Article One Looks to Review Singulair Patent

Teva Pharmaceuticals and Merck & Co. are currently tied up in a lawsuit over Merck’s blockbuster drug, Singulair.  While the two are busy battling it out in the court room, and independent firm has just made the case a little more interesting.

According to CNN Money, Article One Partners LLC, an independent firm, specializes in challenging the validity of patents.  Article One has requested that the USPTO review a patent for Singulair, because their online community found two pieces of prior art that suggest the key ingredient in Singulair isn’t novel.

We’ll have to wait and see what impact, if any, this news will have on the case.  Teva had applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a generic version of Singulair, but Merck responded in 2007 by filing a lawsuit.  The mandatory stay on Teva’s generic Singulair launch is due to expire in the summer, making the current trial even more important.

Singulair generated $4.3 billion last year which accounted for 18% of all Merck sales.

EFF Threatened with Defamation Lawsuit

On December 31, 2008, the United States Patent and Trademark Office accepted an Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) request for the reexamination of a Seer Systems patent.  EFF had filed for the request as part of its patent-busting project, where the Foundation is looking to overturn 10 questionable patents.  Although the USPTO decided to reexamine the patent due to “a substantial new question of patentability”, Seer Systems responded last Wednesday by threatening EFF with a defamation lawsuit.

Seer’s letter, which is available here, disputes EFF’s claim that Seer was threatening small companies.  Seer also claims that they have no idea what is meant by EFF’s statement that Seer was “threatening to compromise at least two public media standards.”

EFF responded in a letter of its own on Friday, and claimed that its discussions of Seer were protected by the First Amendment.  That response is also available.

Nokia Patents Voice Tags for Camera Phones

Nokia was recently granted a patent from the USPTO for the use of voice tags to file pictures on camera phones.  Under this patented system, after a picture is taken it is displayed on a phone screen for a defined period of time.  During this time the user can assign a voice tag to the image and define where the picture will be stored, according to Mobile Wire.

In order to assign a voice tag to a picture, the user speaks into the phone and says the name of the folder that it wants the image to be filed under.  The image can also be stored in multiple folders by simply saying the names of all the folders.  But prior to storing images, the user must record voice tags and match specific words and phrases to instructions.

This patent improves on the old system where mobile handsets store pictures in a single folder.  On some phones, once the folder is full another is created automatically.  On other phones, users can create separate folders with pre-defined labels.  The users can then decide what to do with an image through a series of menus.

USPTO Faces Hiring Freeze and Budget Problems

In a recent post by Gene Quinn on IPWatchdog, Quinn mentioned that the USPTO recently announced that they are extremely worried about their budget.  Patent filings are currently down by 5%, and patent allowance rates have dropped to 42% for the first quarter of 2009.  Such drops have started to worry the USPTO, since 70% of their budget comes from maintenance fees.  As Rob Clarke, the Director of the Office of Patent Legal Administration at the USPTO, said, “FY09 will be okay, but long term the trend line is fairly negative.”

Additionally, last week rumors arose that the USPTO was laying off patent examiners.  However, Quinn states that he spoke with officials at the USPTO who explained that the agency is not laying off employees.  Instead, there is currently a hiring freeze.

Obviously these problems are due to the enormous financial collapse and subsequent recession that has taken place in the United States.  Such problems at the PTO illustrate that even government agencies are having trouble in the current economy.

USPTO Roundtable Video Now Available

On February 12th, 2009, the USPTO held a roundtable discussion on a “deferred examination” or “request for examination” procedure.  The purpose of the roundtable was to obtain public input from diverse sources and different points of view.  The video of the discussion has been made available for the public to view, just click here.

The roundtable was moderated by John Whealan, Associate Dean for Intellectual Property Law Studies, The George Washing University Law School.  Written comments on the proposal are being solicited by the USPTO and are due by February 26, 2009.  Comments may be sent by e-mail to AC6comments@uspto.gov.

Ryogen Granted Gene Patents

Earlier today, Ryogen LLC announced that the USPTO has awarded the company two patents on human genes.  According to a press release, the two patents can help obtain coded proteins to be used in treating pathological disoders.

One of the patents is titled, “Isolated genomic polynucleotide fragments that encode human lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2,” while the other is named “Isolated genomic polynucleotide fragments encoding human resistin and the human syntaxin binding protein 2.”  In a press release, Dr. James Ryan, the Chief Scientist of Ryogen, said:

The claimed genes are directed to proteins, which are thought to play important roles in serious human diseases.  Human lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 is one of the enzymes that can initiate synthesis of proinflammatory mediators. The enzyme appears to play a central role in the development of atherosclerosis and is regarded as an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease. Its level has been found to be altered in patients with systemic lupus erythematosis, stroke and asthma. Resistin is involved in regulation of insulin effects and is believed to provide a link between obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Human syntaxin binding protein is disposed largely in placenta, lung, liver, kidney, peripheral lymphocytes and pancreas. It plays a role in vesicular transport in non-neuronal tissues.

Ryogen claims that they will license these patents to make these genes available for research.

Sony, Nokia, and Nintendo Sued over Wireless Tech

On February 13, Wall Wireless LLC filed a lawsuit against Sony, Nintendo and Nokia.  As reported by Computer and Video Games, the lawsuit alleges that Sony’s PSP, Nintendo’s DS, as well as other real-time online multiplayer games infringe on Wall’s wireless patent.  Wall also claims that Nokia’s mobile devices infringe on their patent, as well as the mobile game Reset Generation.

The patent in question is titled, “Method and Apparatus for Creating and Distributing Real-Time Interactive Media Content through Wireless Communication Networks and the Internet.”  The patents were filed in 2001, and were granted by the USPTO in 2003.  The lawsuit states that all of the defendants received a notice of the patent in October 2008, but none of the companies have yet to take a license under the patent.

Wall Wireless is seeking damages, costs, expenses, attorney’s fees and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.

Social Networking for Patents?

Times are rough at the USPTO.

Back in 2007, The Washington Post reported that if the agency shut its doors to catch up on the backlog of applications, it would take their 5,500 examiners at least two years, and countless cups of coffee to catch up.

Keeping up with the demand for patents is critical, as innovation and technological progress drive our economy.  Earlier this year, researchers launched a “peer-to-patent” pilot project.  Some have suggested that the addition of a social networking patent site could make the peer-to-patent program extremely efficient.

Obviously such a site would not mirror MySpace or Facebook, but the idea of a social network for patents could solve the time-consuming process of searching for prior art.  This necessary process can help determine whether or not the claims made in a patent are original, or if they have already entered the public domain.  If the claims of a patent are found quickly in prior art, a patent examiner can promptly move on to the next claim.

While the specifics of such a system would have to be planned out rather carefully, it could vastly improve the amount of time it takes an examiner to search through prior art.  Unfortunately, since the USPTO has yet to make a presence on other social networks, such a change is still nowhere in the foreseeable future.

India Attempts to Curb U.S. Yoga Patents

Yoga is currently a $225 billion industry worldwide, since it was introduced to the West during the 1960s and 1970s.  Furthermore, there are currently 130 yoga-related patents, 150 copyrights, and 2,300 trademarks.  However, many in India are currently taking issue with the patenting of Yoga poses in the U.S., and have even gone so far as to call this phenomenon, “Yoga theft.”

According to OneIndia, the number of yoga teachers in America has increased during recent years.  These instructors have started filing patent applications, so that they can claim traditional Indian poses as their own.  However, India has launched a mission to add these traditional yoga poses to “India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.”  So far, 600 poses have been added.

Supposedly, India’s “Traditional Knowledge Digital Library” is being checked by foreign patent offices to check whether a claim is genuine or if it is a variation of a traditional pose.

So what’s next for those wishing to stop this “yoga theft?” A team of “Yoga Gurus” from acclaimed schools have joined government officials and scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.  This group will scan 35 ancient texts to register each pose that belongs to India.

Microsoft Receives Patent for PDA Button Pushing

A Microsoft patent that was filed in 2002 has just been granted by the patent office.  As reported by Smartphone Mobile, the patent concerns the concept of having a handheld device perform different functions when a button is pressed multiple times or held down for a certain period of time.

As the abstract of the patent states:

A method and system are provided for extending the functionality of application buttons on a limited resource computing device. Alternative application functions are launched based on the length of time an application button is pressed. A default function for an application is launched if the button is pressed for a short, i.e., normal, period of time. An alternative function of the application is launched if the button is pressed for a long, (e.g., at least one second), period of time. Still another function can be launched if the application button is pressed multiple times within a short period of time, e.g., double click.

With the addition of this patent, Microsoft may be able to collect licensing fees from companies that now, or have in the past, used this technique.  However, if there is proof that this technique arose before 2002, Microsoft’s patent will not hold up in court.

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