Author Archives: mjwhitekingston

2008 Inductees to National Inventors Hall of Fame

Posted on February 17, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

The USPTO and National Inventors Hall of Fame (Akron, Ohio) have announced the 2008 inductees into the NIHF. The seven living inventors inducted are: Ruth Benerito for wrinkle-free cotton (55+ patents) Amar Bose for improvements in audio technology (30 patents) … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, National Inventors Hall of Fame, NIHF | Leave a comment

Google Patents Update

Posted on February 13, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

Google Patents now includes US published applications and patents through at least the end of 2007. Google engineers have added a filter to the advanced search form that allows you to retrieve only issued patents or applications. However, there are … Continue reading →

Posted in Google patents, Patent databases | 2 Comments

Manual of Patent Examining Procedure Online

Posted on February 13, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

The USPTO has made available scanned copies of all editions and revisions of the Manual of Patenting Examining Procedure (MPEP) from 1948 forward. Previously, only the most recent editions were available online. This collection will be useful for locating historical … Continue reading →

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PatentMonkey Update

Posted on February 12, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

The patent search portal PatentMonkey.com, which I reviewed last February, has been acquired by Patents.com, a new firm headed by venture capitalist Robert Monster, PatentMonkey founder Paul Ratcliffe and Steve Pinkos, former deputy undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and … Continue reading →

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2007 Top U.S. Patent Assignees from ISIClaims

Posted on January 21, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

Last week IFIClaims, a patent information company owned by Walters Kluwer Health , released its annual list of top U.S. patent assignees for 2007. According to the report, the USPTO issued 157,284 utility patents last year, a decline of about … Continue reading →

Posted in IFIClaims, Patent statistics | 1 Comment

IPI-ConfEx 2008 – International Patent Information Conference

Posted on January 20, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

The final program for IPI-ConfEx 2008, an international patent information conference, is now available online. IPI-ConfEx is scheduled for March 2-5 in Seville, Spain and will feature a of presentations from EPO and WIPO staff, patent information vendors and corporate … Continue reading →

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Fictional Brands

Posted on January 20, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

Last Sunday’s Toronto Star had an interesting story about fictional brands from film and literature that have inspired real-life products. Some examples include HOLIDAY INN hotels, said to have been inspired by the 1942 Bing Crosby movie of the same … Continue reading →

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Infringement = Triple Word Score

Posted on January 20, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

An AP story reports that Hasbro and Mattel, makers of Scrabble(R), are unhappy with an unauthorized online version of the game called Scrabulous. The companies, which share worldwide rights to the boardgame, have sent cease-and-desist letters to the two brothers … Continue reading →

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Public PAIR Verification System

Posted on January 12, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

The USPTO has implemented a new verification system for users accessing Public PAIR (Patent Application Information Retrieval). Users must now enter a two-word verification code in order to access the system. The system is meant to block bots and spiders. … Continue reading →

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Everyday Edisons – Season 3

Posted on January 8, 2008 by mjwhitekingston

Everyday Edisons, a show about inventing that debuted on PBS last year, has announced its casting calls for season 3. The first casting call will be in Atlanta on Jan. 12. Other cities in the schedule include San Francisco, Dallas, … Continue reading →

Posted in education, Everyday Edisons, inventors, PBS | Leave a comment