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Author Archives: mjwhitekingston
Patents and Wall Street
We typically think of innovation as a good thing: Needs inspire ideas, ideas develop into inventions, inventions become patents, and patents make possible new products and services that enhance the quality of human life. But is innovation ever a bad … Continue reading
Eco-Patent Commons
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has developed an Eco-Patent Commons, a website where companies can pledge their environmentally-friendly patents to the public domain. So far, seven companies, Bosch, DuPont, IBM, Nokia, Pitney Bowes, Sony and Xerox have pledged … Continue reading
Arctic Biotechnology Revealed in Patents
Could more effective medicines and tastier ice cream come from the belly of a shrimp living in the icy waters off Greenland? A new report called Bioprospecting in the Arctic, sponsored by the United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies, … Continue reading
Posted in arctic species, Biotechnology
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IPI-ConfEx 2009, March 1-5 – Venice, Italy
Registration is now open for next year’s IPI-ConfEx, a patent information conference organized by European patent information professional associations. The host city is Venice-Mestre and the theme is “Best Practices in Patent Information Management and Searching.” If you’re seriously interested … Continue reading
Patents.com – PatentMonkey Redux
There’s (yet) another way to search patents on the internet: A new patent database/IP exchange portal called Patents.com has just launched. Patents.com is the brainchild of Robert Monster, a hi-tech venture capitalist, authority on market research and former product developer … Continue reading
Posted in Patent databases, patent documents, Patents.com
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Austrian esp@cenet Upgrade – New Content and Search Capabilities
According to an announcement on the esp@cenet web site, an upgrade to the Austrian esp@cenet server has added additional content and capabilities. It now contains AT A and B documents and utility models from 1995 forward. Advanced search features now … Continue reading
Posted in Austria, espacenet, Patent databases
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2008 World Patent Report
The WIPO recently released its 2008 World Patent Report, which contains all kinds of interesting statistics on patent activity worldwide. In 2006, a stunning 1.76 million new applications were filed worldwide, driven largely by filings in China, Korea and the … Continue reading
Posted in EPO, JPO, Patent statistics, USPTO, WIPO
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How are Engineering Librarians Using Patent Information?
A few months ago I surveyed my fellow academic engineering librarians to find out how they were using web-based patent databases in their day-to-day work with students and faculty. Patent literature has had a role in engineering education, especially design … Continue reading
Posted in Engineering education, Librarians, Patent databases
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Patent Buddy Ranks Patent Attorneys
Patent Buddy is a new service that provides data (obtained from the USPTO) on registered patent attorneys and their employment histories since 2001. It claims to have data on 38,669 attorneys from ~13,000 organizations. You can search by name, registration … Continue reading
Posted in Patent Agents, Patent Attorneys, Patent Buddy
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Speedo’s New Swimsuit Big Winner in Beijing
Speedo’s new swimsuit, called the Fastskin LZR Racer, is grabbing attention at the Beijing Olympics. Two recently published US patent applications, US20080141431 and US20080141430, may reveal the technical secrets behind the innovative design that some say is responsible for the … Continue reading
Posted in Olympics, Speedo, swimsuits
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Patent Librarian's Notebook 