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PATH: BS | Legal | Patent-A-Thon ACLU Sues Over Human Gene Patents Curtailing Cancer Research Posted by Pile (11874 views) [E-Mail link] Patents on two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancers are being challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argues that patenting pure genes is unconstitutional and hinders research for a cancer cure. READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article British Petroleum's Quest To Patent The Color Green Posted by Pile (11349 views) [E-Mail link] The High Court of Australia has dismissed a bid by BP to have the green Pantone color 348C used in its logo registered as its trademark. Despite the setback, BP has registered the color green in over 20 countries. READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article McDonald's Seeks To Patent Their Sandwiches Posted by Pile (10929 views) [E-Mail link] [Junk Food] McDonald's wants to own the rights to how a sandwich is made. The fast-food chain has applied for a patent relating to the 'method and apparatus' used to prepare the snack. The burger company says owning the 'intellectual property rights' would help its hot deli sandwiches look and taste the same at all of its restaurants. One must logically assume then that the next step would be to patent the taste of cardboard and crap. READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article Hormel Loses Bid To Own "Spam" Posted by Pile (12671 views) [E-Mail link] [Viral Marketing] The producer of the canned pork product Spam has lost a bid to claim the word as a trademark for unsolicited e-mails. Hormel has been trying to prevent software companies from using the word "spam" in their products, a practice it argued was diluting its brand name. Research has shown that via Google, most searches for "spam" had absolutely nothing to do with the food product. It's a shame the spammers don't have some sort of union. This case looks like grounds for them to claim that the meat product is usurping their famous brand. READ MORE | 1 comment since 2006-10-12 17:54:08 | Comment on this Article WAL-MART Seeks To Patent Smiley Face Posted by Pile (13845 views) [E-Mail link] Obviously when you smile, you think of Wal-Mart... Wal-Mart is embroiled in a legal dispute over the smiley face image which it wants to trademark in the US. A Frenchman who claims to have invented the yellow smiley face back in 1968 is opposing the US retail giant's move. For some, the image is a reminder of 1970s counter-culture, for others, a useful shorthand when sending e-mails. READ MORE | 1 comment since 2008-08-19 02:51:36 | Comment on this Article USPTO Examines Clear Channel's Patent On Recording Live Music Posted by Pile (9830 views) [E-Mail link] The US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) today agreed to reexamine an illegitimate patent held by Clear Channel Communications. The patent -- for a system and method of creating digital recordings of live performances -- locks musical acts into using Clear Channel technology and blocks innovations by others. READ MORE | 1 comment since 2008-08-18 03:25:17 | Comment on this Article Landmark Patent Case Before the Supreme Court Posted by Pile (8298 views) [E-Mail link] The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a patent case involving online auctioneer eBay Inc. that is part of a wider patent battle which has implications for both the software and pharmaceutical industries. Another company claims to have the patent on eBay's "Buy it now" feature, and the case has now gone all the way to the SCOTUS. On one side you have people and companies that feel patents have become too broad and are hurting commerce and innovation; on the other, you have powerful pharmaceutical companies, who enjoy patent protection as a means of justifying research and investment. READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article Indiana Man Receives Patent For Space Vehicle Posted by Pile (9270 views) [E-Mail link] On November 1 Boris Volfson of Huntington, Indiana, received U.S. Patent 6,960,975 for his design of an antigravity space vehicle. Volfson's craft is theoretically powered by a superconductor shield that changes the space-time continuum in such a way that it defies gravity. The design effectively creates a perpetual-motion machine, which physicists consider an impossible device. READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article Microsoft Patents Emoticons Posted by Pile (10157 views) [E-Mail link] "Methods and devices for creating and transferring custom emoticons allow a user to adopt an arbitrary image as an emoticon, which can then be represented by a character sequence in real-time communication." So does this mean if I type : ) and have it display I've violated their patent? Hey Microsoft, how about this emoticon: ! READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article Slashdot/Ziff-Davis Becoming "Scareware" Promoters Posted by Pile (9127 views) [E-Mail link] [Get-Rich-Quick] There are a number of certainties in life: Death, Taxes and companies with lots of resources and little innovation will try to patent derivative technology and push others around legally. The story of Microsoft's patent-mania is renown, but in a new twist we have both Ziff-Davis and Slashdot who seem to have been hoodwinked by a group that likes to spread FUD about the threat of patent litigation to sell 'Linux Insurance' to foolish corporations. Congrats. You all have been punked. Allow me to christen this new tactic, "Scareware", the art of intimidating people through the impending threat of IP litigation. READ MORE | No comments | Comment on this Article 10 Articles displayed. Show More Articles.

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