RETURN to News Archive ================================================== Copyright(c) 1998-2003 GEN-ERIC Channel.  All rights reserved. GEN-ERIC Patent News Tuesday, March 4, 2003 ================================================== Use Quick Links to Access any Area of Interest Headlines News Patents of the Day Patents Available for Licensing Patent Employment Opportunities Printer Friendly Version ================================================== HEADLINES   (patents issued a few hours ago..) The Edison Patent of the Day goes to Color Kinetics Incorporated of Boston for a Smart light bulb The Way Cool Patent of the Day goes to an Inventor from California for a Throwing disc with changeable aerodynamic characteristics     Index ================================================== NEWS Glaxo loses Paxil patent case http://edition.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/03/04/glaxosmithkline/index.html GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Tuesday it had lost a key Chicago court case over the U.S. patent on antidepressant Paxil, potentially opening the door to cheap copycat versions of its top-selling drug later this year. Judge Richard Posner ruled a generic version of Paxil from Canada's privately held Apotex did not infringe GSK's patent on the product. Europe's biggest drugmaker said it would appeal. GSK said the possible timing of any generic launch remained unclear and, as a result, it would not alter its current guidance of high single-digit growth in earnings per share in 2003, at constant exchange rates.     Index EMC, Hitachi settle data storage patent spat http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?section=news&news_id=reu-t133930-u2&feed=reu&date=20030304&cat=INDUSTRY Data storage systems provider EMC Corp and Japanese electronics giant Hitachi Ltd said on Tuesday they settled a year-old patent dispute and would share technology in data storage, a once-hot business now mired in a slump. The thaw in relations between the two bitter rivals comes as their corporate customers are keeping a tight rein on info-tech spending and increasingly demanding that different data storage systems be able to work together. The two announced a five-year agreement that includes cross-licensing of patents that had been under litigation and payment of an undisclosed sum by Hitachi to EMC.     Index Firm Must Pay Fuji for Recycling Cameras http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/aptech_story.asp?category=1700&slug=Single%20Use%20Cameras A company that recycled single-use cameras must pay Fuji Film Co. nearly $23 million for patent infringement, a federal judge ordered. Jazz Photo Corp., a Piscataway firm, reloaded and relabeled used Fuji and Kodak cameras, and then sold them. A jury last December agreed with Fuji Photo Film USA's claim that Jazz was stealing the technology. In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Faith Hochberg agreed - and ordered the smaller company to pay the Elmsford, N.Y.-based U.S. arm of the Japanese film giant $22.9 million in damages for relabeling 38 million of Fuji's spent cameras between 1995 and 2001.     Index ================================================== PATENTS OF THE DAY 6,528,954 Smart light bulb Abstract:  A smart light bulb is provided which may include a housing, an illumination source, disposed in the housing, and a processor, disposed in the housing, for controlling the illumination source. The housing may be configured to fit a conventional light fixture. The illumination source may be an LED system or other illumination source. The processor may control the intensity or the color of the illumination source. The housing may also house a transmitter and/or receiver. The smart light bulb may respond to a signal from another device or send a signal to another device. The other device may be another smart light bulb or another device. The smart light bulb may be associated with a wide variety of illumination applications and environments.     Index 6,527,608 Throwing disc with changeable aerodynamic characteristics Abstract:  A throwing disc with changeable aerodynamic characteristics for use with human hands having fingers, comprising a first member which is circular and has a diameter and a thickness substantially less than the diameter of the first member. The first member has first and second surfaces and has an outer margin and a downward depending lip adjoining the outer margin. A second member is centrally disposed with respect to the first member. The first and second members are interconnected so the first and second members can move in unison as the throwing disc is thrown. The second member is movable with respect to the first member for changing the aerodynamic characteristics of the throwing disc.     Index ================================================== PATENTS AVAILABLE FOR LICENSING Contact Us to Learn More or to List a Patent Implantable fuel cell This invention makes use of an electrostrictive material to increase the efficiency of a fuel cell as used for the production of power within a human. Laptop Display The invention includes a computer projector in a portable computer or PDA device. The lightweight, relatively low power display, only adds a few ounces of weight to the computer. It can project a large image display on a screen or wall. In several configurations taught by the patent, the LCD and active matrix displays, a considerable component of the cost of any computer or laptop, are eliminated. The projection device images onto the laptop cover panel, saving hundreds of dollars in manufacturing cost. Put the display cover in the projector position and you can project an image onto a large wall for group viewing. Other Patents ALL-TERRAIN, ALL WEATHER WHEELCHAIR EARTHQUAKE DETECTOR FREEZER ORGANIZER SYSTEM     Index ================================================== PATENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Contact Us to Learn More or to List a Job Patent Attorney Fortune 500 consumer-products company seeks two patent attorneys for patent application preparation and prosecution. Positions are initially on full-time contract basis, with the likelihood of permanent employment in Long Island R&D headquarters upon satisfactory completion of contract term. Candidates should be admitted to practice before the USPTO, have a technical background in chemistry, biochemistry and/or biology, and at least five years’ continuous experience in patent preparation and prosecution. Chief Patent Counsel Develop and maintain company patent applications, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, licensing and research agreements, and intellectual property aspects of contracts and agreements. Prepare legal opinions and analysis of patents; review and draft significant corporate legal documents. Evaluate the validity of competitors' patents and potential company product infringement upon valid patents of competitors. Qualifications: Must be a Bar member and have a degree in Law, with at least five years' Patent Law experience, preferably in the electro-optical area. ================================================== GEN-ERIC Channel