Hope is a strange invention --
A Patent of the Heart --
In unremitting action
Yet never wearing out --
Of this electric Adjunct
Not anything is known
But its unique momentum
Embellish all we own --
by Emily Dickinson
Monday 21 June 2010
Sunday 20 June 2010
Movies With an IP (ish) theme - Updated
I have always been a movie buff! It always get excited when importance of patents and IP are emphasized in events of any movie. In this series I am trying to list movies in which patents were central theme or important in the overall movie plot.
The First movie comes to my mind is "Flash of Genius"
Tagline: Corporations have time, money, and power on their side. All Bob Kearns had was the truth. They had the power. He had the truth.
Plot: Based on the true story of college professor and part-time inventor Robert Kearns' long battle with the U.S. automobile industry, Flash of Genius tells the tale of one man whose fight to receive recognition for his ingenuity would come at a heavy price. But this determined engineer refused to be silenced, and he took on the corporate titans in a battle that nobody thought he could win.
A must watch movie for all "Patent - Guys &Gals". An interesting related post on Patent Baristas
Next is
"The Man in the White Suit"
This is a 1951 movie in which Boffin Alec Guinness threatens the future of manufacturing by inventing an indestructible material.
Another one
The Water Engine
An inventor comes up with the solution to human energy needs but encounters ruthless opposition from vested business interest.
Plot: In the 1930s, Charles Lang invents an engine that runs using water for fuel. But when he tries to get it patented, he is first offered a ridiculously low amount. When he refuses, he is suddenly several people are pressuring him to sell. The big oil companies don't want the competition. Now he has to try and keep them from getting his idea, and somehow get it published.
Some more:
The Patent Clerk
After a long, arduous shift in the Swiss Patent Office, a young clerk with dreams beyond his workaday drudgery makes his way home and discovers that when you look closely, nothing is as it seems and everything truly is relative.
This movie seems to be inspired from life of the great Einstein.
Dark Mind
Paul, an optimistic inventor, turns into a recluse after facing a brutal betrayal. Convinced that Russians are spying on him, he struggles to protect his greatest invention: The Cube. When an accident thrusts him into the spotlight, his sense of reality is threatened and his world becomes twisted beyond recognition.
This movie was originally titled as Intellectual Property.
The Rag Man
In "New York, a world within a city, where anything might happen," Irish Catholic lower East Side kid Jackie Coogan (as Timothy Kelly) survives a fire at St. John's Orphanage fire, and takes to the streets. Ten-year-old Coogan meets Jewish junk dealer Max Davidson (as Max Ginsberg); and, after Coogan returns Mr. Davidson's dropped wallet, he moves in with the rheumatic old man. The two become business partners "Ginsberg and Kelly", after Coogan proves his "Rag Man" mettle by filling Davidson's junk truck with four dollars worth of merchandise. Along the way, Coogan helps right and old wrong; he tracks down thieving Robert Edeson (as Mr. Bernard aka Mr. Bishop), who robbed Davidson of a patent fortune.
The last which comes to my mind is
Men In Back
Yes seriously!
Isn't the movie is about Will smith and Tommy lee jones who are alien chasers, working for a secretive and immensely wealthy NGO ?
But, the organisation gets its money from patents for microwave ovens, Velcro and liposuction machines, which Jones reveals were confiscated from extraterrestrial invaders. :-)
I hope you have enjoyed this post and now go to look for these movies. (probably use torrents and do a copyright violation :-))
Following movies are shared by the readers:
Shared by Mr. John Cooper
The Man Who Fell to Earth
David Bowie's character - the alien, Newton - makes a fortune by patenting and licensing alien technologies, to fund his efforts to return to and save his home planet
Twin Peaks: A minor sub-plot in which a character tries to patent an improved curtain rail to eliminate that annoying swishing sound.
Shared by Mr. Satyendra Singh
Young Einstein (Looks interesting, Its a Comedy!)
The Great Spy Chase (Another Comedy!)
The Great Moment
Killing Cars
Plot: an electrician from a tiny town impresses a New York radio sponsor with his booming baritone singing voice. He immediately contracts the worker to come to the Big Apple. Unfortunately, he suffers from bronchitis that changes him into a tenor. He still goes on the air, but everyone calls him a fake. Fortunately, the audience loved him. His manager then forbids him to appear publicly so he spends his spare time inventing a gadget that restores old radio sets. When it looks as though his clever invention will be stolen a beautiful woman gets it patented and then marries him.
Life Triumphs
Plot: The stooges are three inventors trying to a get a patent on their preposterous fly catching invention. When they learn they'll have to catch 100,000 flies to earn enough to get a patent, some crooks overhear and think the boys are the $100,000 sweepstakes winners. When the crooks give chase, the stooges hide in a sporting goods store where Curly shoots a dummy, which they mistake for a real person. The boys decide to bury the "body" in a pet cemetery, but the cemetery owner arrives from a costume party with his partners, all dressed as spooks, and they proceed to scare the devil out of the stooges.
Mr.Kirk Damman
The Spanish Prisoner
The First movie comes to my mind is "Flash of Genius"
Tagline: Corporations have time, money, and power on their side. All Bob Kearns had was the truth. They had the power. He had the truth.
Plot: Based on the true story of college professor and part-time inventor Robert Kearns' long battle with the U.S. automobile industry, Flash of Genius tells the tale of one man whose fight to receive recognition for his ingenuity would come at a heavy price. But this determined engineer refused to be silenced, and he took on the corporate titans in a battle that nobody thought he could win.
A must watch movie for all "Patent - Guys &Gals". An interesting related post on Patent Baristas
Next is
"The Man in the White Suit"
This is a 1951 movie in which Boffin Alec Guinness threatens the future of manufacturing by inventing an indestructible material.
Another one
The Water Engine
An inventor comes up with the solution to human energy needs but encounters ruthless opposition from vested business interest.
Plot: In the 1930s, Charles Lang invents an engine that runs using water for fuel. But when he tries to get it patented, he is first offered a ridiculously low amount. When he refuses, he is suddenly several people are pressuring him to sell. The big oil companies don't want the competition. Now he has to try and keep them from getting his idea, and somehow get it published.
Some more:
The Patent Clerk
After a long, arduous shift in the Swiss Patent Office, a young clerk with dreams beyond his workaday drudgery makes his way home and discovers that when you look closely, nothing is as it seems and everything truly is relative.
This movie seems to be inspired from life of the great Einstein.
Dark Mind
Paul, an optimistic inventor, turns into a recluse after facing a brutal betrayal. Convinced that Russians are spying on him, he struggles to protect his greatest invention: The Cube. When an accident thrusts him into the spotlight, his sense of reality is threatened and his world becomes twisted beyond recognition.
This movie was originally titled as Intellectual Property.
The Rag Man
In "New York, a world within a city, where anything might happen," Irish Catholic lower East Side kid Jackie Coogan (as Timothy Kelly) survives a fire at St. John's Orphanage fire, and takes to the streets. Ten-year-old Coogan meets Jewish junk dealer Max Davidson (as Max Ginsberg); and, after Coogan returns Mr. Davidson's dropped wallet, he moves in with the rheumatic old man. The two become business partners "Ginsberg and Kelly", after Coogan proves his "Rag Man" mettle by filling Davidson's junk truck with four dollars worth of merchandise. Along the way, Coogan helps right and old wrong; he tracks down thieving Robert Edeson (as Mr. Bernard aka Mr. Bishop), who robbed Davidson of a patent fortune.
The last which comes to my mind is
Men In Back
Yes seriously!
Isn't the movie is about Will smith and Tommy lee jones who are alien chasers, working for a secretive and immensely wealthy NGO ?
But, the organisation gets its money from patents for microwave ovens, Velcro and liposuction machines, which Jones reveals were confiscated from extraterrestrial invaders. :-)
I hope you have enjoyed this post and now go to look for these movies. (probably use torrents and do a copyright violation :-))
Following movies are shared by the readers:
Shared by Mr. John Cooper
The Man Who Fell to Earth
David Bowie's character - the alien, Newton - makes a fortune by patenting and licensing alien technologies, to fund his efforts to return to and save his home planet
Twin Peaks: A minor sub-plot in which a character tries to patent an improved curtain rail to eliminate that annoying swishing sound.
Shared by Mr. Satyendra Singh
Young Einstein (Looks interesting, Its a Comedy!)
Plot: Albert Einstein is the son of a Tasmanian apple farmer, who discovers the secret of splitting the beer atom to put the bubbles back into beer. When Albert travels to Sydney to patent his invention he meets beatuiful French scientist Marie Curie, as well as several unscrupulous types who try to take advantage of the naive genius and his invention
Plot:A cold-war spy parody. After the death of an armaments manufacturer, an international group of spies is drawn into a high-stakes battle of wits to obtain the valuable military patents which have been inherited by the lovely widow.
Plot: The story flashes back 20 years to find Morton being wildly acclaimed by medical students as the man whose discovery of "letheon" had forever ended pain as, before that day, even amputations were performed with the patient fully conscious. "Letheron", unknown to everybody but Morton and Elizabeth, is simply highly rectified sulfuric ether - cleaning fluid - easily obtainable at a pharmacy. By keeping the secret, Dr. Morton could be rich, but he had rather be poor than see a girl strapped to an operating table under the knife of Dr. Warren, and he reveals his secret to a group of surgeons in the hospital operating theatre. With his secret out, and all hope of personal reward gone, with the possible exception of proceeds from his glass inhaler, he gets the news that Congress has voted him a reward of $100,000, and also learns that the patent on his inhaler has been infringed.
Plot: In a complex story of automotive intrigue, oil barons, corporate finance, and international villainy, the inventor of an environmentally friendly car powered by energy cells becomes the target of killers. After Ralph Korda has given his patented worldcar to a German automaker for testing, he is confronted by ominous men, eager to get their hands on his patent. Evil Arab petroleum lords also want to stop this threat to the gasoline market any way they can.
Mr. Dodd Takes the Air
Plot: In his fight for innovation in a industrial plant, professor Olteanu discovers through lab research a new technique that can be very helpful in turning the iron ore into better steel and other metal products. His experiments don't always give the best results especially when he is "helped" in his endeavors by a conspirator. His wife and his collaborator help to unmask the conspirator and convince the professor to continue his work. In the end the conspirators face harsh punishment and his techniques are given patents and turned into successful industrial processes.
Three Pests in a Mess (Comedy!)
Premise of the movie is needing to protect an unpublished patent application from theft.
The movie is entirely based on theft of trade secrets.
Mr.Jonathan Jensen
Extraordinary Measures
Plot: A Portland couple have two children with Pompe disease, a genetic anomaly that kills before a child's tenth birthday. The husband, John, who's in advertising, contacts Robert Stonehill, a researcher who has a theory on an enzyme treatment. He has little money to pursue his research, and a thorny personality that drives away colleagues and funders. John and his wife Aileen raise money for to get Stonehill going, then John takes on the task full time, working with venture capitalists and then a rival team of researchers. Time is passing, Stonehill's antics get in the way, and the profit motive may upend John's hopes. Can the researchers succeed in time for the Crowley's.HAMILTON BROOK SMITH REYNOLDS OBTAINED PATENT LINKED TO THIS FILM (Click to read more)
Apparently, there was one edition of "The Beano" where a cartoon character "Dennis the Menace" developed a similar cat flap for a cat, the edition of the Beano having been prior published.
Mr. Ron Vaisbort
Not a movie, but the "Flaming Moe's" episode of The Simpsons (3rd season, 10th episode) is a classic where Homer has his proprietary cocktail recipe ripped off by his bartender friend.
Plot:Joe Ross is a rising star. He's designed a process that will make his company millions. He wants a bonus for this work, but fears his boss will stiff him. He meets a wealthy stranger, Jimmy Dell, and they strike up an off-kilter friendship. When the boss seems to set Ross up to get nothing, he seeks Dell's help. Then he learns Dell is not what he seems, so he contacts an FBI agent through his tightly-wound assistant, Susan Ricci. The FBI asks him to help entrap Dell. He accepts, a sting is arranged, but suddenly it's he who's been conned out of the process and framed for murder. Bewildered and desperate, he enlists Susan's aid to prove his innocence.
Plot: Ray works for MI6, Claire for the CIA. She burns him in Dubai. Jump ahead five years: he sees her in Grand Central and confronts her. Both now work in industrial security for corporate giants whose CEOs hate each other. Flashbacks fill us in: is it coincidence that he sees her in Grand Central? In about a week, one of the firms is going to announce a revolutionary product. Under the guise of helping that corporation's rival, can Ray and Claire work their own theft and find an independent buyer? To work together, using the corporate rivalry to their advantage, they would have to trust one another - difficult, if not impossible. Or, is one playing the other?
Mr.Jonathan Jensen
Extraordinary Measures
Plot: A Portland couple have two children with Pompe disease, a genetic anomaly that kills before a child's tenth birthday. The husband, John, who's in advertising, contacts Robert Stonehill, a researcher who has a theory on an enzyme treatment. He has little money to pursue his research, and a thorny personality that drives away colleagues and funders. John and his wife Aileen raise money for to get Stonehill going, then John takes on the task full time, working with venture capitalists and then a rival team of researchers. Time is passing, Stonehill's antics get in the way, and the profit motive may upend John's hopes. Can the researchers succeed in time for the Crowley's.
Other Movies and videos shared by readers:
A British children's weekly comic "The Beano" was used as a novelty citation by a UKIPO examiner when someone filed a patent application relating to a cat flap which opened only when a cat wearing a specified cat collar with ir sensor or similar was in the vicinity of the cat flap.Apparently, there was one edition of "The Beano" where a cartoon character "Dennis the Menace" developed a similar cat flap for a cat, the edition of the Beano having been prior published.
Mr. Ron Vaisbort
Not a movie, but the "Flaming Moe's" episode of The Simpsons (3rd season, 10th episode) is a classic where Homer has his proprietary cocktail recipe ripped off by his bartender friend.
Ron shared that he used show this to his clients to teach about non-disclosure agreements. In his view this is one of the best Simpsons ever and this episode features Aerosmith.
Thursday 10 June 2010
Patent Landscapes: Myth Series – I
In my previous write-ups, I tried to discuss the theoretical importance of patents in the corporate environment. I agree that this is easier said than done. In this myth series, I will explore common pitfalls in landscape studies. This will be useful for managers with responsibilities to create and organize landscape studies and take strategic decisions based upon them.
Please download entire article from above link. The article discusses realities and action steps on below mentioned Myths
Myth 1: A single Patent landscape can address multiple business objectives
Reality: Patent landscapes are highly specialized studies which should address single or limited business objectives. A landscape is a knowledge intensive document. Looking at the knowledge management framework, it is a fact that knowledge evolves from information which comes from data. Data is a raw material for information and adding context to information makes it usable knowledge.
Myth 2: Landscaping is just about interpreting charts based on patents
Myth 3: Flashy charts make a good patent landscape
Myth 4: Patent landscape is a three step process
Myth 5: A landscape can solve complex business issues
Reality: High value patents are important assets & components in any technology business. However, technologies protected by patents are also affected by market, technology acceptance, business environment, and regulatory frameworks.
Action Step:It is important to analyze information in light of trends presented by patents in technology/competitive/other landscapes. A patent strategist should evaluate external factors that may influence effective use of patent landscapes. It is advisable to involve marketing/ commercial personnel or complement the patent trends with thorough business and market intelligence.
Myth 3: Flashy charts make a good patent landscape
Reality:Experts in data visualization, such as Edward Tufte, Stephen Few, etc, have scientifically proven that charts are not about the “Glitz” effect but about the information they present and how easy they are to interpret. A chart with multiple dimensions and 3D effects may not necessarily help in taking business decision. Sure they look great and the presenter may feel proud showing off the charts in boardroom meetings. However, one must see its practical use
Action Step:It is important to use charts, colors and analysis in a practical way rather than like artistic expressions. Sometime the use of tables instead of charts is much more practical. Landscape is all about data in business problem context. Hence, display data as simply and clearly as possible. Use novel representation methods such as Heat maps, bullet graphs, and excel based dashboards while presenting large and complex data.
Myth 4: Patent landscape is a three step process
Reality:It is a common misconception that landscape is all about Searching > Sorting > Charting. A good landscape always starts with a concrete problem statement based on which a thorough analysis is performed. Patent Landscapes must consider all the facets of business as discussed above.
Action Step: A good patent landscape involves multiple steps with a thorough analysis at the end of each milestone. A single mistake can change the face of an entire study. A landscape is about 80% planning and 20% execution. A patent landscape is about finding information that is not visible and apparent from plain charts. For example, a top assignee chart may tell who owns the most patents. However, it may be interesting to see if there is a player somewhere further down the list who out performs in the quality of innovation. Landscape is all about seeing the invisibles.
Myth 5: A landscape can solve complex business issues
Reality: A landscape is not going to solve your entire problem. It is just a map to cross the often bewildering patent minefield. A manager with only a map may not always be able to solve an IP issue or take strategic decisions. It will show some areas that should be analyzed more deeply or companies who need to be monitored at regular intervals. Analysis without context and deep analysis may not help in finding strategic solutions.
Action Step: A landscape study must be followed by a more in-depth study of the underlying data and spinoff more focused studies which provide a definite fact. Patent claims must be analyzed to see what they protect and what is there in the patent minefield. Underlying data must be questioned and analyzed before any strategic step.
Comments & Suggestions invited. These are my personal opinions not my employer’s
Monday 7 June 2010
LIFE SCIENCES: Industry cutbacks due to global economic crisis - Business & Finance
LIFE SCIENCES: Industry cutbacks due to global economic crisis - Business & Finance
(Reuters) - Europe's economic jitters will clean out the health-science industry, leaving global generic as well as innovative drugmakers among the survivors, the head of Swiss drugmaker Roche predicted on Wednesday.
Fresh healthcare spending cuts in several European countries following the debt crisis triggered by Greece are expected to hurt the pharmaceutical sector.
"We will see dramatic changes in the industry," Chief Executive Severin Schwan said at a news conference. "If pressure increases you will have suddenly winners and losers and you have a lot of enterprises that will be squeezed out."
Survivors would be generic drugmakers with economies of scale needed to handle the volumes of the cheaper copies of branded drugs, as well as drugmakers that find medicines with improved outcomes compared with available drugs.
Those in the middle, with little differentiation, would be wiped out. "I'm sure of that," Schwan said.
The economic crisis has only strengthened the conviction of the world's largest maker of cancer drugs to stick to its guns, said Schwan.
Roche is focused on drugs that can prolong and improve the quality of lives to such an extent that governments and patients will be prepared to pay for them, he said.
Among Roche's innovative drugs is trastuzumab-DM1 which showed such promising mid-stage Phase II trial results on women with advanced breast cancer that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) encouraged Roche to submit it for approval.
"It is imminent," Schwan said about the U.S. filing, adding the drug's launch could take place in the beginning of 2011, if approved. Roche will still need to conduct Phase III studies. Drugmakers usually file for approval after final trial outcomes.
BIOSIMILARS A DIFFERENT BALL GAME
Some of Roche's rivals, like French peer Sanofi-Aventis, have diversified their business by expanding in areas like over-the-counter drugs or generics, or, as some are looking at, into biosimilar drugs -- generic versions of biotech drugs.
Merck & Co has created a biosimilars unit and AstraZeneca has said it would be in the field to some degree.. Generic drugmaker Sandoz, part of Novartis has three biosimilars on sale in Europe.
Schwan acknowledged that the arrival of biosimilars posed a challenge but said it would be one that would be easier to handle than traditional generics because the threshold for launching a biosimilar was much higher.
Traditional generic drugs are copies of chemical entities while biosimilars can never be true copies because they are based on living cells.
Generic drugmakers need to run clinical trials to prove their version of a biosimilar is efficient and safe, and will also need to create their own sales force to address physicians who will not easily switch patients from the original version.
"It's a different ball game and we expect a much lesser penetration of biosimilars," Schwan said.
Israel's Teva Pharmaceuticals and its partner Lonza are working on developing a similar version of Roche's blockbuster antibody drug Rituxan, also called MabThera. The biosimilar could be launched in 2014.
In addition, Roche's blockbusters MabThera and Herceptin could become vulnerable to biosimilars as they lose their patent protection in a several European countries in 2014 and 2015.
Expedited Patent Reviews Proposed - WSJ.com
Expedited Patent Reviews Proposed - WSJ.com
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office chief David Kappos is proposing a new three-track system for patent applications that would allow applicants to pay an undisclosed amount on top of the standard $1,090 filing fee to jump to the front of the line for expedited reviews.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office chief David Kappos is proposing a new three-track system for patent applications that would allow applicants to pay an undisclosed amount on top of the standard $1,090 filing fee to jump to the front of the line for expedited reviews.
A New Approach to Patent Searching
A New Approach to Patent Searching (metrocorpcounsel.com)
A new tool on Westlaw was built to address a key concern with patent information. Claims Locator is a patent search tool with its eye on the whole claim. With Claims Locator, you aren't handcuffed to your search terms. In the appropriate text box, you can type a patent or patent application number or paste a chunk of text from your own patent or application. Claims Locator then retrieves a preliminary result and integrates additional material such as patent and abstract classification numbers into your search. You retrieve highly relevant documents, which may be related to your own patent or application on many levels. Your result list, which may contain up to 100 documents, is ranked by relevance.
A new tool on Westlaw was built to address a key concern with patent information. Claims Locator is a patent search tool with its eye on the whole claim. With Claims Locator, you aren't handcuffed to your search terms. In the appropriate text box, you can type a patent or patent application number or paste a chunk of text from your own patent or application. Claims Locator then retrieves a preliminary result and integrates additional material such as patent and abstract classification numbers into your search. You retrieve highly relevant documents, which may be related to your own patent or application on many levels. Your result list, which may contain up to 100 documents, is ranked by relevance.
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