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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
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Headlines
News
Patents of the Day
Access Official Gazette and Notices
Patents Available for Licensing
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HEADLINES
(patents issued a few hours ago..)
The Gambling Insurance
Patent of the Day goes to Walker Digital, LLC of Connecticut
for a
System and method for generating and executing insurance policies for gambling losses
The Wacked Out
Patent of the Day goes to International Business Machines Corporation of New York
for
Location tracking of individuals in physical spaces
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NEWS
Mailblocks files patent suit against EarthLink
http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2003/05/05/daily57.html
Web-based e-mail service company Mailblocks Inc. filed suit Thursday against Atlanta-based ISP EarthLink Inc. for patent infringement of its spam elimination technology. According to Mailblocks, an EarthLink service to launch later this month called SpamBlocker will infringe patent rights held by Mailblocks, which developed and owns the patents for Challenge/Response, a technology that eliminates spam from a user's inbox. The Challenge/Response system works by only allowing mail sent from a human and not an automated system to be received. E-mail sent from people not in the user's e-mail address book is placed in a pending folder and automatically sent a challenge e-mail to authenticate the sender. Because machine-generated mail cannot reply to the challenge e-mail, the mail never makes its way into the intended recipient's inbox.
Index
KU will get $1.3M from patent settlement
http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2003/05/12/daily11.html
The University of Kansas will receive more than $1.3 million from a California company as part of a settlement from patent-infringement allegations involving a patent that KU holds. RITA Medical Systems Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., will pay a total of $2.65 million to KU and the University of Nebraska as part of the company's settlement of a patent-infringement action by Boston Scientific Corp. against RITA Medical Systems, said Donald Stewart, CFO of RITA Medical Systems. The action involved a patented technology that KU had licensed to Boston Scientific, Stewart said.
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Analog wins patent infringement lawsuit
http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2003/05/05/daily42.html
Analog Devices Inc. of Norwood successfully fought off a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Gerald Pellegrini of Worcester over the company's ADMC chips. On Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts allowed Analog's motion for a partial summary judgment in the case, and denied the plaintiff's motion for a partial summary judgment. Pellegrini owns a U.S. patent for a "Back-EMF Brushless D.C. Motor Drive Circuit," issued on March 17, 1987. Analog Devices makes analog, mixed signal and digital signal processing integrated circuit chips. Pellegini alleged in his civil complaint that Analog's ADMC chips infringe his patent when combined with components in a specific brushless motor, according to the judge's decision.
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PATENTS OF THE
DAY
Abstract: A system and method for providing a gambling loss insurance policy automatically computes insurance premiums and processes gambling sessions covered by the gambling loss insurance policies. The players may purchase the insurance policies using various means such as coins, earned winnings, or credit cards. The gambling loss insurance system provides a high level of flexibility for the players to define specific parameters of the insurance policy. Additionally, the players may purchase the insurance policies directly from the gaming machine, a custom terminal on casino floor, or cage personnel having access to a centralized network server.
Index
Abstract: A location tracking system for individuals is capable of being used in a number of environments, including in retail or other commercial environments to track the movements of customers. An electronic tagging method and apparatus apply an electronically-readable tag to an individual, where the electronically-readable tag is comprised of a magnetic composition that is applied to an individual's footwear, and magnetized with an electronically-readable code. A location tracking method and apparatus determine an electronically-readable code from a magnetic composition applied to an individual's footwear and sensed by a magnetic sensor. A method and apparatus also track customers in an establishment by tagging a plurality of customers when entering the establishment, so that each is assigned a unique electronically-readable code. The location of each electronically-tagged customer is then tracked using a plurality of proximity sensors disposed at a plurality of locations in the establishment, with each proximity sensor configured to detect the unique electronically-readable code of a customer that is located proximate thereto.
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ACCESS OFFICIAL GAZETTE AND NOTICES
Access this week's Official Gazette
http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week19/OG/classIndex.htm
Excerpt from
OG Notices
Certificates of Correction
Disclaimers
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PATENTS AVAILABLE FOR LICENSING
to Learn More or to List a Patent
Plug-and-play smart data cable
The invention includes a smart, plug-and-play cable capable of transparently translating between two different communication protocols. The cables are "plug-and-play" such that two devices can be coupled together for communication without the requirement that the user perform any special set-up steps in order for it to work. To implement this plug-and-play functionality, the smart cable of the present invention determines which communication protocols are required at each of its ports, and selects, activates, enables, or downloads the appropriate communication protocol drivers to enable proper operation.
Financial screening system
In an on-line financial screening service, a database of financial and intellectual property information is searched to find at least one financial security matching user defined financial search criteria. Selection preferences for a financial security are defined as search criteria. The databases are repeatedly searched for records matching the financial selection criteria preferences of the user. Financial securities meeting the users search criteria are then matched to an intellectual property database to determine the number of patents a financial security has been issued
Other Patents
CHEMBLOX EDUCATIONAL MOLECULAR MODELS
BOAT LOADING GUIDANCE DEVICE
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PATENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
to Learn More or to List a Job
Patent Counsel/In-House
This position requires a JD from an accredited law school. BSEE or equivalent is also desirable. Admission to California Bar is required. This position requires 5+ years of recent and extensive experience in technology licensing, including patent cross licensing, preferably in non-volatile memory/semiconductor industry. Experience should include having acted as lead negotiator and drafter in multiple licensing transactions. Prior experience in IP litigation is preferred. Must be accustomed to complex deal structures and negotiating licensing transactions with large multi-national organizations.
Corporate Counsel
Telecommunications Company is looking for a patent attorney. 80% of the position is licensing with the balance litigation plus prosecution. Must have 3 to 15 years of experience. EE or physics background preferred.
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