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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, March 16, 2004

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HEADLINES (patents issued a few hours ago..)
The CyberVoice Patent of the Day goes to
Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. of Houston for a
Voice site personality setting

The Travel Card Patent of the Day goes to
NCR Corporation of Dayton for a
System and method of providing a requested service at a lodging establishment
    Index
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NEWS
Kodak sues Sony for patent infringement
http://www.10nbc.com/news.asp?template=item&story_id=10645
Kodak is suing Sony for patent infringement. The Rochester-based photo giant filed suit in federal court claiming the Japanese electronics maker violated ten Kodak patents. The patents involved digital and video technologies, including image compression and digital storage. Kodak seeks unspecified damages and an injunction against further infringement. Sony Electronics released a statement saying Sony hasn't violated any Kodak patent and will vigorously defend any allegations. Last year, digital cameras outsold traditional film cameras for the first time in the United States. Sony ranked first in sales with a 22 percent market share. Kodak ranked second with an 18 percent share.
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US court backs Pfizer in patent suit with Ranbaxy
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/555492.cms
A federal court has upheld Pfizer Inc.'s marketing exclusivity for its anti-fungal medicine Diflucan, keeping a generic version by drugmaker Ranbaxy off the market until July 29, Pfizer said on Thursday. The US district court in Washington ruled last week that the six-month exclusivity awarded to Pfizer for testing the drug for use in children was valid and that Ranbaxy could not sell its cheaper generic versions of the medicine in the United States until that period runs out.
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Nobel Biocare Prevails in Dental Implant Patent Dispute
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040311005081&newsLang=en
Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear successfully defended its client, Nobel Biocare, USA, Inc. in a patent infringement dispute with Zimmer, Inc. regarding dental implants. Zimmer recently acquired Centerpulse Dental and the rights to its frequently litigated patent, which named Dr. Gerald Niznick as the inventor. Nobel Biocare is the world's leading manufacturer of dental implants, which are surgically implanted in the jaw to support prosthetic teeth and dental bridges. Two of its popular product lines were accused of infringement. At risk was an injunction preventing future sales by Nobel Biocare, as well as damages for past sales, which the inventor, Dr. Niznick, claimed would amount to $100 million.
    Index
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PATENTS OF THE DAY

6,708,153

Voice site personality setting

Abstract: A method is provided of setting the voice personality of a voice service site. A user browsing a voice web visits a voice site where the voice output of the site is presented using a set of voice personality characterisers with which the user is particularly comfortable. The user, in subsequently transferring to another voice service site, opts to have the voice personality that was embodied in the set of voice personality characterisers used by the site being left, transfer with the user to the new site. This transfer will typically be subject to permissions set by both the site being left and the site about to be visited.

Index

6,705,519

System and method of providing a requested service at a lodging establishment

Abstract: A system and method of providing a requested service at a lodging establishment which relies on personal identification numbers (PINS) and corresponding travel cards. The system includes a travel card reader, and a computer for recording a request of a traveler, for reading a travel card of the traveler, for establishing an assigned personal identification number (PIN), for comparing the assigned PIN to an entered PIN, and for performing the request if the entered PIN equals the assigned PIN.