Monthly Archives: December 2013

Patent Licenses to Be Sold on New Exchange.

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Intellectual Property Exchange International Inc. recently launched a novel marketplace for patent licenses. The exchange would operate much like a public equity offering, which IPXI asserts will lead to transparency, liquidity, and predictability.

As explained by the IPXI, the exchange is based around Unit License Right (ULR) contracts. A ULR contract is an exchange-traded, non-exclusive license right product, offered on a nondiscriminatory basis at a market-based price and with standardized terms. A ULR contract is priced and sold on a technology-unit basis, where each unit-base is uniquely determined by IPXI according to the underlying technology. Each unit of a product that practices patents in a ULR requires the acquisition of one ULR in order for it to be a licensed product under IPXI’s system.

“I think it’s the perfect timing for IPXI,” said company director Ian McClure, referencing the Obama Administration’s recent patent proposals, “because it’s a market-based solution to some of the issues that have been identified recently, rather than simply resorting to things like litigating.”

Information about each offering will be disseminated in an Offering Memorandum made publicly available on the IPXI Electronic Trading Platform. The document will include a variety of information, including a description of the technology and fields of use, the extent of the license grant, the material terms governing price and volume for ULRs on the primary market, the prior licensing history of the patents, and the extent of any amnesty that will be given to prior infringers of the underlying patents.

The company will then conduct a marketing “roadshow” where potential purchasers can place indications of interest directly on the Trading Platform, or communicate those indications to IPXI, which will enter the indications of interest in an order book. Once the order book contains sufficient indications of interest to price the initial offering (“Tranche A”), Tranche A will close. Purchasers can then either use or resell their ULR contracts on the Trading Platform.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has already conducted a preliminary investigation of the patent exchange pursuant to IPXI’s business review request. However, the DOJ declined to take any formal position on enforcement, citing “we simply do not know enough to conclude that IPXI’s activities, once operational, will not raise competitive concerns.” While the success of the new platform remains to be seen, it is certainly an innovative idea worth watching.

How Can I Help?

If you, or someone you know, need any help with Intellectual Property issues, from filing a patent, trademark or copyright, or just need advice regarding how best to protect your inventions, ideas or your brand, please contact me for a free 30 minute consultation at nvantreeck@usip.com or call TOLL FREE at 1-855-UR IDEAS (1-855-874-3327) and ask for Norman.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

Cloudy With A Chance Of Gamma Radiation.

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The British Met Office is going to start providing daily space weather forecasts.

The Met Office is the UK’s National Weather Service akin to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration here in the U.S.  The two entities are teaming up to provide better and more accurate space weather forecasts starting next spring.

Space weather happens when the Sun’s activity intersects with the Earths atmosphere/magnetosphere.  Bad things can happen from satellite failures, power grid outages, cellphone and radio interference, the air travel cancellations.

https://en.mercopress.com/data/cache/noticias/42808/0x0/gibbs.jpg

Mark Gibbs, head of space weather at the Met Office, said: “Space weather is a relatively immature science but understanding is growing rapidly.”

With Virgin Galactic and others starting commercial space flights in the near future, the better the space weather predictions, the safer the travel (and return trip) will be.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

Guidance After The Myriad Decision.

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USPTO Provides Guidance in Response to Myriad Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued its decision in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., which clarifies what types of DNA claims are patent eligible. Only a few days later, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued preliminary guidance to its patent examining corps.

Earlier this year, tThe Supreme Court held that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but cDNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring.

As noted by the USPTO, “Myriad significantly changes the Office’s examination policy regarding nucleic acid-related technology.”In accordance with the Myriad decision, the USPTO advises it examiners:

As of today, naturally occurring nucleic acids are not patent eligible merely because they have been isolated. Examiners should now reject product claims drawn solely to naturally occurring nucleic acids or fragments thereof, whether isolated or not, as being ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Claims clearly limited to non-naturally-occurring nucleic acids, such as a cDNA or a nucleic acid in which the order of the naturally­occurring nucleotides has been altered (e.g., a man-made variant sequence), remain eligible.

The USPTO further added that it is closely reviewing the decision in Myriad and will issue more comprehensive guidance on patent subject matter eligibility determinations, including the role isolation plays in those determinations.

I will keep you informed of any new examination process and rule changes from the USPTO as they become relevant to you business.

How Can I Help?

If you, or someone you know, need any help with Intellectual Property issues, from filing a patent, trademark or copyright, or just need advice regarding how best to protect your inventions, ideas or your brand, please contact me for a free 30 minute consultation at nvantreeck@usip.com or call TOLL FREE at 1-855-UR IDEAS (1-855-874-3327) and ask for Norman.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

A Weighty Problem.

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After all the holiday cheer, and eating, you may find yourself (like me) with a few extra things that you didn’t ask Santa for…like pounds.  Around the middle, not currency.  It turns out that science has weight problems also, not like mine, but just as important.

With all these new planets that we have been finding around the Milky Way, scientist need to know more about them, like their weight (ok, technically it is mass, but that would ruin my metaphor).

Now that we know that other planets exist, it isn’t enough to just keep finding them, we actually need to know more details about each one.  With over 2400 already possible, the sooner we can figure out what types of planets are orbiting distant stars, the faster that we determine which of them are habitable and can concentrate more resources on those planets.

Fortunately, Julien de Wit, the very smart man above, has invented a new way of estimating the mass of exoplanets.

Before, scientists had to use the radial velocity (tiny wobbles in a star’s orbit) of the planet to find the planets mass.  This takes a long time and is really only good for very large planets or very close in planets.

Now scientists have a new technique for determining the mass of exoplanets by using their transit signal (the dips in light as a planet passes in front of its star and partially eclipses it).   Normally, transit data is used to determine the planet’s size and atmospheric properties, but the MIT team has found a way to interpret it such that it also reveals the planet’s mass.

So why is this important?  To determine if a planet is habitable requires knowing an exoplanet’s mass so scientists can figure out if the planet is made of gas or rock and, along with other date, if it is capable of supporting life (at least, life as we know it).  So this technique will be able to use existing data for a new purpose.

Well, that is a weight off my shoulders, now if I could only do something about my waist!

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

New Free Online Tool Available to Detect Copyright Infringement

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If you use photos or graphics on your website, you should be interested in policing the unauthorized use of your works by your competitors. It is not uncommon for unscrupulous vendors to pilfer and use the photos and artwork of others to sell their own goods.  A free and simple to use online tool is now available to catch such copyright infringements.

As reported by CorpCounsel.com, photographer Jason Wilder has created the Copyright Infringement Finder (CIF), a free add-on for the Firefox browser. The CIF add-on uses Google’s image-searching technology and allows owners of images to right-click on an image in the Firefox browser window to find other sites that are using that same image. As long as you know what sites should be using your images, you can quickly scan the CIF results for potential infringement.

Wilder first released the tool in the summer of 2011, and it has now been downloaded nearly 2,000 times. According to Wilder, many users have contacted him to express their gratitude. As he explains:

“A lot of people are misled and go by, ‘If it’s on the Internet it’s fair game to use for whatever,’ and sadly it will be like that for a long time. But the more photographers go after copyright theft and seek for damages, the more people and corporations get educated from the mistakes they made when they have to pay out thousands instead of, say, paying a $50 fee for a one-time use.”

The CIF add-on is available free for Firefox.

How Can I Help?

If you, or someone you know, need any help with Intellectual Property issues, from filing a patent, trademark or copyright, or just need advice regarding how best to protect your inventions, ideas or your brand, please contact me for a free 30 minute consultation at nvantreeck@usip.com or call TOLL FREE at 1-855-UR IDEAS (1-855-874-3327) and ask for Norman.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

New Year’s Resolution…Make A New Invention.

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If you have dreamed about becoming an inventor, but thought it wasn’t possible to compete against the big boys, this is your chance.

NASA and other top research institutions are releasing some of their patented ideas for you to play with and come up with new inventions and ideas.

Marblar is a product development platform that lets users generate ideas for commercial uses of scientific discoveries that have lain dormant and unused from universities and research institutions world wide.

Samsung

Marblar is basically crowdsourced science.  By making these patents available to anyone, the site has already generated thousands of new products in its first year with only 30 patents.  Increasing the number of available patents to play with and by commercially partnering with companies like Samsung that give the inventor(s) a share in the royalties from what they develop is the next move in a winning combination.

Speaking from experience, opening patents up for other to commercialize isn’t done all that often, but the results are usually tremendous.

You can sign up here, to begin your road to becoming a rich and famous inventor!

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

USPTO and Korean Intellectual Property Office Announce New Pilot

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The U.S Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) recently announced the launch of a new patent pilot.

KIPO will classify some of its patent documents using the Cooperative Patent Classification system (CPC). It is the first foreign patent office to engage with the USPTO and EPO in this new system.

The CPC is a new classification system jointly managed by the USPTO and the European Patent Office (EPO). It includes approximately 250,000 classification symbols based on the International Patent Classification (IPC) system, and will allow examiners and patent users worldwide to conduct searches by accessing the same classified patent document collections. The goal is to enable more efficient prior art searches and enhance efficiency through work-sharing initiatives designed to reduce unnecessary duplication of work.

CPC definitions containing a thorough description of the technical subject matter covered will be provided for every CPC subclass and regularly updated. Downloadable CPC schemes, CPC definitions and concordances (e.g. ECLA to CPC and CPC to IPC) are now available on the official CPC website.

How Can I Help?

If you, or someone you know, need any help with Intellectual Property issues, from filing a patent, trademark or copyright, or just need advice regarding how best to protect your inventions, ideas or your brand, please contact me for a free 30 minute consultation at nvantreeck@usip.com or call TOLL FREE at 1-855-UR IDEAS (1-855-874-3327) and ask for Norman.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

Have A Happy Holiday.

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May your day be filled with everything you want.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

BMI Takes Gossip Website to Task Over Music Copyright Story

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Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) has asked celebrity gossip website TMZ.com to issue a retraction after it published a story about the music licensing company’s efforts to file copyright infringement lawsuits against twelve bars and restaurants located across the country.

The story, entitled “BMI Music Company Suit – Triggers 19 Nervous Breakdowns,” stated:

Here’s the deal.  BMI — the famous music licensing company — has filed lawsuits against 12 bars and restaurants around the country, claiming the establishments have been playing their songs without paying a licensing fee.  And it gets a lot worse.  For every BMI song that gets played on a bar jukebox or by a DJ without the proper fee being paid, BMI is entitled to $150,000 in damages.  So “Love Child” could literally put a bar out of biz.

BMI has now fired back, claiming that the TMZ story “misrepresents” its values and mission while including a “number of inaccuracies.”  As a BMI spokesperson explained to Billboard Magazine, “BMI did not request $150,000 for an infringed work in any of these cases. The $150,000 penalty referred to by TMZ is actually the maximum statutory amount that the copyright owner can recover per infringement as permitted within the U.S. Copyright Act.”

This is an accurate assessment. In reality, most copyright infringement lawsuits brought by BMI or its competitor ASCAP result in a settlement that is much closer to the cost of licensing the music.

BMI also argues that the article “misrepresents what BMI stands for along with the collaboration between performers and songwriters.” As it further notes, “Not all performers are songwriters and many songwriters that BMI represents make their living from their BMI royalties.”

This is also true given how the copyright system protects music and the many different rights holders that may be involved. For instance, the composer or songwriter holds a copyright to the musical composition, which includes the exclusive right to perform or play a song in public. When the song is converted into a sound recording, another set of rights is created on behalf of the performer. BMI’s role is to license the music on behalf of the copyright holders it represents.

The system is complicated, but BMI is well within its rights. Given the steady stream of revenue that music licensing provides, the company is motivated to aggressively police businesses playing copyrighted music without permission.

How Can I Help?

If you, or someone you know, need any help with Intellectual Property issues, from filing a patent, trademark or copyright, or just need advice regarding how best to protect your inventions, ideas or your brand, please contact me for a free 30 minute consultation at nvantreeck@usip.com or call TOLL FREE at 1-855-UR IDEAS (1-855-874-3327) and ask for Norman.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

Mother Earth Rising.

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The European Space Agency launched the Gaia satellite last week.

Gaia is the personification of Earth in Greek mythology.

But this Gaia, is designed to map the Milky Way in 3D.  Which should look really good on my 3D TV when the movie comes out.

From it vantage point at the L2 Lagrange point, Gaia will measure the motions of the stars in the galaxy orbiting  around the super-massive black hole at the center .

Like the original Star Trek television series, Gaia’s five year mission is to measure light curves and position information over time for all the stars in the galaxy.  This highly accurate information over time will determine distances for each star that will be used to make a more accurate 3D model of the galaxy.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine.  As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman