Florida Intellectual Property Law Blog

Orlando patents issued to inventors in Central Florida were listed in yesterday's Orlando Sentinel  and are presented below:

Delwood Nelson, Crescent City; Thomas R. Dean, DeLand; David A. Monk, DeLand; and William Bartow Mercer, Crescent City. A tree securing device and associated methods. Assigned to Pierson Supply Company Inc., Pierson. (7,533,489)

Michael Twerdochlib, Oviedo. A high bandwidth fiber optic vibration sensor. Assigned to Siemens Energy Inc., Orlando. (7,533,572)

Stefan Mazzola, Sanford; Douglas A. Keller, Oviedo; Anthony L. Schiavo, Oviedo; and David C. Radonovich, Winter Park. A multilayer ring seal. Assigned to Siemens Energy Inc., Orlando. (7,534,086 )

Beverly A. Rzigalinski, Winter Springs; Sudipta Seal, Oviedo; David Bailey, Palm Bay; and Swanand Patil, Orlando. Cerium oxide nanoparticles and use in enhancing cell survivability. Assigned to University of Central Florida Research Foundation Inc., Orlando. (7,534,453)

Gernot Fattinger, Ocoee; Klaus Diefenbeck, Germany; Peter Mueller, Germany; and Winfried Nessler, Germany. A piezoelectric resonator structure and method for manufacturing a coupled resonator device. Assigned to Avago Technologies Wireless IP, Pte. Ltd., Singapore. (7,535,324)

Gerard A. Barone, Orlando. A method and apparatus to detect event signatures. Assigned to L-3 Communications Security and Detection Systems Inc., Woburn, Mass. (7,535,355)

John W. Lerch, Indialantic; Joshua M. Girvin, Indialantic; and John P. Norair, Indialantic. An identification band using a conductive fastening for enhanced security and functionality. Assigned to Bartronics America Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. (7,535,356)

Walter A. Kuhn, Orlando. Apparatus and methods for detection of multiple targets within radar resolution cell. Assigned to Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md. (7,535,408)

Jeffery A. Dean, Clermont; and William S. McKinley, Clermont. Universal antenna polarization selectivity via variable dielectric control. Assigned to Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md. (7,535,432).

Fro the complete article, visit the Orlando Sentinel article entitled Patents in Central Florida.

Posted By John Rizvi In Patent Cases, News & Updates 0 Comments Permalink

    As a Florida Patent Attorney concerned with keeping the innovation pipeline full and flowing, I've often pointed out patenting opportunities when evidenced by the social, cultural, and other macro trends around us. I don't think it will surprise anyone, then, that I'm today urging Florida innovators to consider the strong opportunity for fuel-less alternatives.

    The most obvious, of course, is in the automotive industry, with fuel costs raising prices for all of us--in expected and unexpected places. (This is one Florida patent attorney who thinks twice in the aisles of the grocery store.) Among a slew of news stories centered around this topic, the 13 Central Florida news team, in their online edition, points out rising consumer interest in electric cars or, for a few, converting their current car to electric ones. Electric cars are one option--which comes with its own set of limitations and complications--among a few other alternatives. Innovators within and without the automotive industry are wracking their brains to come up with effective solutions.

    However, as with so many historical inventions, the best solution may very well come from one insightful individual--maybe right here in Florida. Patent attorneys and inventors alike find this an exciting time and opportunity; the prospect of going down in  the annals of patenting history is right before us! Are you him/her?

    The grandest patenting opportunity may be in transportation, but it's certainly not the only opportunity for fuel alternatives. With rising fuel costs impacting businesses and consumers on a broad scale, how many ways may there be to develop innovations to increase production efficiency and trim costs in other areas? In my estimation, countless. Even here in my Florida patent attorney office, I can see  myriad challenges to be addressed in the name of cost and time efficiency. Look around, I think you'll see them, too.

Continue Reading Posted By John Rizvi In Invention & Patent Basics 0 Comments Permalink

    A great majority of the news on patents deals with patent infringement, patent law, and, not coincidentally, it brings to mind the overriding importance of ethics in protecting intellectual property--and profits. As a Florida patent attorney, the long term growth of my business depends on the integrity of the patent applications I file, and recent news underlines its significance.
    In a recent online edition of the International Herald-Tribune, Robert Pear wrote an article on just this issue. Currently, patent law dictates that patents held by companies or individuals who have engaged in "inequitable conduct" are subject to having those patents revoked. A pretty severe penalty--maybe, and the subject of hot debate in today's courtrooms.

    Patent laws, which affect Florida patent attorneys and patent seekers (and interested parties everywhere), are at the crossroads, with some lobbying for "the biggest changes in U.S. patent law in more than 50 years." Very nearly every industry is represented.

    On the one hand, opponents of current patent law wonder if the law is too severe for what senior VP and general counsel for Eli Lilly calls "relatively minor acts of misconduct." According to the article, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has found inequitable conduct in "at least 40 cases, including 14 that involved pharmaceutical or health care products." Types of misconduct have included submitting false statements to the patent office, a lack of accuracy in describing experiments, and concealing information contradicting their claims. Brand name drug companies and the companies who support them report that accusations are frequent and, often simply "honest mistakes."

    On the other hand, I wonder: In patenting, particularly medical patenting, is there really any room for mistakes--honest or otherwise? Florida patent attorneys and patent attorneys everywhere who are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office know that protecting their clients requires the utmost in meticulous attention to detail (after detail after detail). The better the application, the more quickly it passes, the more secure the received patent is from attack, and the more the client is free to profit from it. With patent infringement and other litigation costing us into the billions of dollars, can we really afford misinformation and mistakes?

    Consumer groups think not, though recent patent legislation threatens to make it a little easier to make "mistakes." The House of Representatives approved a bill making it more difficult to prove inequitable conduct, and the Senate Judiciary Committee are "haggling over a companion bill." That bill may reach the floor this summer.

    The need to stop unfounded accusations notwithstanding, this Florida patent attorney is hopeful that the backbone of integrity that supports the patent system will win out and grow in strength in years to come.

Posted By John Rizvi In Invention & Patent Basics , Patents , Choosing a Patent Attorney , Patent Cases, News & Updates , Patenting Misconceptions 0 Comments Permalink

    I'm interested in following patenting trends in every conceivable category, and I look for these all over the world, in the United States and especially here in Florida.  Patent attorneys should be on the lookout in these days of rapid innovation. I've mentioned before that green living is a rising trend and everything I have recently seen in the news and all around me, suggest that it does, indeed, offer significant patent opportunities.

    According to CNN's Technology section (Diane Hawkins-Cox, March 10, 2008), Hayden Hamilton is getting started with his GreenPrint software, which is designed to end "wasteful printing worldwide,"  offering consumers and businesses ways to reduce paper waste worldwide and right here in Florida. Patent attorneys, too, can trim down the volumes of patent related printed materials. Here's how it works.

    When printing from the web, you've probably noticed that certain pages print with minimal information, such as only the URL or other information you don't really need. GreenPrint analyzes documents set for printing and automatically eliminates pages with little to no text on the page. Users set the parameters, and they can reselect or deselect whatever content they'd like; for instance, the "legal jargon at the end of an airline reservation." Hamilton reports that the "average employee prints about 10,000 pages a year" and that "20 percent" is unnecessary, making GreenPrint a significant means through which we can take less from the environment, and save a little money as well.

    Is this patenting opportunity profitable? Hamilton admits that--that end is growing slowly. GreenPrint is free to consumers and available for license by corporations. However, this strategy may very well work out in the long run. Since GreenPrint debuted in late January 2008 "tens of thousands of people have downloaded the program," meaning awareness is growing. Moreover, there are a number of reasons businesses may utilize GreenPrint, primarily in my opinion: 1.) To save money in excess paper waste; and 2.) To curry favor with consumers increasingly interested in green living and interested in doing business with like-minded companies. (And, perhaps, some companies quite earnestly want to do their part in being environmentally conscious.)

    Florida patent attorneys and those of you interested in innovation and invention would do well to consider the increasing interest in all things green. And, as always, if I can help I'm more than happy to do so! Posted By John Rizvi In Patents 0 Comments Permalink

      As a registered Florida Patent Attorney, I enjoy reading about fellow Floridians achieving success via the fruits of their inspiration. This morning, I read about two such innovative entrepreneurs Daniel Schapiro and Nathan Feldman (Sun-Sentinel, March 10, 2008). The two friends are avid physical fitness buffs who found the available protein bars less than palatable.
    Despite the fact that Feldman was a chiropractor and Schapiro had a career in finance, they found a joint interest in creating a patently unique protein bar formula, and one that would whet the appetite, not squelch it. They formed , a Florida based company that makes "whey protein bit-size snacks targeted to active people of all ages, but primarily the serious athlete." They began night after night, after full days of work, creating different recipes in a local deli-grocer in Boca Raton, Florida. Patent attorneys, like myself, appreciate the dedication innovative entrepreneurs show in continued perseverance through obstacles, as the road to product development is one of trial and error, in most cases.
    One of the first hurdles for Feldman and Schapiro was figuring out how to use protein in baked goods. It wasn't as easy as they might have thought, so they brought in food science specialists to figure it out. Once they'd figured out a (hopefully) patentable formula, the pair went door-to-door to gyms, health restaurants/delis, sports equipment stores, etc. in search of distribution channels. For their first year in business in 2007, they earned $125,000; this year they project that number will increase to $500,000, a sizable jump.
    Being a Florida Patent Attorney, I see the critical investment inventors must make in bringing their goods to market. With diligent time and attention, dreams and visions can become a reality, and, as always, I'm here rooting you on. Posted By John Rizvi In Patents 0 Comments Permalink