Reebok Battling Pair of Patent Lawsuits

Lacrosse equipment manufacturer, STX LLC, has filed a lawsuit against Reebok, alleging the Canton, Massachusetts-based company of infringing on patents for lacrosse sticks.  STX claims that their 6K ILL lacrosse sticks infringe on a 2004 patent, but Reebok began selling their own version this past fall.  According to the Patriot Ledger, STX is asking for an injunction plus other damages.

In another recently filed lawsuit, William Cummings and Jay Levine are claiming patent infringement for a “stabilizer athletic shoe.”  In addition to naming Reebok, the suit also names Reebok’s parent Adidas USA, as well as Nike, New Balance, and Under Armour.

Apparently, the patent in question describes an athletic shoe that includes features that increase foot and ankle stability to minimize injuries.  The lawsuit is seeking an injunction against the named companies, as well as damages and attorney’s fees.

Edward Haddad, New Balance’s vice president of intellectual property, said the following:

[Our company] respects the intellectual property rights of all individuals and companies.  During our development process, we do extensive research to ensure we do not infringe on the patents of others.  However, we will go through our due diligence to review Mr. Cummings’ claims and respond to the lawsuit accordingly.

Ford Ranked as Tops in Industry for Tech Patents

When the heads of the Big 3 asked Congress for a bailout a few weeks ago, many in the public classified all 3 companies as failing, and saw no reason to bailout corporations that offer little progress or innovation.  However, Ford can now break away from that generalization as it now boasts  some of the most current and influential technologies in the auto industry.

According to a press release, Ford was ranked above other automakers in “Research Intensity and Industry Impact” on the Top 10 Innovators in Automotive & Transportation Patent Scorecard.  The rankings were compiled by The Patent Board, which tracks and analyzes patents across 17 industries globally.

The Patent Board’s Industry Impact score measures the broader significance and impact of a company’s patent portfolio across the industry.  This indicator also analyzes how other patents build on Ford’s innovation by looking at patent-to-patent citations.  Ford’s Research Intensity score is more than twice that of the industry average, and the Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid currently contain 119 patents.

“Ford’s patented technologies are closer to the cutting edge than its competitors,” said Christine Wren, the director of business development for The Patent Board.  “Ford’s overall patent portfolio plays a significant role in serving as a foundation for other technology innovation as shown by receiving 20 percent more citations than the average portfolio in this industry.”

Sony Patents Touchscreen Printer

Due to the recent hype surrounding the release of the Palm Pre, touchscreens have become the newest craze.  Thus, news about touchscreens have stolen must of the IP headlines in recent days, and now Sony is joining in.  There are reports that  Sony is looking to release their own touchscreen digital printer.

According to Cnet News, a recent Sony patent describes a printer with a touchscreen user interface.  The printer wirelessly downloads photos from a digital camera, and the user can preview them on a screen and decide which ones to print.

Many suspect that the printer will also have popular options such as red-eye fixes, cropping, and other basic image adjustments.  However, since this technology is still in the patent stage it is not assured that it will eventually make its way to the market.

Some critics think that this technology rivals the Microsoft Surface, which allows users to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions.  One of the many capabilities of the Surface is that, like the new Sony printer, it also can download digital pictures from cameras.  It’ll be interesting to see if the new Sony device hits the market, and if it will face litigation from Microsoft.

Supreme Court Asked to Take Up Bilski Case

The Law firm Finnegan LLP is asking the Supreme Court to review a patent case decision which placed a question mark over the ability to patent software and financial strategies.  As reported by Reuters, the case is most commonly referred to as the Bilski case, and it involved whether an inventor can patent an abstract process which involves nothing more than thoughts.

Bilski and Rand Warsaw founded their company, WeatherWise, to sell services based on their hedging method that is used by some utilities.  The USPTO rejected their patent application in 2000, and the patent board upheld the rejection in 2006.  Next, the case moved on to the U.S. Court of Appeals on October 30.  Once again, the court upheld the prior decisions because the hedging method was not tied to a particular machine and did not result in a transformation.

Business methods were considered not patentable until a 1998 decision by the same appeals court.  One of the best known examples of a patented business method is Amazon’s one-click process to buy goods on the internet.

The original case was watched closely by software makers, Internet companies, investment houses, and many other businesses.  It is safe to say that all those who watched the first case, will again be watching this appeal, especially if it heads to the Supreme Court.

Chemical Engineer Professor Battling University Over IP

Many tend to think that Universities often support the research conducted by its professors.  Yet, which side possesses the rights to inventions that are developed in University laboratories?  That question is the subject of a current dispute.

The University of Missouri filed a lawsuit last Monday in a Kansas City Federal Court against chemical engineering professor Galen Suppes.  As reported by KansasCity.com, the University claims that Suppes will not release the rights to more than 30 inventions and 11 potential patents that were developed in his campus labs.

Meanwhile, Suppes argues that the University has failed to properly pursue commercial projects related to his research.  He claims that the school has a faulty process for deciding how to waive its legal rights to inventions, when they are deemed to lack the potential to make money.

This long-standing dispute between the two began in 2001, shortly after Suppes was hired away from the University of Kansas.  The outcome of this case could have vast-reaching effects for the world of academia regarding innovation on college campuses.  It can be assured that professors from all around the country will be paying attention to this suit.

QIAGEN & Applied Biosystems settle “DNA Copier” patent suit

QIAGEN has now fully licensed the real-time thermal cycler technology for all molecular research and diagnostic applications. As Globe Newswire reports, Corbett, QIAGEN, ltf Labortechnik, and Applied Biosystems, LLC, (ABI) part of Life Technologies Corporation have reached agreements which fully resolve all pending disputes between Corbett, QIAGEN, ltf Labortechnik, and Applied Biosystems.

QIAGEN inherited the dispute when it acquired Sydney, Australia-based Corbett Life Science last year. Corbett makes the Rotor-Gene Real-Time PCR-Cyclers, which were the focus of an infringement suit filed by ABI in Germany. Corbett later filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit in California and then Corbett and ltf Labortechnik filed an intervention in opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office.

Thermal cyclers are essential instruments in performing PCR, or polymerase chain reactions, an extremely common procedure in life science and molecular diagnostics, is a process where a portion of DNA or RNA is copied many times over so that the nucleic acid can be more readily analyzed. The powerful technique of Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR) allows the amplified DNA to be detected during, rather than after, the PCR process, enabling greater accuracy in important applications, including pathogen detection, gene expression quantization and genotyping.

QIAGEN, acquired the Australian instrumentation manufacturing company Corbett in July 2008. QIAGEN N.V., is a Netherlands-based company and leading provider of sample and assay technologies, which are used to isolate and process DNA, RNA, and proteins from biological samples (i.e. blood or tissue) and to make such isolated bio-molecules visible. Life Technologies Corporation, created by the combination of Invitrogen Corporation and Applied Biosystems Inc., is a California-based global biotechnology company with a wide-ranging scope in biological medicine, molecular diagnostics and beyond.

In connection with the settlement, Corbett entered into an agreement with ABI to take a license to certain technology relating to Corbett’s RT-PCR Instrumentation and its use. The license covers all fields including research-related fields, applied fields and the fields of human and animal in vitro diagnostics. Financial terms of the settlement and the related license agreement were not disclosed.

“This Real-Time Thermal Cycler license agreement for all fields including human in vitro diagnostics expands our existing PCR intellectual property estate which is truly unique in the industry,” said QIAGEN CEO Peer Schatz. “The Rotor-Gene™ Q Real-time Thermal Cycler technology adds high performance, proprietary PCR detection technology to QIAGEN. This addition extends our molecular testing solution portfolio and puts QIAGEN in a position to offer sample and assay technology solutions spanning from sample to result. This settlement agreement allows us to place our full focus on delivering the most advanced technology solutions to our customers in molecular diagnostics, applied testing, pharma and academic research.”

New Germ to Stem Cell Patent Application

Stem Cell Innovations, Inc., a cell biology company in Houston, TX, has filed a new patent application for the production of pluripotent stem cells with many potential outcomes from primordial germ cells. As PR Newswire reports, “We have been working for several years to develop a more effective method for producing stem cells from germ cells,” said CEO James H. Kelly, PhD. “This filing was submitted to secure our intellectual property prior to publication in the scientific literature.”

Stem Cell Innovations has been developing PluriCells™ for use in drug discovery. These PluriCells™ the company’s proprietary, human pluripotent stem cells, have the potential to aid in drug discovery, cell therapy, and beyond. The company feels their PluriCells™ have the capacity to aid in the development of treatments for degenerative diseases such as Mutiple Sclerosis, Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson’s and even hearing loss. Kelly explained, “the method in this application provides for a substantial improvement in both the yield and quality of stem cells produced. It builds on our already strong IP position in germ cell-derived stem cells and will allow us to expand in new directions”.

SkinMedica sues Histogen over Fountain of Youth patent

Skinmedica®, Inc., a dermatologics company based in Carlsbad, CA, announced that it has initiated a patent and trade secret action against Histogen, Inc., Histogen Aesthetics, LLC and Dr. Gail Naughton, founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Histogen and Histogen Aesthetics. Histogen, based in San Diego, CA and founded in 2007, is a regenerative medicine company which expanded Histogen Aesthetics as its dermatologics unit in 2008.

Dr. Naughton, a respected scientist with expertise in tissue engineering, was co-founder of Advanced Tissue Sciences (ATS), which initiated bankruptcy proceedings in 2002. SkinMedica then acquired several assets from ATS, including intellectual property encompassing its NouriCel® technology. BusinessWire reports that the complaint seeks damages and an injunction against the defendants for the development and manufacture of aesthetic and therapeutic products using SkinMedica’s patented conditioned cell culture medium technology. According to the patent verbiage, this dynamic technology involves production of media conditioned using developing eukaryotic cells, which can be delivered internally via a food item, topically as a form of ointment, or even incorporated into surgical glue to accelerate the healing of sutures and the like.

The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, seeks relief against the defendants for infringing SkinMedica’s U.S. Patents No. 6,372,494 and/or 7,118,746. The patents, which were filed in 1999 and 2000, respectively, relate to methods and uses of SkinMedica’s proprietary conditioned cell media technology. The complaint also seeks relief for the misappropriation of SkinMedica trade secrets and confidential information by Histogen, Inc., Histogen Aesthetics, LLC and Dr. Naughton.

Oncolytics Biotech receives “Tumor Killer” patent

Oncolytics Biotech Inc., a Calgary –based company announced that it has been granted its 31st U.S. Patent, No. 7,476,382, entitled “Reovirus for the Treatment of Neoplasia.” The patent includes claims to pharmaceutical compositions containing reovirus.

Reoviruses (respiratory enteric orphan viruses), initially deemed ‘orphan’for their apparent lack of association with any disease, have an unclear role in disease and treatment, but their propensity to affect the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts seems to have allowed for an avenue for treatment of neoplasia (the abnormal proliferation of cells usually resulting in a tumor) in these regions and even further, to clinical trials combating brain tumors.

Oncolytics, a biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics, runs a clinical program including a variety of Phase I/II and Phase II human trials using REOLYSIN®, its proprietary formulation of the human reovirus, alone and in combination with radiation or chemotherapy.

Oncolytics’ VP of Intellectual Property. Mary Ann Dillahunty, please with the news, noted that, “this U.S. patent expands and strengthens our proprietary position for REOLYSIN®. The pharmaceutical composition claims cover the formulation being used in our ongoing clinical trials.”

Epson Joins RPX’s Defensive Patent Service

RPX Corporation announced today in a press release that it has acquired a sixth member for its Defensive Patent Aggregation service.  RPX, which acquires patent rights and provides them as a defensive patent aggregation, has also acquired memberships with IBM, Cisco and other large and small technology companies.

RPX’s service was introduced in November 2008, and their management is already responsible for more than $2 billion in patent transactions.  Companies pay an annual membership fee to RPX in order to reduce patent risks and costs created by non-practicing entities (NPEs).  NPE’s, or patent trolls, acquire patents for the sole purpose of offensive licensing against operating companies.  Also, since NPEs do not make or sell products, they are not subject to counter-claims.

The president of RPX, Eran Zur, said “IT companies like Epson have become very common targets for patent assertion from non-practicing entities and RPX addresses the industry’s need for a strong patent defense offering.  We expect that the RPX service will help Epson avoid substantial future litigation and licensing costs.”

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