Jay Walker sues more than 100 of companies for patent infringement
- Jay Walker is a successful inventor and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Priceline, a website that offers discounts on hotels, cruises, and other travel related items. Walker has now sued more than 100 companies for patent infringement. He contends that these companies violated various patents that he owns. Walker's suit against Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft and others claim their mapping technology infringes his patents. [Complaint] Walker's suit against companies like Groupon and Livingsocial claim that they infringe four of his patents. One such patent (6,249,772) called "Systems and Methods Wherein A Buyer Purchases A Product At A First Price And Acquires The Product From A Merchant That Offers The Product For Sale At A Second Price." [Complaint]
Number of patent applications in Europe hits all-time high
- The EPO received 235,000 European patent filings in 2010, the highest number ever in the office's 34-year history. Over 33% of the filings came from European states, 26% from the US and 18% from Japan. EPO's president Battistelli states that, "after a 2-year slump, the EU and US are nearly back to their levels of patenting before the crisis." Is this a sign that the economy is improving? [Link]
Patent issued for bubbles!
- On March 22 the USPTO issued patent #7,910,531 titled "Composition and method for producing colored bubbles" to C2C Technologies. However, on that same day Crayola filed a re-exam 95/001,582 which asserts anticipation and obviousness. Crayola filed the re-exam because they already have colored bubbles on sale in stores and would likely be liable for patent infringement if they do not find a way to get the patent invalidated. [Link]
Patent Jobs:
- Shumaker & Sieffert is seeking to hire patent attorneys with 1-5 years experience for their Twin Cities office. The firm will consider remote working relationships for experienced attorneys. [Link]
- Holland & Hart is searching go trademark attorney with 4+ years experience for their Boulder office. [Link]
- Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack is seeking an entry-level patent attorney with a chemical background for their Washington D.C. office. [Link]
- Chernoff Vilhauer is looking for their patent attorney with 4+ years of experience for their Portland office. [Link]
Upcoming Events:
- William Mitchell College of Law will hold the 2nd annual Patterson Thuente IP Lecture on April 21st. Judge Randall Radar will discuss the most pressing issues in patent law. [Link]
- Fordham Intellectual Property Law Institute will host the 19th Annual Intellectual Property Law and Policy Conference April 28th -29th. David Kappos, Victoria Espinel, Judge Newman, Judge Radar, and many others in the IP field will be in attendance. [Link]
- Licensing Executives Society (LES) will hold its Spring Meeting in New York May 4th -6th. The Keynote speaker will be David Kappos. Patently-O readers will receive a $200 discount by using promo code PO11. [Link]
- The 3rd Annual Corporate IP Counsel Forum will be held May 24-25 in New York. The Corporate IP Counsel Summit is the premier forum to hear about solutions to maximize IP assets, avoid costly litigation, create and maintain efficient infrastructure, fully integrate IP strategies into business plans, prepare for anticipated patent law changes, and much more. Guest speakers include Michael Bishop, Mony Ghose, Mark Costello, Michael Springs, Charles Kwalwasser, and Timothy Wilson. Patently-O readers will receive a $100 discount by using promo code FZA884. [Link]
Contact Lawrence.Higgins@patentlyo.com with leads for future Bits and Bytes.
