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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, January 27, 2004

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HEADLINES (patents issued a few hours ago..)
The CopyWrong Patent of the Day goes to
International Business Machines Corporation of New York for a
Hyperlink filter for "pirated" and "disputed" copyright material on the internet in a method, system and program

The Robo Photo Patent of the Day goes to
Sony Corporation of Tokyo for a
Robot apparatus and its control method
    Index
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NEWS
Cognex wins patent infringement case against Lemelson Partnership
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2004/jan/26/012610876.html
A federal judge has ruled in favor of the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, finding for Cognex Corp. in its lawsuit against a foundation claiming to hold the patents on technology that allows supermarket clerks to scan prices or robotic arms to place computer chips on circuit boards. U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro ruled that 14 critical patent claims by the Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation were unenforceable, dealing a blow to the foundation that collects lucrative royalties from companies around the world. Legal experts on Monday proclaimed it a sweeping victory for the many industries that depend on machine vision technology, including semiconductor manufacturers.
    Index
Lilly begins defense of its Zyprexa patent
http://www.indystar.com/articles/1/115019-8331-095.html
Zyprexa is "a very special molecule" that took Eli Lilly and Co. 20 years to develop and deserves its U.S. patent for exclusive sales, an attorney of the drug firm attorney said in a closely watched patent infringement trial that started today. Lilly attorney Charles E. Lipsey led off what's expected to be a three-week trial by sketching Lilly's case before U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young and a packed courtroom in the Downtown federal courthouse. Lilly is suing three manufacturers of generic drugs that are trying to make cheaper, no-name versions of Zyprexa, Lilly's best-selling drug that treats schizophrenia. Lipsey outlined Lilly's answers to charges by the generic firms that Lilly double-patented the drug, that its discovery was obvious and that Lilly misled the patent office in applying for the current patent on Zyprexa that runs until 2011. The Lilly attorney said fashioning the active ingredient in Zyprexa was hardly an obvious step and that the compound was nearly dropped by Lilly in its early development.
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Patent suit against Cooper dismissed
http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2004/01/26/daily3.html
Plastics-maker Summa Industries Inc. has agreed to drop its patent infringement suit against Houston-based Cooper Industries Ltd. as part of a settlement agreement between the two companies. Torrance, Calif.-based Summa launched a lawsuit last March against its customer electrical products maker Cooper and its LexaLite International Corp. unit. Summa said last February a number of companies had announced plans to enter the prismatic reflector market, which Summa said it created with its products. The company said it holds several patents and related intellectual property.
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PATENTS OF THE DAY

6,684,254

Hyperlink filter for "pirated" and "disputed" copyright material on the internet in a method, system and program

Abstract: A central repository server contains a reference list of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for copyright infringing or disputed material located on the Internet, with an indication of whether the material is categorized as infringing or disputed. A filter/transcode program operates with the reference list to test content for infringing links, comparing the URLs for links within the content to those within the reference list. When a match is determined, the category of the link within the reference list is checked. If the link is an infringing link, the filter/transcode program may automatically remove the link from the content. If the link is disputed, the filter/transcode program may modify the link to include a warning that the link may be directed to infringing material. Comments may be added to the tested content by the filter/transcode program to certify the test results. Additions to the reference list may be submitted by the copyright owner, subject to verification. Initial classification of links as disputed until infringement can be verified allow the reference list to be considered reliable by content builders and publishers.

Index

6,684,130

Robot apparatus and its control method

Abstract: A robot apparatus is provided with a photographing device for photographing subjects and a notifying device for making an advance notice of photographing with the photographing device. In addition, in a control method for the robot apparatus, an advance notice of photographing subjects is made and then photographs of the subjects are taken. As a result, a picture can be prevented from being taken by stealth, regardless of user's intention, and thus the user's privacy can be protected.