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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, September 21, 2004

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HEADLINES (patents issued a few hours ago..)
The Loose Tooth Patent of the Day goes to
DenTech, L.L.C. of Salt Lake City for a
Automated tooth shade analysis and matching system

The Virtual Conductor Patent of the Day goes to an
Independent Inventor from San Francisco for a
Device for detecting musical gestures using collimated light
    Index
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NEWS
Lamson & Sessions Announces Litigation Settlement
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/09-17-2004/0002252356&EDATE=
Lamson & Sessions announced today that it has settled its patent infringement litigation with Intermatic Incorporated of Spring Grove, Illinois. This settlement is the result of a mediation process, which the parties have participated in for some time. The Company believes that this settlement will avoid additional legal fees and removes the potential uncertainties created by such protracted litigation, which originated in 1994. In connection with this settlement, Lamson & Sessions will record a charge of approximately $1.1 million, net of tax, or eight cents per diluted share, in its third fiscal quarter ending October 2, 2004.
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ARC Wireless Solutions, Inc. Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040920005071&newsLang=en
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Colorado, ARC Wireless Solutions, Inc. has charged Microcom Technologies, Inc. of Calabasas, California, with infringing its U.S. Patent No. 5,829,121 directed to ARC Wireless' methods for manufacturing panel antennas. ARC Wireless' Complaint also alleges copyright infringement, trade dress infringement and unfair competition claims. ARC Wireless seeks monetary damages resulting from the infringements and unfair competition as well as permanent injunctions enjoining Microcom Technologies' unlawful conduct. ARC Wireless was granted its patent in November of 1998 and has been selling products for Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Systems (MMDS) and recently Wi-Fi panel antenna solutions for several varying applications. "This is a very important issue for ARC Wireless," stated Chief Executive Officer Randall P. Marx. "It is essential that we protect the investment we have made in this and our 10 other patents. In this manner we intend to protect our customers as well as the integrity of our designs and the market's expectation of authentic quality."
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ViaCell patent infringement decision overturned in federal court
http://www.masshightech.com/displayarticledetail.asp?Art_ID=66713
The Federal Court in Delaware has overturned in its entirety an earlier judgment in a patent infringement case against Boston’s ViaCell Inc., a cellular therapy company, brought by PharmaStem Therapeutics Inc. in New York. The court determined that PharmaStem failed to prove infringement of a pair of its patents. The court also denied PharmaStem’s request for a permanent injunction. As a result of the court’s actions, ViaCell will pay no damages to PharmaStem. The court entered judgment for ViaCell on one patent and directed further proceedings on the other patent.
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PATENTS OF THE DAY

6,793,489

Automated tooth shade analysis and matching system

Abstract: A method of making a patient's dental prosthesis (e.g., a prosthesis tooth, crown, veneer, or bridge) by acquiring an image of the patient's teeth that contain black and white normalization references. These references are black and white porcelain, for example, that allow software of the invention to determine absolute black and absolute white within the color image. The acquired color image is then normalized in accordance with the normalization references, which corrects the image for variations in lighting conditions and image source. The normalized image is then standardized by matching the pixels of the normalized image to selected shade standards. The dental prosthesis can then be manufactured by a lab technician by referring to the standardized image. The tooth shade analysis and matching system is also applicable to direct restorations of natural teeth, such as repair of chipped or broken teeth. Methods of whitening teeth are also disclosed.

Index

6,794,568

Device for detecting musical gestures using collimated light

Background: A musical apparatus that outputs a musical control signal modulated in real-time by the interruption of laser beams in an operational space. These interruptions of laser beams are transduced by appropriate circuitry into electrical signals common to electronic musical equipment, for example MIDI clock data. The signals may be used to control the tempo of a musical performance, or may control some other parameters. The system includes interpretive circuitry for recognizing gestures from the accepted canon of musical conducting.