The Invent Blog

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This blog has moved to www.inventblog.com.  Please update your bookmarks.

Searching Federal Circuit Opinions on the Fly...

Matt over at FedCirc.us added a cool new feature today…an in browser search box for Federal Circuit content.  You know what I’m talking about…that slick little dropdown in FireFox and the new Internet Explorer that lets you search all sorts of sites, from Google to Amazon to eBay.

Well…now you can add FedCirc.us to that list per Matt’s instructions:

The master plan for the FedCirc.us site includes several web features designed to deliver patent caselaw information in a more effective manner.  The first - the GimmeTen! feature - has quickly become the most popular page on the site...and for good reason.  Not familiar with it?  Simply bookmark http://10.fedcirc.us and visit regularly.  That page always provides concise summaries of the ten most recently posted case reviews.  We're confident you'll quickly be hooked.

Today we announce the second feature in our bag of tricks - the travelling FedCirc.us search engine.  By following the steps below, you'll be able to search the FedCirc.us site from anywhere on the web.

The best part is the simplicity -- 5 easy steps (4 for most people).  Five minutes tops.

1.  Make sure you're using either Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 2.0 as your browser.  If you're not, download the latest IE here or Firefox here (both are free).  For the record, FedCirc.us is optimized for Firefox.

2.  Start your browser.

3.  Visit FedCirc.us.

4.  Pull down the drop-down search box in the upper right hand corner and select "Add FedCirc.us" (in Firefox) or select "FedCirc.us" with the gold star next to it (in IE, see image at right).

5.  Surf the web.  Whenever you want to search the site, simply enter a search string in the box in the right hand corner, pull down the list, select FedCirc.us, and hit return.  You can do this from any page on the web...and you'll immediately be transported to a listing of search results from the site.

I've quickly gotten used to searching by party name or full case name as I'm reading on the web.  This little trick has changed my surfing habits for the better...it's a wonderfully efficient way to find information quickly.  We hope you find it useful as well.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know.  You can e-mail me directly at jmb @ rtipllc.com.

Enjoy!

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More on Patent Allowance Rates

In response to my previous posts on patent application allowance rates, reader Lawrence B. Ebert left a comment that:

Note also my article on IPFrontline entitled "Is the Jaffe/Lerner Analysis of Patent Law Correct?" which discusses some of the issues with various patent grant rate calculations.

More on the 54% Allowance Rate

Hal Wegner (in IP Frontline):  The USPTO's 54 % Allowance Rate

[Via Dennis]

Black History Month: Jack Johnson Patents

A couple of years ago (2005) I had a post entitled Ken Burns and patents which discussed a Ken Burns documentary on Jack Johnson, the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World.  Mr. Johnson was also an inventor, having three issued patents.

My (and my readers’) research turned up the patent numbers of two of the three patents … but that third one has never been found.   Perhaps one of my 2007 readers can find it (or somehow confirm there are just two).

Got PayPal? Need law books? PayPal will give you a $15 rebate!

Countering the various rebates Google Checkout has been offering, PayPal is now offering a $15 rebate if you (1) sign up for the rebate (give them your email address) and (2) spend at least $30 at a participating web retailer before March 31. [Google News search for paypal+rebate]

There are dozens of retailers listed, including Barrister.com which touts the "Internet’s largest selection of law books, featuring law dictionaries (including Black’s Law Dictionary), hundreds of legal research guides, thousands of discounted law student study aids, and many other law items for attorneys, pre-law and law students and the general public. We offer the best prices and fast, free shipping on a wide range of legal dictionaries, law school casebooks, do-it-yourself law books, legal audio and software, and much more!"

Getting the rebate is a bit tricky. If (on my PC) I go to http://www.paypal.com/holiday I see an ad that includes this link: http://paypal.promotionexpert.com/greatshopping/signup/200702/bannerout_s.html?route=bannerout.s (I know...the non-paypal.com link is scary). If I'm on my Mac, I don't see the ad. However, the login page (where I log into my PayPal account) has a banner add for the promotion. Either way, poke around PayPal's site enough and you'll find the $15 off ad somewhere.

Good luck, and happy shopping.

Bombs away.....

Discussion:  Matt Buchanan on “Rethinking Backlog.”

New Website: PatentReference.com

Interesting new inventor/patent community portal I stumbled on:

http://www.patentreference.com - Complete patent information reference resource. Searchable directory of hand-picked patent websites. Community forums, blogs and wiki. For Inventors, Patent Agents, Patent Attorneys, Patent Law Students and others with an interest in IP.

Patent Litigation CLE...in Vegas

Have plans for Friday, March 2, 2007?  How about a quick trip to Vegas for a CLE on Patent Litigation?

I'll be speaking then at The Dunes CLE on "A Primer on the FRCP's New Electronic Discovery Rules for Patent Litigators." 

As the flyer says.."More and more of the documents that businesses are creating and handling today are in electronic formats. In response to that fact, on December 1, 2006, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to include (among other things) changes to how parties are to treat electronic data during the litigation process. To comply with the rules, patent litigators must have a thorough understanding of the changes to the pre-trial "meet and confer" conference, how electronically stored information (ESI) is to be produced/disclosed, how to handle inaccessible documents, how to sequester/retrieve inadvertently produced privileged documents, and how to appropriately counsel your clients about document retention and ESI preservation."

Other CLEs/speakers include:                        

• Post-Issuance Litigation Matters - Robert S. Rapp
• The Consequences of Failing to Perform an Adequate Pre-Filing Investigation Before Filing a Patent Infringement Action - Sid Leach
• The Interplay Between Patents and Trade Secrets - Mark A. Miller
• Be Prepared for the Perfect Storm-Litigating Software Patents  - Ryan A. Heck, Ph.D.
• <Title of Presentation Forthcoming> - Frederick N. Samuels

Matt and Doug both spoke at their August CLE, and it looks like Dennis Crouch spoke at their April 2006 CLE on:  Patent Drafting & Prosecution: New Developments and Practical Tips.

More details about the March Dunes CLE:  Register, Agenda,  Speakers ...hope to see you there.

New Magazine Covers Federal Circuit Patent Decisions

FedCirc.us (Matt/Doug/I) announced earlier today the availability of a free preview issue (The Resolution) of our quarterly magazine, The FedCirc.us Reader.  Download the .pdf here.

The Resolution will give you a sneak-peak at the features of the magazine.  It's jam-packed with all sorts of patent-caselaw goodness, including a 'Trend Spotting' article, a featured case review, prosecution- and litigation-focused digests, chronological and alphabetical listings of cases from last quarter (including summaries), and a fun "Quotables" section that includes some of our favorite quotes from cases issued during last quarter.

For this issue, we've even included a brief note about the story behind the FedCirc.us name and domain.

We think you'll agree that the magazine is an exciting and effective new tool for staying current on patent caselaw developments.

Of course, the free preview issue includes subscription details for the magazine.  The site will be ready to accept subscription payments starting tomorrow.

Please do download our first copy and let us know what you think.

Tags: federal+circuit, patent, lawsuit, litigation