There are always patent lawsuits and challenges happening around the country. But the new trend in patent suits — from major, established drug companies to fly-by-night outfits alike — seems to be an attempt to get a leg up by using tribal sovereignty to avoid certain parts of the process. [More]
patents
Federal Court Confirms: Patent Troll Doesn’t Control The Entire Idea Of “Podcasting”
By 8.7.17
The idea of recording audio and video shows and then posting them online seems rather common-sense, and thousands of people were doing it around the world long before anyone ever coined the term “podcast.” Yet that didn’t stop one company from demanding payment from broadcasters, claiming it holds the patent on the very concept of podcasting. Hopefully this particular piece of trolling has come to an end, with a federal appeals court affirming a previous decision that this patent was trying to protect an invention that already existed. [More]
Facebook Patents Tech To Watch You Though Phone And Computer Cameras, Respond To Your Reactions
By 7.25.17
Just because a company patents a piece of technology, that doesn’t mean it will necessarily use it in the wild. Still, it’s kind of freaking people out that Facebook patented technology that would watch you through your phone or computer’s front-facing camera, and see how you react to content. [More]
Amazon Patents Ridiculous, Terrifying Towers To House Delivery Drones
By 6.23.17
Because the notion of automated flying robots delivering dog food to your doorstep is something straight out of the Jetsons, it sort of makes sense that Amazon has a very retro vision for the towers that could house its Prime Air delivery drones. [More]
Why The Supreme Court’s Ruling In Toner Cartridge Case Is A Win For Consumers
By 5.30.17
“Patent exhaustion” isn’t exactly a thrilling pair of words. But that was the crux of a case the Supreme Court ruled on today that answered one incredibly important question for consumers: Can a company that sold you something use its patent on that product to control how you choose to use after you buy it?
Happily for consumers, the Court’s answer is, basically, “nope.” [More]
Why You Should Care About The Supreme Court Case On Toner Cartridges
By 3.23.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
A corporate squabble over printer toner cartridges doesn’t sound particularly glamorous, and the phrase “patent exhaustion” is probably already causing your eyes to glaze over. However, these otherwise boring topics are the crux of a Supreme Court case that will answer a question with far-reaching impact for all consumers: Can a company that sold you something use its patent on that product to control how you choose to use after you buy it? [More]
Amazon Files Patent For Parachuting Packages From Drones
By 2.15.17 — Updated: 2.21.17
Now that Amazon’s Prime Air delivery drones have made their first dropoff, it seems the e-commerce giant wants to make the process even more efficient: Instead of unmanned aerial vehicles landing to set a package on the ground, Amazon has cooked up an idea for fly-by deliveries. [More]
Samsung Patent Describes Holographic TV Technology
By 11.14.16
Don’t want to wear a headset to get up close and personal with your TV content? Samsung has a vision for the future that includes holographic technology that beams a 3-D picture to viewers without anyone putting on special glasses. [More]
Apple Granted Patent For Crowdsourced Bluetooth Lost And Found
By 10.25.16
Imagine this: you run some errands after work, and don’t realize until after you get home that you left your umbrella… somewhere between work and home. Instead of checking every store’s lost and found, you just open up an app on your phone and report the umbrella, which has a low-energy Bluetooth tag on it, missing. The app responds with the approximate location of your item, and the last time it was spotted there. [More]
Appeals Court Rules For Apple In One Of Its Patent Infringement Fights With Samsung
By 10.7.16
Apple just won the latest round in one of its fights with Samsung over patent infringement, with a federal appeals court ruling that reinstates a $119.6 million patent-infringement verdict it scored. [More]
Apple Filed A Patent Application For A Paper Shopping Bag
By 9.20.16
If you’re one of the most widely recognized electronics companies, folks may assume that everything you come up with is some high-tech piece of gadgetry. So when Apple files a patent for a common paper shopping bag, well, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher. [More]
Walmart Patents Rolling Army Of Autonomous RoboCarts
By 9.13.16
In the last few years, Walmart has had problems with security and with keeping its shelves stocked, but of which it was able to fix by adding or re-allocating staff. One way that it could solve that problem is by having robots perform some tasks that robots can handle, and a patent that Walmart recently filed indicates that carts and merchandise that move themselves around may be coming to your local store. RoboCart? [More]
Did Burger King Rip Off Mac N’ Cheetos From The Vulgar Chef?
By 8.5.16
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but one online chef is calling foul when it comes to Burger King’s Mac n’ Cheetos. [More]
5 Reasons Prescription Drug Prices Are Going Up For Many Americans
By 6.21.16
If you feel like you’re paying more for medication, you’re not alone. A new investigation from our colleagues at Consumer Reports finds that one-third of Americans are seeing higher prices for prescriptions, and one-in-six people chose to avoid getting a prescription filled because of the cost. So what’s behind the increased cost of staying well? [More]
Company Claiming Patent On Online Voting Ordered To Pay Legal Fees After Suing Hobbyist Photo Site
By 4.1.16
Last year, a small hobbyist photo-sharing website decided to fight back against a lawsuit alleging that it infringed on a bizarre patent covering virtually the entire concept of online voting. The patent-holder plaintiff subsequently dropped the case after a heavy-hitting advocacy organization got involved, but the court has ordered the plaintiff to fork over thousands of dollars in legal fees for its “unreasonable” conduct. [More]
Segway Patent Complaint Could Result In Import Ban On Most “Hoverboard” Scooters
By 3.17.16
Long before “hoverboard” scooters were catching fire in America’s living rooms, the Segway personal transport was the pricey, bulky self-balancing butt of jokes. But Segway may have the last laugh, after the U.S. International Trade Commission has moved to bar the import of hoverboards that allegedly infringe on Segway patents. [More]
IBM Lawsuit Accuses Groupon Of Infringing On Its Patents, Including One For Prodigy
By 3.3.16
Do you remember Prodigy, the online service that had many a mid-1990s user surfing the Internet, in the early days of the World Wide Web? IBM sure does, considering it holds patents for that dinosaur of the technological age, and is accusing Groupon of infringing on two patents that grew out of Prodigy, as well as a few others, in a new lawsuit. [More]
Airbus Patents Adjustable Seats For People Of Every Size, In-Seat Storage That Eliminates All Legroom
By 2.17.16
Airbus — the company that patented the concept of stacking passengers on top of each other in a crowded tube flying at hundreds of miles per hour thousands of feet above the ground — has recently applied for a pair of airplane seat patents that simultaneously look to increase customer comfort while stripping away what little room remains. [More]
