RETURN to News Archive ================================================== Copyright(c) 1998-2003 GEN-ERIC Channel.  All rights reserved. GEN-ERIC Patent News Tuesday, May 27, 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 Patent on Patents Patent of the Day goes to Mazda Motor Corporation of Japan for a Multilingual patent information search system The MEMS Patent of the Day goes to the United States Army for a Microelectromechanical system safe and arm apparatus     Index ================================================== NEWS RIM to pay $8.87M in damages http://www.canada.com/technology/story.html?id=219CF1FA-6185-40C5-95A9-9001A7EF6305 A U.S. court has ordered Research In Motion Ltd. to pay $8.87 million in enhanced damages in its ongoing patent infringement suit with NTP Inc., according to a statement from NTP and its lawyers. The statement said the U.S. Federal District Court in Richmond, Va., also awarded privately held NTP 80 per cent of its legal fees. But it said the court had not yet ruled on NTP's request for an injunction to stop RIM from selling the its popular BlackBerry e-mail device.     Index Genomic Solutions Settles with Oxford Gene Technology http://www.genomeweb.com/articles/view-article.asp?Article=200352110179 Genomic Solutions, a subsidiary of Harvard Bioscience, has settled a lawsuit brought in December by Oxford Gene Technology and, in a statement issued today, said it is evaluating whether to appeal a $1.45 million judgment against it in a breach of contract suit brought by Affymetrix in a Michigan court. Genomic Solutions was one of six defendants named in a patent infringement lawsuit brought in US District Court in Delaware in December by Oxford Gene Technology IP, the licensing firm of microarray pioneer Edwin Southern, which filed against numerous array companies. Harvard BioSciences said today that the lawsuit would be dismissed. As part of a settlement, reached on May 12, Genomic Solutions will display "certain notices" in connection with the marketing of certain genomic-related products and will pay a "nominal amount" to Oxford Gene Technology.     Index Maxim, Sipex settle serial interface suit http://www.ebnonline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=10100171 Sipex Corp. and Maxim Integrated Products Inc. have reached a settlement agreement in a patent infringement lawsuit and countersuit related to a feature implemented on some serial interface products. Under terms of the settlement both companies will dismiss all pending legal claims in all jurisdictions. As part of the agreement, Maxim will grant Sipex a license for U.S. PatentNo. 5,649,210 covering "auto-online" functionality used on some serial interface products.     Index ================================================== PATENTS OF THE DAY 6,571,241 Multilingual patent information search system Background:  There is provided an information search system that can be easily used by a foreigner. A client terminal is connected to an information search apparatus through a network. The information search apparatus is a server for searching for, e.g., patent information filed in Japan, and searches various databases storing Japanese patent information and the like in response to a request from the client terminal. The database server is connected to the information search apparatus and includes various databases. Claim:  A patent information search method using a patent information processing apparatus to input a search expression for searching for patent information containing bibliographic information and information other than the bibliographic information, and a patent information search method for searching a patent information database storing patent information such as bibliographic information based on of a predetermined search expression, comprising:     inputting a first search expression including a first natural language expression that can be understood by a user in said patent information processing apparatus;      replacing the input first search expression with a second search expression, including a second natural language expression different from the first natural language expression, such that the second search expression is a replacement based on bibliographic information search contents of the first search expression and thereby suitable for searching the patent information database in the second natural language;      transmitting the replaced second search expression to said patent information search method;      searching the patent information database based on the received second search expression in said patent information search method; and      transmitting a search result to said patent information processing apparatus,      wherein, in said replacing of the input first search expression, the replacing the input first search expression with the second search expression is performed by using a replacement table for replacing components of the first search expression described in the first language with components of the second search expression described in the second language used in the database.     Index 6,568,329 Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) safe and arm apparatus Summary:  The present invention is an inertially operated MEMS mechanical safety and arming device for munitions. Compared to prior art safe and arm devices, the instant invention achieves as much as a 75% reduction in volume and a 50% reduction in cost. The MEMS-based safe and arm device is fabricated using lithographic techniques known in the microelectronics industry. The features of the MEMS safe and arm device combine both "sense" and "actuate" functions in a single, inertially actuated "mechanical logic" chip that mechanically arms the fuze by moving a microscale initiator in-line with other fire train components. In addition, by shrinking the mechanical safe and arm components and associated firetrain, the invention achieves an environmental advantage by eliminating up to 90% of the lead used in prior art devices.     Index ================================================== ACCESS OFFICIAL GAZETTE AND NOTICES Access this week's Official Gazette http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week21/OG/index2.htm Excerpt from OG Notices Reinstatement to Register Certificates of Correction     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.     Index ================================================== PATENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES to List a Job Patent Related Jobs from Monster Patent Related Jobs from www.IntelPropLaw.com     Index ================================================== GEN-ERIC Channel