Patent Baristas

As you may have seen in the news (see, for example, here), Microsoft is now calling for reforms to the U.S. patent system in four areas: improving patent quality, reducing excessive litigation, improving the coordination of international patent law, and increasing the accessibility of patent laws for small companies and individuals. What’s not to like? […]

A patent was awarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the multinational company WR Grace & Co. in 1995 for the fungicidal properties of seeds extracted from the neem tree, native to India. But, the European Parliament’s Green Party, India’s Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture […]

In a March 8 opinion, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta rejected a 2003 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruling that Schering-Plough Corporation’s patent settlements with two other companies amounted to pay-offs not to compete. The FTC claimed that the company illegally kept cheaper versions of blood […]

In Seattle this week, baristas will compete in the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s 2005 U.S. Barista Championship (USBC). Alas, the Patent Baristas will not being attending, given that they just enjoy drinking coffee — not making it. The Barista Championship will feature fifty-five of the most skilled baristas from around the country creating some […]

In the same year that the international patent system marked the filing of the one millionth international patent application, a record number of applications, just over 120,000, were filed in 2004 using the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Despite reports of the early demise of its research capabilities, the […]

Under Secretary Jon Dudas identified three new United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) initiatives that will speed patent prosecution, and which will save applicants about $30 million annually at a “town-hall meeting” held last Friday in Chicago. Of course, it was a town hall meeting that charged admission but I digress. According to a […]

Walker Morris in London sent a note regarding the October, 2004, opinion in the patents case Kirin-Amgen v. Hoechst Marion Roussel. The case was the first opportunity for the House to consider the critical question of the extent of protection conferred by a patent under the provisions of the European Patent Convention (EPC), which were […]

The Baristas will be attending the Ohio Valley Affiliates for Life Sciences Group (OVALS) regional conference  "The Promise of Innovation: OVALS Making It Happen" on March 7-8, 2005, at the Dayton Marriott Hotel in Dayton, Ohio.  Register and see Agenda. The OVALS Partnership developed in 2002 as a forum to discuss and stimulate economic development […]