Philip Brooks' Patent Infringement Updates

Federal Data Going Online

J. Nicholas Hoover wrote an article in the June 8, 2009 issue of InformationWeek about the federal government's launch in May of the Data.gov website with 47 data sets.  The goal was to have 100,000 data feeds available to the public in programmable form by the middle of June.  Based on my visit to the site today, it appears they still have a long way to go, but the site currently lists 389 "raw" data sets.

Here is a brief description from the website:

The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Although the initial launch of Data.gov provides a limited portion of the rich variety of Federal datasets presently available, we invite you to actively participate in shaping the future of Data.gov by suggesting additional datasets and site enhancements to provide seamless access and use of your Federal data.

Data.gov includes searchable data catalogs providing access to data in three ways: through the "raw" data catalog, the tool catalog and the geodata catalog. The "Raw" Data Catalog provides an instant download of machine readable, platform-independent datasets while the Tools Catalog provides hyperlinks to tools that allow you to mine datasets.

Access Data.gov to see for yourself.

LARGO Models Supreme Court Decision Making

I just finished reading an article by Cara J. Hayden in the print edition of the Spring issue of Pitt Magazine (electronic version will eventually post here).  The article titled, "Supreme Decisions," discusses the work of Pitt professor Kevin Ashley who has developed a software program that employs artificial intelligence to explore how the U.S Supreme Court makes decisions.  The program called Legal Argument Graph Observer or LARGO, was developed "to help law students follow and interpret complex Supreme Court debates."

Professor Ashley's research is of particular interest to me in light of the work I have done for clients using decision analysis to assist counsel and corporate executives evaluate whether to settle or ligitate cases based on defining the key potential decisions in the litigation and the associated damage value with each possible combination of decisions and outcomes.

If you do not have access to Pitt Magazine, you may learn more by viewing the presentation titled, "Largo, an ITS for Teaching Argumentationwith Hypotheticals" [Download LARGOTalk2].

Patent Buddy to Research Patent Attorneys and Agents

Joseph G. Scott, President of Patent Buddy, alerted me to his site as a "great place to research USPTO-registered attorneys, agents & their organizations."  As of today, this covers a universe of 39,259 attorneys/agents and 13,081 organizations.

Patent Buddy offers the ability to discover business development and employment opportunities in your area.  The site covers all USPTO-registered patent attorneys and agents, not just members.  The site also offers the opportunity for these individuals to create social networks or interest groups.  Patent Buddy also allows you to monitor the career moves of other attorneys and agents.  You can see their career history and a listing of their current and past colleagues.  In addition, you may update your basic profile derived from USPTO records with information on your academic qualifications, specific patent filings, licensing and litigation experience and your publications.

Learn more here.

M·CAM, Inc. Launches Patently Obvious® IP Assertion Defense Service

Charlottesville, Virginia − November 17, 2008−−Today, M·CAM, Inc. announced the Patently Obvious® assertion defense service, a rapid and cost-effective solution empowering companies to defend against patent assertions. The price range of Patently Obvious® is about 1-2% of the average IP litigation cost. M·CAM's services bring clarity through detailed information to teams considering IP litigation risks. The deliverable contains the identification of the asserted patents' status, a comprehensive report of unconsidered precedent art related to the asserted patents.

Developed and profitably used to help investors manage undisclosed patent weakness and invalidity, the Patently Obvious® service uses corporate, innovation and financial data integration and expert financial analysis to help find the optimum path to eliminating most, if not all, speculative assertions. Further, in contrast to other industry efforts, the Patently Obvious® service frequently establishes a basis for on-going freedom to operate derived from non-proprietary, public domain priority disclosures thereby reducing future costs.

Founded in 1998, M·CAM, Inc. is the international leader in creating financial solutions for the knowledge economy. M·CAM has worked for over a decade in bringing accountability and reliable risk assessment to the world of intangible risk finance.

WizPatent Launches WizFolio Web 2.0

WizFolio Web 2.0 was just released.  This tool was developed by WizPatent, a privately held Singapore company, founded by two serial entrepreneurs. Prof Casey Chan was a co-founder and former CEO of an eLearning company (WizLearn) and Wade Fallin is President of MedicineLodge Inc. the largest orthopedic R & D company in the United States.

WizFolio Web 2.0 is a free reference management tool to manage patent collections. Described by the company as a web-based Onfolio and more.

Cool Features:

Collect Patents easily

Use the WizAdd plug-in to capture patents off Google Patents, USPTO and Espacenet into your collections. WizFolio finds the PDF directly for you and saves it online for your easy reference

Web based- No installation

No installation necessary, view and share your collections from any computer.

Fast Access

Servers worldwide ensure that you have quick access to your collections

Collect Videos and more

What’s more, you can also use WizFolio to collect Youtube videos. For fans of the discontinued Onfolio, you will be pleased to note that you can use WizFolio to download and save webpages. It’s Free!

Try it now, Testdrive WizFolio here.

Search for Prior Art Using IEEE

I received the following offer from IEEE and have added it to my Tools list:

When it comes to US and European technology patenting, the IEEE is cited nearly 4 times more frequently than any other publisher. And our IEEE Xplore® digital library offers you immediate access to high-quality, full-text documents – no waiting for document delivery.

Efficient Searching. Fast Access. Manageable Costs.

    * Nearly 2 million IEEE documents, plus more from the UK’s IET
    * Free keyword searching
    * Unlimited viewing of basic abstracts
    * Affordable subscription options such as IEEE Enterprise
    * Individual online article purchase available via credit card

Visit here to find out about purchasing IEEE articles online or for a free 14-day trial of the IEEE Enterprise subscription plan – complete with 10 article downloads.