7th August , 2009
MERCEDES PATENT HINTS AT THREE-SEATER SMART
Recent patent filings by Mercedes-Benz indicate that a three-seater Smart may be on the way. Mercedes-Benz insiders suggest the new car could be named 'Forthree' and rolled into showrooms by 2014 as part of plans to extend the Smart lineup.
Drawing inspiration from the McLaren F1 supercar, the alleged Smart will feature a 1+2 layout with a centrally positioned driver's seat followed by two passenger seats mounted behind. To assist easy entrance and way out, the driver's seat looks like it should be able to rotate and slide on rails towards the door. A tricky fold-flat pedal, which should clear the foot well when seats start sliding, is depicted in the patent drawings.
The patent does not cite the three-seater's drive train, but assumption points to one of Mercedes' upcoming three-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines for small vehicle applications and a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
SUN PHARMA SETTLES PATENT DISPUTE WITH ASTRA ZENECA
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has settled a patent dispute with MedImmune, a unit of Astra Zeneca on patent rights of Ethyol (amifostine), a drug used for reduceing toxicities related with chemotherapy and radiation in head and neck cancers.
MedImmune has granted Sun Pharma a licence to certain patents and Sun Pharma has been permitted to continue marketing its generic version of Ethyol in the US. Sun Pharma had got US FDA approval for the drug in March 2008 and had launched the product in the US market. The annual sales of Ethyol are approximately $80 million in the US.
Medimmune had filed a suit against Sun Pharma, following challenge to its patents. Sun Pharma, being the first-to-file an Abbreviated New Drug Application for generic Ethyol with a para IV certified patent challenge, has a 180-day marketing exclusivity in the US market. Ethyol is covered under three patents and the main two patents will expire in the US by July 31, 2012 and the third patent is valid till December 8, 2017.
LUMINETX TO LICENSE VEINVIEWER PATENT
Luminetx Corp. and Accuvein LLC have reached a settlement on a patent dispute involving Luminetx technology that allows veins to be easily viewed underneath the skin.
Accuvein has agreed to license the Luminetx technology. Luminetx had sued Accuvein last year for launching a challenging product. In 2006, Luminetx began selling the VeinViewer, used by nurses and other medical professionals to give shots and for other procedures, Herb Zeman, a retired professor from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the founder of Luminetx, had invented the VeinViewer technology and was awarded a patent for it in 1999.
Accuvein this year launched a smaller product with similar function as Luminetx’s VeinViewer and has made a five-year agreement with the U.S. General Service Administration to put its product in military, veteran, prison and other federally operated hospitals.
Luminetx is accusing Greg Candelmo, its former vice president of sales, and Roxane Bischofberger, former director of clinical research in a separate lawsuit, for allegedly taking trade secrets to Accuvein.
SWEET-SCENTED SUNCREAM INITIATES TRADEMARK DISPUTE
The mythical Monoi oil of Tahiti, associated with the beauty of Polynesian women and prized in suncream the world over, raising a trademark stench among the island's producers.
The unique blend of coconut oil and tiare flowers used to moisturise skin and hair has acquired such an appeal that producers in Tahiti, part of French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean, obtained their equivalent of champagne status with an official Appellation d'Origine trademark label from French authorities in 1992.
The global exports of this oil have doubled between 1998 and 2007, and defenders of the trademark say this is a deliberate use of the stamp by one French distributor. The association of producers guarding their trademark has been fighting a court battle since 2006, with judges in French Polynesia trying to rule on a 1.35-million-euro (1.92 million dollars) damages case. Global sales of the oil have now fallen, according to Tahiti official statistics, since the legal dispute broke out.
Monoi oil made by the Tevi cosmetics laboratory went on sale in Carrefour hypermarkets in France in 2006 -- at which point the association of AOC producers accused Tevi of counterfeit labelling. Carrefour stopped distributing the Tevi oil this year, citing a lack of sales. Tevi, without waiting for the court ruling, has launched a new "bio" version which uses cold drying of the coconut kernel instead of the more common heat treatment.
AMAZON'S PATENTS MAY LEAD TO KINDLE E-BOOK ADS
Amazon is progressing towards integrating ads into its Kindle e-books with two patents filed that outline the process of incorporating targeted advertising in on-demand generated content. The preparation is to serve ads throughout Amazon's Kindle e-books, possibly between chapters or after every 10 pages, and in margins, according to the document. Ads in Kindle e-books will have an impact on publishers, authors, readers, marketers and device makers.
"For example, if a restaurant is described on page 12 …the advertisement page image… either on page 11 or page 13, may include advertisements about restaurants, wine, food, etc., which are related to restaurants and dining," is one example in the patent filing.
The patents, "On-Demand Generating E-Book Content with Advertising," and "Incorporating Advertising in On-Demand Generated Content," were filed in December 2007. The lead name on the patent document is Hanning Zhou, a group manager of Amazon's Print-on-Demand Group, who was involved in creating scanning technology for the Kindle. A cross-reference feature would provide additional information on relevant topics, annotations and support print on-demand copies in PDF and other formats, in addition to advertising. A type of numeric code placed on the ads would let the advertisers know that readers have viewed them. The patent documents also indicate that readers could interact with the ads, to get more information.
PATENT FIRM VIOLATED ANTITRUST LAWS-CABLE-MODEM MAKERS
A federal judge ruled last week that Cisco, Motorola and other cable-modem manufacturers may improve their lawsuits against Rembrandt Technologies. They allege that the firm violated antitrust laws and engaged in unfair competition by marketing cable modems with the sole intention of trying to establish a legal case against the MSOs.
The cable-modem makers claimed they discovered an “illicit anticompetitive scheme” involving Rembrandt’s Remstream subsidiary. Rembrandt filed a stipulation with the U.S. District Court for Delaware that it has “provided to all other parties an agreement not to sue relating to Rembrandt’s patent assertions in the eight patents case,”
The cable operators requested indemnification from the cable-modem suppliers, leading Cisco, Motorola, Arris, Thomson, Ambit and Netgear to counter sue Rembrandt and seek a judgment that their products don’t infringe the patents in question.
400 PLUS PATENTS FOR CHINESE INSTANT MESSAGING OPERATOR
Tencent, the Chinese instant messaging operator has obtained more than 400 patents, becoming one of the world's largest patent-holding Internet companies. The company executives mention that the achievement was gained by increased research and development activities of the Shenzhen-based company.
The company has established a research institute with an investment of more than 100 million yuan (14.3 million U.S. dollars).
It also attracted talent from other technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, IBM and Huawei Technologies. About half of Tencent's employees are working on research-related fields.
TRANSOCEAN'S OFFSHORE DRILLING PATENTS INVALID
Maersk Drilling, a major provider of high-efficiency drilling services to oil companies worldwide has won a patent infringement case against Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc., the world's largest offshore drilling company.
The court found Transocean's patents not infringed and invalid The Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione litigation team of attorneys presented the motions and arguments that enabled the Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to conclude that Transocean's combination of known concepts of two tubular advancing stations with known automated pipe handling for transferring drilling tubulars from one advancing station to the other to achieve "an undefined, unspecified time-saving event" is "not an invention."
The decision is consistent with those of courts in other jurisdictions, notably Norway and Korea, where corresponding Transocean patents have been found invalid after protracted worldwide litigation.
PATENTS APPLIED FOR PROBIOTIC FORMULATIONS BY CHINA-BIOTICS, INC.
China-Biotics, Inc., a Chinese firm specializing in the manufacture, research, development, marketing and distribution of probiotic products, has applied for four patents to the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China.
These applications are patents for a protein powder formulation; home yogurt fermentation, a retail powder that enables customers to make yogurt at home; a yogurt powder; and a health-enhancing yogurt- all of these applications are for probiotics-based products. Currently, the Intellectual Property Office is conducting an official review of these applications. It takes about two years to obtain patent certificates under normal circumstances.
SYNTHEMED RECEIVES US PATENT ON NOVEL POLYMER TECHNOLOGY
SyntheMed, Inc., a biomaterials company engaged in the development and commercialization of anti-adhesion products, has been awarded a US Patent pertaining to its bioresorbable reverse thermal gelation polymer technology.
This represents the latest in a series of patents covering this novel technology and pertains to the application of these materials in the reduction of post-operative adhesion formation.
Dr. Eli Pines, the Company's Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer mentioned, "The novelty of these materials is that they can be delivered to difficult to access sites in the body as a liquid through a syringe or as a spray and, once exposed to body temperature, rapidly transition to a resorbable, adherent, high viscosity gel. Thus, they are ideally suited as anti-adhesion materials in spine and tendon surgery."
SyntheMed, Inc. is primarily focused on the commercialization of REPEL-CV? Bioresorbable Adhesion Barrier and the advancement and expansion of product development programs based on its proprietary bioresorbable polymer technologies.
PONY DROPS INFRINGEMENT SUIT AGAINST NIKE’S 'V IS FOR VICTORY'
Pony Inc. has dismissed its trademark infringement suit against competitor Nike Inc.
Nike had notified Pony that the campaign which prompted the lawsuit was no longer being used after the “campaign ran its course.” In its lawsuit filed in April, Pony Inc.had been asking for triple damages for willful infringement, statutory, exemplary and punitive damages, profits and attorneys’ fees.
Pony Inc. had alleged that Nike’s “key distinguishing feature” in its campaign was the use of a chevron mark which is identical or almost identical to one used by Pony.
Pony said it had achieved its goal as Nike is no longer “engaging in the infringement and unfair competition” noted in the suit.
U.S. PATENT TO BE GRANTED FOR AUSHON MICROARRAY PRINTING TECHNOLOGY
USPTO has approved a patent request by Aushon BioSystems, Inc., a leading provider of advanced microarray instrumentation and laboratory services for biomarker discovery, development and analysis for covering its advanced microarray printing technology.
Pete Honkanen, CEO of Aushon said, “The allowed claims of the patent cover important elements of our printing technology.” It’s these elements, embodied in Aushon’s 2470 Arrayer, that enable the print quality, ease of use, and probe & substrate flexibility that the customers require for their multiplexed assay applications.
The 2470 Arrayer has been installed in leading research institutions throughout North America, Europe and Asia. This provides rapid, accurate, high-density microarray printing for both genomic and proteomic applications. It is able to print virtually any sample – including cell lysates and blood – onto a wide range of substrate formats and coatings, including nitrocellulose and silicon chips. Engineered with walk-away automation, the 2470 Arrayer, with its unique solid pin architecture and proprietary pin design, is the most flexible and reliable microarray printing platform available.
