By Eric Waltmire on December 23, 2011
Privacash, Inc. v. Am. Express Co., No. 2011-1027 (Aug. 11, 2011) [PDF]. Privacash sued AMEX alleging that AMEX gift cards infringed U.S. Patent 7,328,181. The ’181 provides a system with the objective of providing an anonymous and untraceable means for transacting purchases over the internet. AMEX cards are activated when purchased and a usable until the [...]
Posted in Feature, Patent |
By Eric Waltmire on July 10, 2009
Dealertrack, Inc. v. Huber, et al., Doc. No. 06-2335 (C.D. Cal. 2009) [PDF] Summary. The court granted summary judgment finding the asserted claims directed to a computer aided method of managing a credit application were invalid as failing the machine-or-transformation test from Bilski. The court found the process claims were not tied to a particular [...]
Posted in Attorney Resources, Patent, Software Patents |
By Eric Waltmire on March 28, 2009
Software companies and entruepunurs are faced with the question of whether to spend $8K to 15K to file a non-provisional patent application covering a software invention or whether the money is better spent to keep to the lights on or hire engineer to futher develop the product. Here are the factors you should consider when [...]
Posted in Patent, Software Patents |
By Eric Waltmire on June 5, 2008
In a patent application, it is important to describe the benefits and advantages that the invention provides over the prior art. This gives the invention context and provides reasons for the Examiner to find the unique features of the invention novel and non-obvious. Defensive Uses. You may also use the benefits and advantages provided in [...]
Posted in Patent, Patent Drafting Tips | Tagged |
By Eric Waltmire on April 24, 2008
There are times when you need to create informal patent drawings from color photos to file with an initial application. Using the free image manipulation software called GIMP and these directions you can convert a color photo to a black and white line drawing that may work as an informal patent drawing.
Posted in Patent |
By Eric Waltmire on March 11, 2008
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hold oral argument in Silicon Valley in November: The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hold hearings in several locations in Silicon Valley, California during the week of November 3, 2008. Santa Clara University School of Law, Stanford University School of Law and [...]
Posted in Patent |
By Eric Waltmire on March 5, 2008
I previously reported on the patent prosecution costs disclosed by Alan Kasper’s testimony [PDF] to Congress as the First Vice-President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). In that testimony, Alan suggested the following improvements at the USPTO: Develop a culture within the USPTO to encourage Examiners to propose claim amendments that would, at [...]
Posted in Patent, Patent Reform |
By Eric Waltmire on March 4, 2008
The group “End Software Patents” was born recently and asserted that (1) software patent lawsuits result in $11.26 billion in costs; (2) non-software companies are increasingly targeted for software patent infringement suits; and (3) the USPTO and the US Supreme Court [link] do not support software patentability. [Report] Joff Wild of IAM questions the 11.26 [...]
Posted in Patent, Software Patents |
By Eric Waltmire on February 29, 2008
Peter Zura’s 271 Patent Blog reports on the Congressional testimony [PDF] of the First Vice-President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) concerning the average cost to prosecute and obtain a patent. The Average Cost of Preparing a Patent Application: To prepare and file an original application of minimal complexity (10 page specification, 10 [...]
Posted in Patent |
By Eric Waltmire on February 28, 2008
Wednesday the Government Accountability Office released a report [Summary] [Full Report] that found “it is unlikely that the [Patent Office] will be able to reduce the growing backlog simply through its hiring efforts.” The report provided, “The agency has also estimated that if it were able to hire 2,000 patent examiners per year in fiscal [...]
Posted in Patent |