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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, February 24, 2004

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HEADLINES (patents issued a few hours ago..)
The Phone Chat Patent of the Day goes to
Worldcom, Inc. of Mississippi for
Systems and methods for receiving telephone calls via instant messaging

The Thunder Dog Patent of the Day goes to
an Inventor from Ohio for a
Thunderstorm fear-reducing cape for dogs
    Index
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NEWS
Syngenta, Monsanto Resolve Patent Suit
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/8021045.htm
Switzerland's Syngenta has dropped its lawsuit claiming Monsanto Co. infringed on its patent for a technique to make cotton using biotechnology, officials from both companies said Monday. The lawsuit filed by Basel-based Syngenta was filed in July 2002 and was pending in federal court in Delaware. Monsanto is based in St. Louis. As part of the settlement, Syngenta and Monsanto will provide each other with royalty-free, non-exclusive licenses related to the development, use and sale of crops containing agricultural technologies aimed at insect protection and herbicide-tolerance.
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Quidel Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit against Inverness Medical Innovations and Advises of Other New Litigation
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040223005391&newsLang=en
Quidel Corporation, a leading provider of rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests, today announced the filing of a lawsuit for patent infringement against Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. and Applied Biotech, Inc. (ABI) related to fundamental, lateral-flow technology. The suit was filed on February 20, 2004, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. Quidel is seeking a preliminary injunction against Inverness and ABI products that infringe Quidel's patented technology
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ScanSoft files patent suit against Voice Signal
http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2004/02/23/rtr1271502.html
Software maker ScanSoft Inc. said on Monday it filed a patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation suit against Voice Signal Technologies Inc. regarding voice-activated dialing for mobile phones. Peabody, Massachusetts-based ScanSoft said it is seeking monetary damages for past infringement and an injunction to stop Voice Signal from further infringement of the patent. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Voice Signal Technologies, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, had no immediate comment.
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PATENTS OF THE DAY

6,697,474

Systems and methods for receiving telephone calls via instant messaging

Abstract: A system establishes a telephone call between a calling party and a called party. The system receives a telephone call connection request, including identification of the called party, from the calling party and determines, based on the identification information, if the called party is currently connected to a data network. If the called party is currently connected to the data network, the system establishes the telephone call between the calling party and an instant messaging client of the called party.

Index

6,694,925

Thunderstorm fear-reducing cape for dogs

Background and Summary: Dogs often sense an oncoming thunderstorm before humans do. Some dogs show a fear of thunderstorms that borders on terror. These dogs exhibit signs of anxiety upon the approach of a storm, such as pacing, panting, hiding or getting under things. They seek shelter in bathrooms or around pipes. They try to get near their master for comfort. Their behavior resembles that of a phobia. Veterinarians sometime prescribe tranquilizer-type medications for dogs who respond this way to thunderstorms. Behavior modification therapy, counter conditioning or desensitization style treatment has often been recommended, but these treatments are extensive and minimally effective. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a means to reduce the stress and soothe these animals during that period surrounding thunderstorms.

The present invention is based upon the hypothesis that dogs sense and respond to a buildup of static electricity prior to and during a thunderstorm. Accordingly, a cape which contains an electrically conductive lining comprised of material containing metallic threads discharges the dog's fur and provides a shield against static charge, thus reducing their fear. When placed on the dog prior to and during a thunderstorm, the cape reduces the aberrant behavior of the dog. The inventor believes, from observation of dogs that have worn the present invention, that previously assumed reinforcers such as sound, lightning, rain, temperature change, humidity change, barometric pressure change are secondary to the primary reinforcer, which is the buildup of a static charge.