Microsoft's newest patent application explains various "Biological Entity Communication Channel Techniques," which is essentially the use of human body parts to transmit data from one electronic device to another.Particularly, the invention requires a first electronic device, which may be wearable by the user, for example, around the user's wrist. This device can communicate data to [...]

For this Memorial Day, we searched the U.S. patent records for some patriotic patents and found plenty.Here are just a few examples:U.S. Patent No. D507,843 entitled "American Flag Lantern"U.S. Patent No. D606,127 entitled "US Patriotic Cube Puzzle"U.S. Patent No. D515,628 entitled "American Flag Duct Tape"U.S. Patent No. D459,869 entitled "American Flag Hat"Have a safe Memorial [...]

Last week, Microsoft prevailed in a patent licensing fee dispute with Motorola Mobility over technology used in Microsoft's XBox gaming consoles. Motorola Mobility initially sought $4 Billion from Microsoft as a licensing fee for incorporating technology covered by "standard-essential" patents owned by Motorola Mobility.A "standard-essential" patent is one which covers technology used in international standards [...]

Yesterday, the United States Patent & Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 8,414,349 to Nintendo Co., Ltd. of Japan for controlling the movement of a toy via an embedded Wii controller.Particularly, as shown in the figures, the Wiimote is embedded in to the frame of the the toy, which can then interact with a game [...]

A recent United States patent application filed by Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan reveals some new improvements in its Head-Mounted Diaply ("HMD") Apparatus -- developments that may help Sony compete with the anticipated Google Glass.Sony's HMD appartus is built more like a traditional glasses frame, and includes pop-up displays appearing on both lenses along with [...]

A jury in Texas sided with the Defendant, Medallion Foods, Inc., stating that it's "Bowlz" bowl-shaped tortilla chips did not infringe the intellectual property owned by the snack giant, Frito-Lay.Frito-Lay filed a lawsuit against Medallion Foods, Inc. in February 2012, alleging that the Defendant's Bowlz tortilla snack chips were too similar to Frito-Lay's Tostitos Scoops! [...]

Over the last few years the debate of patent eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 has been a hot topic. Recently, on February 8, 2013, the Federal Circuit held oral argument in CLS Bank v. Alice Corp. regarding subject matter eligibility for a computer-based invention.The two questions presented at the hearing were: (1) [...]

Earlier today, the United States Patent & Trademark Office ("USPTO") published the final rules of practice implementing the First-Inventor-To-File portion of the America Invents Act ("AIA"). The First-Inventor-To-File portion of the AIA will begin on March 16, 2013 and mark perhaps one of the most significant changes in the U.S. patent laws in the last [...]

Sony Corporation recently filed a patent application seeking to protect a pillow that is designed wake the user up at an ideal time, or otherwise after an "awakening point" has been reached. In particular, the pillow includes a series of electrodes that contact the user's head or scalp and are structured to read the user's [...]

In advance of the "Big Game" this evening, Samsung released a teaser for their commercial mocking intellectual property protection. As a competitor in the intensely litigious arena of smartphones, perhaps this commercial is a jab at Apple, who continues to enforce its intellectual property against Samsung in a worldwide litigious war.