system works, holding itself out as an exemplar of openness.

“What does IBM’s announcement really mean for an American patent system widely considered to be in mass disarray? It depends on whom you ask. IBM, though, is convinced that its initiative will help improve a patent system thought to be on the brink of collapse.”

K. Matthew Dames. The Patent System on Tilt, IBM Seeks to Change the Game. Information Today NewsBreaks. Oct. 16, 2006.

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will hold a briefing on May 12, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the agency’s Madison building. The USPTO has created a partnership with academia and the private sector to launch an online, peer review pilot project that seeks to ensure that patent examiners will have improved access to all available prior art during the patent examination process.

As a follow-up to the February 16th meeting, this briefing will focus on further developing previously discussed initiatives as well as answering the question of what constitutes valid prior art and a greater in-depth analysis of the peer review pilot project that is under consideration.

An agenda is available online. Registration is strongly encouraged; register by e-mail at OpenSource2006@uspto.gov.

USPTO to Hold Briefing on Patent Peer Review Pilot Project

Friday, May 12, 2006

9:00 am -12:00 noon

Madison Auditorium, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

USPTO Headquarters

Madison Auditorium, South Side

600 Dulany Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

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“Research In Motion took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post and several other newspapers earlier this week, thanking those who supported the company in its dispute with NTP and also urging patent reforms. In the letter attributed to RIM’s co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, RIM said it was “pleased to put this matter behind us and remove any uncertainty from our customers’ minds.”

“Eleven days ago RIM paid NTP $612.5 million to end the long-running dispute over whether the popular BlackBerry wireless e-mail system infringed on patents held by NTP. Prior to the settlement, Judge James Spencer appeared set to impose an injunction on the sales and support of BlackBerry devices and software in the U.S. after RIM failed to overturn a 2002 jury verdict that it infringed on NTP’s patents.

“RIM settled with NTP even though — after the jury verdict and appeals process — the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had has rejected the claims in NTP’s five patents at issue in the case.”

Tom Krazit. RIM Calls for Patent Reform In Newspaper Ad. News.com. March 14, 2006.

See also:

Research In Motion. A Message To All BlackBerry Supporters. No date.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“The actor Damon Wayans has been engaged in a 14-month fight to trademark the term “Nigga” for a clothing line and retail store, a search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s online database reveals.

“Wayans wants to dress customers in 14 kinds of attire from tops to bottoms, and use the controversial mark on ‘clothing, books, music and general merchandise,’ as well as movies, TV and the internet, according to his applications.

“But, so far, his applications have been unsuccessful. Trademark examiner Kelly Boulton rejected the registration dated Dec. 22, citing a law that prohibits marks that are “immoral or scandalous.”"

Rogers Cadenhead. Actor Tries to Trademark ‘N’ Word. Wired News. Feb. 23, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“Venture capitalists are turning into legal experts — and against each other — as Congress prepares to rewrite patent legislation.

“Patents are the commercial currency for inventors of the “next big thing” — time and resources spent on research and development are worthless without an exclusive right to exploit an invention. The Patent [Reform] Act of 2005, introduced in the House of Representatives in June, is intended to overhaul 50-year-old legislation that has failed to keep up with fast-moving and comprehensive changes in technology, particularly in the life sciences and information technology sectors.

“Everyone agrees that the system needs improving, but the venture capital industry is split on how this should be done.”

Marietta Cauchi. Patent Reform in Congress Drives Wedge in Industry. PostGazette.com. Jan. 27, 2006.

See also:

Government Accounting Office. USPTO Has Made Progress Hiring Examiners, But Challenges to Retention Remain (GAO-05-720). (.pdf) June 2005.

Florence Olsen. Patent Examiners Battle Stress. FCW.com. July 25, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“Technology company Forgent Networks Inc. was served notice Thursday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will re-examine the validity of its patent on a widely used compression method for storing digital photos and images.

“The patent deals with compressing digital video, and the company insists its techniques are the same ones used as part of the common compression standard known as JPEG, issued by the Joint Photographic Experts Group.”

Matt Slagle. Patent Office to Re-Examine Forgent Claim. Yahoo! News. Feb. 2, 2006.

See also:

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Coding System for Reducing Redundancy (U.S. Patent No. 4,698,672). Oct. 6, 1987.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“A preliminary ruling by the United States patent office on Wednesday further undermined legal claims by a company that has sought to shut the BlackBerry wireless e-mail device in the United States.

“Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry, said the decision meant that the patent office had twice rejected all five patents controlled by NTP that are related to BlackBerry litigation. NTP is an intellectual property company based in Arlington, Va.”

Ian Austen. Ruling Aids Manufacturer of BlackBerry. The New York Times. Feb. 2, 2006.

See also:

Reuters. U.S. to Judge: Hold Off on BlackBerry Shutdown. News.com. Feb. 1, 2006.

(Editor’s Note: The Times allows free access to their stories on the Web for seven days before sending the stories to the paper’s fee-based Archive.)

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.