Week 11 - TED Talks #1

Hi everyone! This week, we were able to watch TED Talks in class about patents, and our discussions were actually lead by two of our very own students (great job Mo & Abbey)! Was really interesting to see how the topics that we have discussed in class are coming to fruition in the real world.

Personally, I have been a huge fan of the TED Talks for a long time. I love that experts in a field are able to speak freely in an open forum on whatever topic they feel they know best, where new topics and conversations can be started just by a simple 10-15 minute talk! Patents have never really been a focus of mine when searching for TED Talks, but for these blog posts, I am going to be reviewing specific TED Talks that I really liked regarding patents here on the blog.

First TED Talk: 

This talk was led by Ellen 't Hoen - find her social media links below:

She is the founder of Medicines Patent Pool, where she specializes in the intersection between medicine and law - patents!! She particularly takes a strong stance with medical patents, and is one of the most influential people in the patent world, where she's gotten a lot of recognition from her peers and academia. Ellen is all about ensuring that these life-saving medical patents are available to those in third-world countries who cannot afford the TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars that these medicines cost! She is the advocate for the everyman - and I really love that! It's great to know that people like her are working towards a more equal world to license these patents to allow for a more affordable option to those with less income.

Here's her quick bio if anyone is interested:

"Ellen ’t Hoen is an independent medicines law and policy consultant. In 2009, she founded the Medicines Patent Pool at WHO/UNITAID, to accelerate the availability of low-cost HIV treatments, especially antiretroviral medicines, in developing countries through patent licensing. In June 2012 she stepped down from the MPP, but remains involved in supporting it.

She is a research fellow at the IS HIV/AIDS Academy of the University of Amsterdam and authored the book The Global Politics of Pharmaceutical Monopoly Power. Drug patents, access, innovation and the application of the WTO Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health. It's available as a free download .

Before founding MPP, from 1999 until 2009 she was the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Médecins sans Frontières’ (MSF) Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. She won several awards for her work on the effects of exposure to the drug (DES) in the 1980s and 1990s, including the prestigious Harriet Freezerring award in 1989. She is a member of the World Health Organization’s Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Policies and Management and a member of the advisory board of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM)."

Week 10 - Silly Patent #4

Hi all - last post for the week! 

Optical illusion wear is really related to fashion, and is very popular with women's clothing in particular. However, this patent has incorporated actual optical illusion patterns to change the way that a person's body looks, as opposed to using simple colors and the clothing shape to alter appearances.


Abstract: The present invention is a variety of wearing apparel which employs two-dimensional patterns of optical illusions in three-dimensional applications in or upon the material of said wearing apparel. The applications of said patterns in the design of the apparel are for the purposes of a) novelty, b) highlighting body areas for attention and/or c) creating bodily appearance modification based on the natural properties of the optical illusion pattern itself.

Week 10 - Silly Patent #3

Hi everyone! This is probably the most silly of all the patents that I found of the four: "Animal Toy" 

This animal toy mirrors exactly what a regular tree branch looks like, and this violates many of the qualities of a patent in that it cannot mirror nature and the biggest prior art is an actual tree branch.

Abstract: An apparatus for use as a toy by an animal, for example a dog, to either fetch carry or chew includes a main section with at least one protrusion extending therefrom that resembles a branch in appearance. The toy is formed of any of a number of materials including rubber, plastic, or wood including wood composites and is solid. It is either rigid or flexible. A flavoring (scent) is added, if desired. The toy is adapted to float by including a material therein that is lighter than water or it is adapted to glow in the dark, as desired, by the addition of a fluorescent material that is either included in the material from which the toy is made or the flourescent material is applied thereto as a coating. The toy may be segmented (i.e., notched) so as to break off into smaller segments, as is useful for smaller animals or, alternatively, to extend the life of the toy. Various textured surfaces including camouflage colorings are anticipated as are straight or curved main sections. The toy may be formed of any desired material, as described, so as to be edible by the animal.

Week 10 - Silly Patent #2

Hi everyone! The next silly patent is the "Marine mammal communication device" 

It is interesting that the patent filing company was actually Walt Disney Company! Seems interesting that this company was the one behind this patent because Disney does not have too much to do with marine mammals in its various businesses. 

Animal communication has not exactly happened yet, but the patent itself is pretty interesting in its design.

Abstract: An innovative communication device and learning tool that enables marine mammals, such as dolphins, to communicate with humans and with each other. The communication device includes a keyboard having a plurality of hollow keys. Each key includes a switch which can be activated by the dolphin, and a two- or three-dimensional object which can be distinguished by dolphins from other objects in other keys both visually and through echolocation. A microprocessor based controller can be used to associate audible feedback, such as unique words or phrases, with each key and to generate that word or phrase when the proper key is selected. Thus, a dolphin can select a word or phrase by locating the associated key and by activating the switch for that key to communicate with humans or with another dolphin. Likewise, a human can activate the switch to generate a spoken word or phrase to communicate with a dolphin. A photosensor switch can be advantageously used as a non-contact switch to enable the dolphin to use its rostrum or other body parts to select a key by breaking an optical beam generated across the opening of the key. Thus the dolphin simply swims towards the object in the key to activate the switch by breaking the beam. In addition to controlling the audible feedback when a key is selected, the controller can be used to record a log of events of the session, including the keys selected and the time at which such selections occurred, as well as observer comments.

Week 10 - Silly Patent #1

Hi everyone! This week we had an interesting assignment to find silly patents that were filed. Professor Lavian gave us quite a few hilarious silly patents, Considering how strict the entire path is to file patents and how expensive the process is, it is quite comical how these were even allowed to become official.

The first silly patent is "Anti-eating face mask" 

Abstract: An anti-eating face mask which includes a cup-shaped member conforming to the shape of the mouth and chin area of the user, together with a hoop member and straps detachably engageable with a user's head for mounting the cup-shaped member in overlying relationship with the user's mouth and chin area under the nose thereby preventing the ingestion of food by the user.

The main idea behind this invention was to combat obesity by forcibly stopping all wearers from the mask of eating any food. I think this really is trying to solve the problem of obesity in the world. If we take a look at the facts about this problem in the country, you can see how this invention was created:

When we take a hard look at the amount of US population obese, I can relate to why this patent was created.

We can see from Figure 3 that there is HUGE market for devices related to obesity-prevention and reduction. If this patent could capture a share of this market, these patent inventors could be VERY rich.

However, what I find is hilarious is that in the diagrams, it seems like Hannibal Lecter's mask from the movie "Silence of the Lambs." 

Week 9 - Largest NPE's

Hi everyone! I wanted to take a look at these patent troll companies and their websites to see how they have positioned themselves in the patent world. These are pretty visible companies, and the average consumer (with no knowledge of patents or someone who has not taken this class) might get the wrong idea on what exactly these companies do.

Topping out the list of the NPE's with the biggest number of patents in their portfolio was a company called "Intellectual Ventures." What is extremely surprising is how far ahead they are of their competition for the number of patents in their portfolio! They hold almost 10x the amount of patents than their biggest competitor.

I wanted to do some more research on IV, and started off with their website! They call themselves a maker in the "invention economy," even though they do not produce anything themselves. Seems a bit fishy, and the entire website almost has a "propaganda-like" feeling to it.

Week 9 - Further on NPE's

Hi everyone! Welcome back from spring break!
This week, I wanted to take an even deeper dive into NPE's and take a look at who is really affected by these non-practicing entities.

I knew that most of the victims of the patent trolls habits were corporations, but I did not realize how many were specifically just in the technology industry. Rounding out #1 was Apple Inc. Some possible reasons why there have been lawsuits by NPE's against Apple is because Apple really is the poster-child for technology product companies. Because they mainly focus on tangible products that have a multitude of functions and incorporate hundreds of patents regardless of the item (iPhone, Macbook, etc.). This essentially makes them easy targets for the patent trolls.

However, what I was most surprised about was that Walmart and Target, notable "big-box" retailers were on the list! Who would have thought that these two would be the target of patent trolls?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this list!