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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, August 12, 2003

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HEADLINES (patents issued a few hours ago..)
The Captain, You can't mix Matter and Anti-Matter Patent of the Day goes to an Independent Inventor from Germany
for a System for the storage and transportation of anti-matter

The MEMS Patent of the Day goes to an Acuson Corp. of California
for a Diagnostic medical ultrasound systems and transducers utilizing micro-mechanical components
    Index
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NEWS
Microsoft ordered to pay $521 million
http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5062409.html
A federal court in Chicago has ruled that Microsoft must pay $521 million to a Web technology company and the University of California after finding that the software giant's Internet Explorer infringed on their patents. The company, called Eolas Technologies, originally filed suit against Microsoft in 1999, alleging that the Redmond, Wash., giant infringed on its patents when enabling Internet Explorer to use plug-ins and applets in the software. The company's technology was first outlined in a patent application in the early 1990s. Martin Lueck, an attorney with Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi who represented Eolas, said the jury likely was swayed by internal documents from Microsoft. The specific patent from Eolas was not mentioned in the documents, but Microsoft executives had described the necessity for technology that conformed to the outlines of the patent. The University of California will receive 25 percent of the proceeds from the verdict, while Eolas will obtain the rest, minus legal fees and costs, Lueck said. The university owns the patents for the technology, which it licensed to Eolas in 1994.
    Index
Broadcom will pay Intel $60M to settle patent cases
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2003/08/04/daily48.html
Patent infringement lawsuits filed by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corp. and Broadcom Corp. of Irvine, Calif., against each other have been settled, the two companies said Friday. Also settled are complaints the two have been arguing before the International Trade Commission. Broadcom will pay Intel $60 million in cash in two equal installments in the third and fourth fiscal quarters of 2003. The two chipmakers have signed reciprocal releases covering all patent claims and certain other claims. Additionally, Broadcom and Intel entered into a separate comprehensive cross-license agreement covering patents owned or controlled by either company.
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Blackberry maker to pay $53.7 million for infringement
http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=blackberrymakerto1060256661&area=news
Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry PDA, was found to be guilty of patent infringement on Tuesday and fined $53.7 million. The company is also forbidden to sell its products in the US, but the injunction will not take effect until RIM’s appeal has been heard. The dispute dates back to a lawsuit filed in November 2001 by a patent holding company, NTP Inc. NTP claimed that certain RIM products were infringing on its patents covering a method of using radio frequency wireless communications in e-mail systems. Last November, a jury found in favour of NTP and awarded $23 million to the holding company, subject to an increase if the judge found that RIM wilfully infringed NTP’s patents. The judge did, so this week awarded aggravated damages of $53.7 million.
    Index
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PATENTS OF THE DAY

6,606,370

System for the storage and transportation of anti-matter

Abstract: According to the invention, anti-matter can be stored in a spherical shell container and is introduced into or extracted from the latter by being loaded in an attached piece adjoining an.opening in the container from the exterior of the sphere into its interior, and this always taking place without touching the container wall and attached piece, which consist of matter. In accordance with a particularly preferred exemplary embodiment; spherical shell segments generate in the interior of the sphere an electrostatic field which keeps electrically charged anti-matter in a stable position in a fashion centered about the center of the sphere of the storage system.

Index

6,601,851

Diagnostic medical ultrasound systems and transducers utilizing micro-mechanical components

Abstract: The use of any micro-mechanical component in an ultrasound system is disclosed. In particular, the use of micro-relays, micro-switches and inductors in the transducer probe head, in the transducer connector, coupled with the system transducer connector(s) or anywhere else in the system. In an ultrasound system, micro-mechanical components such as micro-fabricated switches, relays and inductors permit impressive size reduction, cost reduction, signal-integrity enhancement and improved operational flexibility.