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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, June 15, 2004

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HEADLINES (patents issued a few hours ago..)
The Buddy List Patent of the Day goes to
America Online, Inc. of Virginia for a
User definable on-line co-user lists

The Glow Food Patent of the Day goes to
Independent Inventors from Minnesota for
Phosphorescent live bait
    Index
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NEWS
Nokia licenses patents from RIM rival
http://news.com.com/Nokia+licenses+patents+from+RIM+rival/2100-1041_3-5233305.html
Cell phone giant Nokia has agreed to license patents from holding company NTP, despite Research In Motion's recent challenge to their validity in an appellate court. NTP late Monday announced the licensing agreement for the patents, which are being considered in an infringement case with Nokia partner RIM. Details were not disclosed, and attorneys representing the holding company declined to comment on the deal. RIM is questioning the validity of NTP's patents, after a judge and jury found that the Waterloo, Ontario-based company had infringed on the patents. A judge ordered an injunction banning U.S. sales of RIM's devices and service but stayed the order, pending an appeal.
    Index
Court upholds $6.1 million award against N.C. company
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/business/8889250.htm
A federal appeals court has upheld a $6.1 million award against a North Carolina company for patent infringement and breach of contract involving a test that helps predict strokes, heart attacks and dementia. A federal jury in Denver had ordered a $4.6 million judgment against Laboratory Corp. of America in November 2001. A year later, U.S. District Judge Zita Weinshienk increased the award to $6.1 million because jurors had found the Burlington, N.C.-based company willfully infringed on the patent for the test. The money, plus $500,000 in interest, will go to three professors or their estates; their universities: the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Columbia University; and two companies: Competitive Technologies Inc., which manages and holds the patent, and Metabolite Laboratories, which has a license to make and promote the test.
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Broadcom to pay Microtune $22.5 million
http://news.com.com/Broadcom+to+pay+Microtune+$22.5+million/2100-1041_3-5233203.html
Chipmaker Broadcom will pay $22.5 million to settle a patent dispute with rival Microtune, according to a regulatory document filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, both companies will license each other's patents and drop all pending litigation. Earlier Monday, the two companies announced a settlement of the dispute, but did not outline any financial terms. The one-time payment by Broadcom was noted as part of a filing Microtune made with the SEC. A Broadcom representative had declined to comment on any financial provisions of the deal. Under the patent cross-license deal, each company will be able to use the other's existing patents for the life of the patent, while new patents filed within the next four years will be licensed for 10 years. Microtune said in its filing that the patent licenses are royalty-free with the exception of its license to Broadcom for its dual conversion tuner products, for which it will get an unspecified royalty. The two companies had a long-running legal dispute that had seen a number of patent claims brought in various venues.
    Index
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PATENTS OF THE DAY

6,750,881

User definable on-line co-user lists

Abstract: A real time notification system that tracks, for each user, the logon status of selected co-users of an on-line or network system and displays that information in real time to the tracking user in a unique graphical interface. The invention provides user definable on-line co-user lists, or "buddy lists", that track specific co-users in real-time automatically. A user can create many separate buddy lists of co-users, either with intersecting or disjoint lists of users, and label these buddy lists according to the user's preference. The user can update a buddy list or create new buddy lists whenever necessary. When a user logs on to a system, the user's set of buddy lists is presented to the buddy list system. The buddy list system attempts to match co-users currently logged into the system with the entries on the user's buddy list. Any matches are displayed to the user. As co-users logon and logoff, a user's buddy list is updated to reflect these changes. An indication can also be added to show that a co-user just logged on or just left the system.

Index

6,748,693

Phosphorescent live bait

Abstract: Live bait colorized with opaque and/or phosphorescent materials to luminesce and exhibit enhanced coloration when suspended within a body of water. In one process, the back of the bait is coated with a suspension mixture (e.g. 30% glow powder and 70% carrier) of a phosphorescent pigment and cured at an elevated temperature. In another process, the back of the bait is coated with a phosphorescent powder that is fixed with a spray applied clear coat and/or adhesive. The coating is subjected for a brief period to a curing temperature in excess of room temperature to set the paint and/or clear coat and/or adhesive. Multiple coatings or combinations of suspension mixtures and powdered coatings provide desired colorized live bait without deleteriously affecting the bodily functions of the bait.