RETURN to News Archive ================================================== Copyright(c) 1998-2004 GEN-ERIC Channel.  All rights reserved. GEN-ERIC Patent News Tuesday, July 27, 2004 ================================================== Use Quick Links to Access any Area of Interest Headlines News Patents of the Day Access Official Gazette and Notices Patents Available for Licensing Patent Related Opportunities Printer Friendly Version ================================================== HEADLINES   (patents issued a few hours ago..) The RFID Tag Patent of the Day goes to Accenture of Palo Alto for a Real world showroom The Up in Smoke Patent of the Day goes to an Independent Inventor from Korea for a Method of manufacturing cigarettes containing gold or silver particles     Index ================================================== NEWS Maytag Sues Electrolux Over Patent http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/business/9248225.htm Maytag Corp. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against competitor Electrolux Home Products Inc. over the design of plastic washing machine baskets. The two-count civil lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, alleges that the Frigidaire division of Electrolux is manufacturing, using and/or selling products which infringe on two patents assigned to Maytag in 1999. A patent issued in March 1999 details the design of the basket and one issued in November 1999 explains a one-step cost-effective method for molding the basket. Patent documents indicate the plastic basket was designed to replace traditional metal baskets which cost more to manufacture. Maytag seeks a permanent injunction to prevent Electrolux from using the designs as well as monetary damages plus interest. Company spokeswoman Lynne Dragomeier said she couldn't place an amount on the alleged damage.     Index AstraZeneca Suing Andrx for Heart Drug http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2004/07/22/ap1466891.html Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC confirmed Thursday it is suing pharmaceutical company Andrx again for patent infringement over its heart drug Toprol-XL. The company said it decided to sue Andrx for its intention to make a 25 mg generic version of Toprol-XL following its submission of a Paragraph IV certification letter to AstraZeneca. The Food and Drug Administration requires a generic drug maker to send a Paragraph IV letter to the patent-holder of a branded drug stating that the patent will not be infringed so the agency can begin processing the generic company's marketing application. AstraZeneca is suing Andrx in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging Andrx's intention to make a 25 mg generic version of the drug infringes its patents.     Index Thermage(R) Sues Syneron for Patent Infringement http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040726/sfm041_1.html Thermage, Inc. announced today that it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Syneron Medical Ltd., an Israeli company, and its U.S. subsidiary Syneron, Inc. having a principle office in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, California, seeks damages and injunctive relief for infringement of a Thermage patent that is infringed by Syneron's systems for non-invasively treating skin. The Thermage patent addressed in the lawsuit is U.S. Patent No. 6,749,624. This patent covers methods and devices for treating skin using either light or radiofrequency energy or both. "It is clear to us that Syneron has copied some of our patented concepts," said Thermage President and CEO Bob Byrnes. "Our investors have spent over $47 million to develop these concepts into medical devices that offer real clinical benefits to our customers. We had hoped that Syneron would accept our recent offer of a limited license because we really didn't want to have to litigate this matter. But when they refused, we had no choice but to defend the inventions we worked so hard to develop."     Index ================================================== PATENTS OF THE DAY 6,766,947 Real world showroom Abstract:  A method of retrieving product information and ordering products is disclosed. A consumer observes a product in its real world usage context and scans an RFID tag embedded in the product. A mobile terminal is used to transmit the RFID tag to a computer connected to a computer network. The computer transmits product specification information to the mobile terminal. The consumer may also be given the option of purchasing the product in real time.     Index 6,765,136 Method of manufacturing cigarettes containing gold or silver particles Abstract:  The present invention relates to cigarettes containing gold or silver particles and manufacturing methods of cigarette filters. The tobacco leaves, added with ion particles of gold, are prepared through blending them with peach leaves or bellflower leaves, which contains tartaric acid and malic acid as major components; the cigarette pouches comprise 20% of peach leaves or bellflower leaves and the gold or silver particles prepared in 0.005.about.0.015 micron m of their size; and the filters are prepared by soaking them in a liquid mixture of pulverized peach leaves, bellflower leaves, and charcoals in more than 800 meshes. Therefore, in smoking, the cigarettes and their filters in this invention produce beneficial effects such as detoxification, blood-refining, and cell-cleaning with their major components such as gold particles, tartaric acid, and malic acid being absorbed into one's lung.     Index ================================================== ACCESS OFFICIAL GAZETTE AND NOTICES Access this week's Official Gazette http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week30/OG/index2.htm Excerpt from OG Notices Requests for Ex Parte Reexamination Filed Reissue Applications Filed     Index ================================================== PATENTS AVAILABLE FOR LICENSING to Learn More or to List a Patent Plug-and-play smart data cable The invention includes a smart, plug-and-play cable capable of transparently translating between two different communication protocols. The cables are "plug-and-play" such that two devices can be coupled together for communication without the requirement that the user perform any special set-up steps in order for it to work. To implement this plug-and-play functionality, the smart cable of the present invention determines which communication protocols are required at each of its ports, and selects, activates, enables, or downloads the appropriate communication protocol drivers to enable proper operation. Electric shaver having orbitally moving blades An electric shaver includes blades which while rotating around their own centers also orbit around another axis, thus providing that the blades sweep a large area. Implantable fuel cell This invention makes use of an electrostrictive material to increase the efficiency of a fuel cell as used for the production of power within a human.     Index ================================================== EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES to List a Job Patent Related Jobs from Monster Patent Related Jobs from www.IntelPropLaw.com     Index ================================================== GEN-ERIC Channel