Japanese patent documents are now available in PatentScope. The JP national collection is the 29th added to the system and includes more than 3 million records from January 2004 through July 2012. New data will be added weekly.
JP documents can be searched by number or IPC classification. But in order to search by name or keyword, one has to use PatentScope’s Cross Lingual Expansion search mode.
Medical devices are a bit more challenging to commercialize because they require the approval of various government agencies. In this case, Health Canada approved the device late last year, almost ten years after the first patent application and four years after the US patent was granted.
Tonight millions of Americans will enjoy firework shows in celebration of Independence Day. Millions more may even set off a few firecrackers and bottle rockets in their backyards. Many of these pyrotechnics can trace their origins to designs patented decades ago. Patents for fireworks and other pyrotechnics are found in the U.S. Patent Classification under 102/335. Firecrackers specifically are found under 102/361. The oldest patent in this subclass was issued on August 7, 1883 to Jinta Hirayama of Yokohama, Japan (US 282,891). Hirayama’s invention, described as “day-light fireworks”, consisted of a shell packed with powder and paper cutouts of birds, animals and people. Once lit, the shell would explode and shower the immediate area with paper confetti.
Happy 4th of July!
Reports of RIM’s demise may be premature but the company’s precarious situation might be a concern for officials at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. For the better part of a decade, RIM has been one of CIPO’s best customers; since 2005-2006 it has consistently ranked as the top patent applicant in Canada. Last year RIM filed 569 new patent applications and received 244 patents. RIM’s application and examination fees and the maintenance fees its pays on its large portfolio of patents represent a fair bit of income for the CIPO. The current standard filing fee for a patent application is $400, so RIM’s 569 applications last year would have cost at least $227,000. If RIM dramatically reduces the number of applications it files, or stops filing altogether, it will cost the CIPO hundreds of thousands in lost revenue. If RIM sells all or part of its patent portfolio, then presumably the new owners would continue to pay the maintenance fees in order to prevent the patents from expiring.
Big patent news from Europe and the US:
The USPTO is planning to open three new satellite offices in Dallas, Denver and Silicon Valley, bringing the total number of regional offices to four. The first USPTO satellite office will open in Detroit on July 13. By coincidence, July 13 is also the 176th anniversary of the first patent issued under the Patent Act of 1836, US 1. In establishing regional offices the USPTO hopes to make it easier for applicants to obtain patents in a timely manner and reduce its backlog of pending applications.
Across the Atlantic, negotiators agreed that the European patent court should be located in Paris with offices in Munich and London. This decision moves Europe one step closer to establishing a single European patent granted by the EPO.
The 2012 Global Innovation Index, co-published by INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), is now available.
A Nova Scotian inventor has designed a device that will allow lobster fisherman to leave their traps in the water for longer periods of time, thus reducing the number of trips they have to make to check them. The device is a container that releases bait after a biodegradable fuse breaks down. It`s not clear if the inventor has filed a patent application, but a Canadian trademark for the name BAIT SAVOUR was registered in 2010.
The catching and eating of lobsters (and other crustaceans) has inspired thousands of patented inventions over the decades. An early version of the classic lobster pot, seen in thousands of souvenir shops throughout New England and the Canadian Maritimes, was patented by Joseph Steward of Boston in 1887. (US363858). Alexandre Cormier of Montreal patented an improved version in the 1920s. (US1607443)
A group of Canadian businessmen have launched a new product that they claim will protect hockey players from concussions.The Noggin is a form-fitting skull cap kitted out with gel pads intended to be worn under a regulation hockey helmet. Medical experts are skeptical about the product`s claims, however. According to the CIPO`s Canadian Trademark Database, an application for the mark Noggin was filed on April 10, 2012.
Over the years inventors have filed hundreds of patent applications for inventions designed to protect the heads of athletes from blows. More than 1,700 patent documents are classified in IPC A63B71/10, which covers protectors for the head. Designs include shock absorbing headbands and protective golf hats. One of the earliest designs is an 1895 patent (US532567) for a head protector for football players.
Ten inventors were inducted into the U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame earlier this month. The inductees included Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and holder of more than 100 patents, and Nobel Laureate (Physics) Dennis Gabor.
MaxVal, an IP research and services firm, offers a suite of useful (and free) patent tools. The graphical patent family tree generator is especially nice. The USPTO widget is also useful for compiling data about a specific patent from various USPTO databases.
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