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GEN-ERIC Patent News Tuesday, May 13,
2003
================================================== Use Quick Links
to Access any Area of Interest Headlines News Patents of the Day Access Official Gazette and
Notices Patents Available for Licensing Patent Employment
Opportunities
Printer Friendly Version ================================================== 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
Index ================================================== 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. Index 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.
Index ================================================== PATENTS OF THE DAY
6,561,903
System and method for generating
and executing insurance policies for gambling losses
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
6,563,423
Location tracking of individuals
in physical spaces
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.
Index ================================================== 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
Index ================================================== 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
Index ================================================== 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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