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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, August 19, 2003

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HEADLINES (patents issued a few hours ago..)
The Mock Trial Patent of the Day goes to an Independent Inventor from New York City
for Systems and methods for making jury selection determinations

The CandyGram Ma'am Patent of the Day goes to an Independent Inventor from Long Island
for a Shark repellent system
    Index
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NEWS
Symantec Buys Anti-Virus Patent, Settles Suit for $62.5m
http://www.cbronline.com/todaysnews/3bb6d66819af2fa680256d870032ca70
Symantec Corp has settled a six-year-old patent infringement lawsuit with a payout of $62.5m, in a deal that will see the company also get its hands on a patent it says is "fundamental to several security technology defenses". Hilgraeve Corp, a small provider of security software, sued Symantec and Network Associates Inc in 1997, claiming the companies were infringing US patent 5,319,776, "In transit detection of computer virus with safeguard". The patent was granted in 1994 and based on work carried out in the 1980s, at a time when there were only 33 known viruses. It covers scanning data in transit to see if it matches virus signatures and blocking infected data from its destination. "This is a patent that is fundamental to several security technology defenses, including antivirus technologies, and it is an essential part of providing comprehensive protection against the growing number of threats," said Symantec CEO John Thompson.
    Index
Razor rivalry sharpens as Gillette sues Schick
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/4/065127-5604-031.html
Schick is turning up the heat on worldwide razor leader Gillette Co., and Gillette is fighting back in the courts. The battle sharpened this week, with Schick introducing the first four-blade razor and Gillette countering with a patent infringement lawsuit against its rival. Schick-Wilkinson Sword, officially unveiled the Quattro Tuesday, touting the $8.99 shaving system's ergonomic design and synchronized blades. It already had disclosed plans to sell Quattro starting next month. After the announcement, Gillette said it had filed suit in federal court in Boston alleging the new razor infringes on patents Gillette developed to allow the three blades on its Mach3 system to extend progressively closer to the beard. Gillette has claimed it spent $750 million to develop Mach3.
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Hitachi sues Energizer unit over lithium batteries
http://www.detnews.com/2003/technology/0308/14/technology-244303.htm
Hitachi Maxell Ltd., which sells batteries for digital cameras and other electronic products, accused Eveready Battery Co. of infringing a patent for lightweight, long-lasting lithium batteries. Hitachi claims in a lawsuit that Eveready, a unit of Energizer Holdings Inc., violates a 1991 patent with products such as the Energizer Lithium L91 battery. Energizer is the No. 2 U.S. battery maker, while Hitachi sells batteries under the Maxell name. The Japanese company also sells floppy disks and video tapes. The federal lawsuit, filed Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, opens a new front in an international fight over battery patents. Energizer asked U.S. trade officials in April to stop Hitachi and 23 other companies from importing mercury-free alkaline batteries, claiming they infringe an Energizer patent.
    Index
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PATENTS OF THE DAY

6,606,370

Systems and methods for making jury selection determinations

Abstract: A method provided for conducting a mock trial exercise in a lawsuit utilizes an attorney for a first party and an attorney for a second, opposing party. An initial pool of potential mock jurors is assembled and questioned in a manner that resembles as closely as possible a manner in which the venire will be questioned during the actual trial. Members of the initial pool are struck for cause, and the attorneys are permitted to make a predetermined number of peremptory strikes. A probable jury comprising members of the initial pool not struck for cause and not struck using a peremptory strike; and a stricken jury comprising members of the initial pool struck for cause or struck using a peremptory strike are assembled. Then, the first mock attorney and the second mock attorney present to both the probable jury and the stricken jury at least a summary of the case to be presented at trial. By analyzing the behavior of the probable and stricken jurors during deliberations, and by interviewing them thereafter, the trial team is able to focus their trail preparations on the issues likely to be important to the actual jury, and to assess whether its perceptions of each individual juror were accurate or inaccurate, thereby improving its abilities to conduct questioning of the venire, to move for strikes for cause, to make peremptory challenges and gaining an understanding of the viewpoints and arguments of stricken jurors.

Index

6,601,851

Shark repellent system

Abstract: A shark repellent system for repelling sharks away from an individual during a water activity. The shark repellent system includes a band member and a transmitter unit attached to the band member that transmits underwater sound waves at a frequency undesirable to sharks. The band member is preferably comprised of an elastic material for snugly fitting about an ankle or wrist of an individual. The transmitter preferably includes a control knob connected to a frequency generator for allowing manipulation of the frequency of the sound waves generated by the transmitter unit underwater.