Obit: Amar G. Bose (1929-2013), Bose

Amar G. Bose, inventor of the audio system that bears his name, passed away on July 12 at the age of 84. In addition to being a successful inventor and entrepreneur, Bose taught acoustics and electrical engineering for 45 years at MIT. Bose received approximately 45 patents during his lifetime. His earliest patent, US2915588, was for a pressure wave (sonic wave) generation system. His most recent application, US2012177215A1, filed in 2011, discloses a transducer with an integrated sensor. The Bose Corp., whose motto is "Better Sound Through Research", holds more than 1,900 patents and pending applications.

USPTO Launches Global Patent Search Network

The USPTO has launched a new patent search system called the Global Patent Search Network (GPSN). Initial coverage includes Chinese published applications, patents, utility models from 2008 through 2011. Users can search patent documents in the English or Chinese language and retrieve full-text Chinese patents and machine translations.Additional Chinese patents and other national collections will be added over time.

Roswell-Inspired Inventions

 

UFO enthusiasts and true believers are celebrating the 66th anniversary of the Roswell Incident, the alleged crash of an extraterrestrial spacecraft outside the small town of Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947. The event marked the start of a wave of flying saucer sightings around the world. Inventors were quick to capitalize on the public's mania for all things alien, filing numerous patent applications for everything from saucer-shaped salt and pepper shakers (USD161683) to advanced aircraft designs like the one above (US2718364). There's even a CPC patent classification for flying saucers, B64C39/001. UFO hunters looking for evidence of alien technology in the patent record won't find much. Aliens, it seems, prefer trade secrets.

Obit: Inventor of Computer Mouse, Douglas C. Engelbart

Douglas C. Engelbart, the inventor of the computer mouse, died this week at the age of 88. He patented his simple but highly innovative invention, called an "X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System", in 1970. (US 3541541) Engelbart's invention helped launch the age of the personal computer. Millions of mice are produced each year. Engelbart's mouse patent has been cited in 137 patents. The CPC classification for computer mice is G06F3/03543.

Statutory Invention Registration Abolished

On March 16, 2013, the Statutory Invention Registration was abolished under the provisions of the America Invents Act. The purpose of the SIR was to allow an inventor who did not wish to get a patent to disclose their invention in a published document, thus preventing others from patenting it. The USPTO has published approximately 2,500 SIRs since the program was established in the mid-1980s as a replacement for the Defensive Publication Program. The number of SIRs per year has steadily decreased since the USPTO began publishing applications in 2001. Only seven were published in 2012.

Patent Milestone in August?

The USPTO is on track to issue patent no. 8,500,000 later this summer. At the current rate of about five thousand new patents each week, no. 8,500,000 should appear sometime in August. Patent no. 8,000,000 was issued on August 16, 2011, just two years ago. It took over 100 years, from 1790 to 1911, for the U.S. to issue its millionth patent. Since that time, the interval has been steadily decreasing. At the current rate patent no. 9,000,000 will issue in 2015.

U.S. Patent Milestones

Year No. Interval
2011 8,000,000 5 years
2006   7,000,000 7
1999 6,000,000 8
1991 5,000,000 15
1976 4,000,000 15
1961 3,000,000 26
1935 2,000,000 24
1911 1,000,000 121

US Patent Statistics for 2012

The USPTO issued 276,820 patents and published 331,583 applications in calendar year 2012, 7 percent more than in 2011 and an all-time high of 608,403 patent documents.Table 1 shows the number of documents by type.

No milestones were reached in 2012, but in 2013 it's virtually guaranteed that the USPTO will issue patent no. 8,500,000. And design patents are rapidly approaching the 700,000 mark.

Table 1. US Patents by Type Issued in 2012*

Type	Total
Utility patents	253,178
Reissue patents	822
Design patents	21,952
Plant patents	860
SIRs	8
Applications	331,583

*Based on preliminary data from the USPTO website. Totals may change after the fact due to withdrawn patents and published applications.

Table 2. US Patent Number Ranges, Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2012

Type	First Number	Last Number
Utility patent	8,087,094	8,341,760
Reissue patent	RE43,053	RE43,883
Design patent	D651,376	D673,345
Plant patent	PP22,428	PP23,287
SIR	H2,266	H2,273
Utility application	2012/0000001	2012/321207
Plant application	2012/0005794	2012/331605

Jury Awards Carnegie Mellon University $1.16 Billion in Patent Lawsuit

A jury has awarded Carnegie Mellon University more than $1.16 billion in a patent infringement lawsuit against a tech firm based in Santa Clara, California. An appeal is expected, but if the verdict stands this could be the largest patent infringement award in U.S. history.

China Leads US in Patent Applications

In 2011 China surpassed the US in patent application filings, according to data compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization and reported in the Economist. The State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO) received 526,412 applications in 2011, compared to slightly more than 500,000 at the USPTO and approximately 340,000 at the Japan Patent Office. In related news, the European Patent Office and SIPO recently announced that Chinese to English machine translation is now available in its Patent Translate service, which is integrated with Espacenet. An additional four million Chinese patent documents are now available in Espacenet.

Pfizer`s Viagra Patent Invalidated Due to Failure to Disclose

The Supreme Court of Canada has invalidate Pfizer's Canadian patent on Viagra, citing the drug-maker's failure to disclose essential information about the main ingredient, sildenafil citrate, in the original application, which was filed in 1994 and granted in 1998. (CA 2163446) The appellant in the case was generic drug maker Teva Canada Ltd.

 

Pfizer holds several other patents related to Viagra, all of which are listed in the Canadian Drug Patent Register.

Here are a couple of stories from the Globe and Mail:

Editorial

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/the-supreme-court-viagra-and-innovation/article5172101/ 

Supreme Court backs Canadian firm’s bid to make generic Viagra

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/supreme-court-backs-canadian-firms-bid-to-make-generic-viagra/article5086216/

Swiss Patent Office Adopts CPC

As of Jan. 1, 2013, the Swiss Patent Office will classify patents using the CPC. This might be the first office (except for the EPO and USPTO) to officially adopt the CPC as its national classification.

Cooperative Patent Classification Available

The USPTO and EPO have released the new Cooperative Patent Classification system ahead of the January 1, 2013 implementation date. Details are available at the CPC website. Documentation includes the entire CPC scheme, an initial set of definitions and CPC concordances.

New: FreePatentsOnline Adds DE Patent Data, Other Resources

FreePatentsOnline has updated its interface and added some new resources. One of the most interesting developments is the addition of German patent data. Other new features include blogs, a version of the MPEP and a case law database containing Federal appellate cases referenced in the MPEP.

PatentScope Has JP Data

Japanese patent documents are now available in PatentScope. The JP national collection is the 29th added to the system and includes more than 3 million records from January 2004 through July 2012. New data will be added weekly.

JP documents can be searched by number or IPC classification. But in order to search by name or keyword, one has to use PatentScope's Cross Lingual Expansion search mode.

Canadian Invents Device to Help Cystic Fibrosis Patients Breath

Interesting story about a Canadian man suffering from cystic fibrosis who patented a device that helps him breath. His patents for a "chest vibrating device" include US7416536 (B2) and CA2563723 (C).

Medical devices are a bit more challenging to commercialize because they require the approval of various government agencies. In this case, Health Canada approved the device late last year, almost ten years after the first patent application and four years after the US patent was granted. 

Happy 4th of July!

Tonight millions of Americans will enjoy firework shows in celebration of Independence Day. Millions more may even set off a few firecrackers and bottle rockets in their backyards. Many of these pyrotechnics can trace their origins to designs patented decades ago. Patents for fireworks and other pyrotechnics are found in the U.S. Patent Classification under 102/335. Firecrackers specifically are found under 102/361. The oldest patent in this subclass was issued on August 7, 1883 to Jinta Hirayama of Yokohama, Japan (US 282,891). Hirayama's invention, described as "day-light fireworks", consisted of a shell packed with powder and paper cutouts of birds, animals and people. Once lit, the shell would explode and shower the immediate area with paper confetti.

Happy 4th of July!

RIM's Troubles and Canadian Patents

Reports of RIM's demise may be premature but the company's precarious situation might be a concern for officials at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. For the better part of a decade, RIM has been one of CIPO's best customers; since 2005-2006 it has consistently ranked as the top patent applicant in Canada. Last year RIM filed 569 new patent applications and received 244 patents. RIM's application and examination fees and the maintenance fees its pays on its large portfolio of patents represent a fair bit of income for the CIPO. The current standard filing fee for a patent application is $400, so RIM's 569 applications last year would have cost at least $227,000. If RIM dramatically reduces the number of applications it files, or stops filing altogether, it will cost the CIPO hundreds of thousands in lost revenue. If RIM sells all or part of its patent portfolio, then presumably the new owners would continue to pay the maintenance fees in order to prevent the patents from expiring.

USPTO satellite offices; European patent moves forward

Big patent news from Europe and the US:


The USPTO is planning to open three new satellite offices in Dallas, Denver and Silicon Valley, bringing the total number of regional offices to four. The first USPTO satellite office will open in Detroit on July 13. By coincidence, July 13 is also the 176th anniversary of the first patent issued under the Patent Act of 1836, US 1. In establishing regional offices the USPTO hopes to make it easier for applicants to obtain patents in a timely manner and reduce its backlog of pending applications.

Across the Atlantic, negotiators agreed that the European patent court should be located in Paris with offices in Munich and London. This decision moves Europe one step closer to establishing a single European patent granted by the EPO.

2012 Global Innovation Index

The 2012 Global Innovation Index, co-published by INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), is now available.

Lobster Lure Saves Money

A Nova Scotian inventor has designed a device that will allow lobster fisherman to leave their traps in the water for longer periods of time, thus reducing the number of trips they have to make to check them. The device is a container that releases bait after a biodegradable fuse breaks down. It`s not clear if the inventor has filed a patent application, but a Canadian trademark for the name BAIT SAVOUR was registered in 2010.

The catching and eating of lobsters (and other crustaceans) has inspired thousands of patented inventions over the decades. An early version of the classic lobster pot, seen in thousands of souvenir shops throughout New England and the Canadian Maritimes, was patented by Joseph Steward of Boston in 1887. (US363858). Alexandre Cormier of Montreal patented an improved version in the 1920s. (US1607443)