The popularity of Etsy, an online marketplace focused on vintage and handmade items, has skyrocketed in the last year. Described as a cross between Amazon, Ebay, and “your grandma’s basement” the craft site gives sellers a personal storefront where they can list their art, jewelry, clothing, knick-knacks, and other items.
Despite their incredible success, Etsy is still learning the ropes when it comes to being a big business. Recently, the site was hit with a patent lawsuit. Unified Messaging Solutions LLC claims that Etsy has infringed on five of its patents related to “methods for storing, delivering and managing messages.” The company is asking for a permanent injunction, triple damages and profits.
It’s no surprise that Unified Messaging Solutions is dropping such a hefty suit as it appears to be an arm of Acacia Research Corporation, a long-time patent troll. It’s also no surprise that the suit is being brought now, just a week after Etsy brought in $40 million in investments.
Patent trolls are responsible for having collected $500 billion over the last 20 years, and that amount is steadily rising. Not only do they stifle innovation, but they can cost a company up to $20 million in market capitalization- maybe even more. What’s worse is that these patent trolls will just use the money they make from on case to turn around and slap a suit onto some other company.
With all of its recent success, Etsy should bounce back from this no matter the outcome. The folksy craft-site is still in its beginning stages, and this is just one of downsides to being a large technology-based business.
Will Yahoo finally throw in the towel in their patent lawsuit against Facebook? After a brief stint as CEO beginning in January, Scott Thompson has left the building. His dramatic acts aimed toward getting the Yahoo company back on track included the recent patent suit against the social media sensation.
The patents in dispute include methods for web advertising, news feed generation, privacy controls, and more. Facebook not only denies the claims, but is disappointed that such a longtime business partner would resort to involving the courts; however, after a week of controversy over a fake computer science degree on Thompson’s resume, Ross Levinsohn will take over as Boss.
The question that everyone’s asking now is “what’s next?” Thompson was originally brought on board as Yahoo’s third CEO in just over three years. The company was already in trouble after the incredible success of Facebook and Google, its market value dropped by more than 50% since the end of 2005.
Third Point, an investment firm managing $9 billion in assets and a large portion of Yahoo shares, seems satisfied with the decision. The firm questioned Thompson’s representation of his college degrees, though they seemed to have issues with the former CEO even earlier. Thompson was harshly criticized for wanting to draw Yahoo away from its focus on media content and advertising, despite it being the source for nearly all the company’s $5 billion in revenue last year.
Now Levinsohn, one of Third Point’s preferred candidates for CEO, will have to work twice as hard to clean up the company’s mess. He will have help from some new members of the board, though, all of whom seem determined to turning the internet company back around.
After four years of investigation, Abbott Labs was recently charged with a $1.6 billion fine after admitting to having marketed the anti-seizure medication, Depakote, to nursing homes for off-label uses.
Allegedly, the company organized and trained a specific sales team to sell the drug to nursing homes, claiming that it could effectively subdue elderly patients with dementia. Even after Abbott’s clinical trials showed that users in such a condition often suffered from drowsiness, dehydration and anorexia, the company continued to promote the drug.
Despite the hefty fine the company was issued, some people are saying that Abbott got off easy. Especially considering that this is not its first crack at illegal behavior. In 2001, the company, in conjunction with Takeda, was accused of colluding with physicians to bill Medicare for prostate cancer medication samples which had been given away for free. Abbott was fined $875 million.
The company then went on to pull a similar stunt health insurers through hospitals and long-term care facilities. For this, the company paid $600 million in fines.
The Justice Department became aware of the company’s most recent scheme via former sales reps, who are now collecting a bounty of $84 million from the federal government. The individuals filed suits claiming that Abbott was bribing doctors and pharmacists at eldercare facilities to use the drug after falsifying its safety and effectiveness.
While it’s not the first case of fraud committed by the pharmaceutical company, it is being handled as one of the more extreme. The Justice Department claims that the fine is the second-largest charged to a drug company and will add an additional five years of probation to the company’s settlement.
This month, we recognize the birthday of one of the world’s most notable physicists, Pierre Curie. Born on May 15th back in 1859, Pierre would go on to win the Nobel Prize in physics with his wife, Marie.
Pioneers in the study of radioactivity, Marie and Pierre worked on several projects, including the isolation of polonium and radium. While working with a student, Pierre first discovered nuclear energy by identifying the continuous emission of heat from radium particles. He also found that some radiation emissions of radioactive substances were positively charged, while other were negative or neutral. Through the use of magnetic fields, he was able to identify alpha, beta and gamma radiation.
During his doctoral studies, Pierre turned his attention to magnetism. Through the use of several self-constructed balances, electrometers and other tools, he found that the magnetic properties of a given substance change at a certain temperature. After reaching a certain temperature, a magnet will essentially lose its magnetism. We now recognize that temperature as the Curie point.
Despite Pierre and Marie’s hardships of inadequate laboratory facilities and financial stresses, the couple went on to set the base for today’s research in nuclear physics. In 1903, they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research into the “radiation phenomena.”
His death came in 1906, during a street accident in Paris in which he was run over by a heavy, horse-drawn carriage. Though devastated by the death of her husband, Marie continued in her research and received a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. After this, she was able to convince the French government to fund the construction of a private Radium Institute now known as the Institut Curie. Built in 1914, the facility became the site at which research was conducted in chemistry, physics, and medicine.
Together, this infamous couple opened the doors to today’s research in physics, chemistry, and related sciences and many note the couple as being truly ahead of their time.
On April 17th, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that generic-drug companies can file legal counterclaims again brand-drug companies in order to get their cheaper “copycat” versions on the market. Brand-name drug companies have been shutting down generic competitors left and right by submitting inaccurate and overly-broad patent information to the FDA.
When submitting an application to the FDA, drug companies are required to include “use codes” describing the range of the patent. Though the FDA does not check the accuracy of such codes, it does use them to approve or deny future patents.
The recent verdict overturned a 2010 appeals-court ruling that said that generic-drug companies could not bring such legal claims against their brand competitors. It also has brand-drug companies worried that allowing the counterclaims will lead to expensive court costs and weaken patent protection for drugs that are costly for them to develop.
The particular case that the court dealt with on the 17th was Caraco Pharmaceutical Labs. Ltd. v. Novo Nordisk A/S. Novo’s marketed drug, Prandin, lists three approved uses with a “use code” broadly covering them all. Caraco, then, filed an application for a generic drug, Repaglinide, for what it believed to be the unpatented uses of Prandin. Novo then initiated a patent infringement suit against Caraco, because its use code vastly covered all before stated uses.
Caraco essentially won a very important battle in the complicated and messy war between brands and generics- not only for the company, but for the generic-drug industry as a whole.
Today is World Intellectual Property Day, with a theme of Visionary Innovators. The theme this year celebrates the human story behind great innovations, paying tribute to the curious, the determined, and the insightful.
This holiday, chosen by the World Intellectual Property Organization, is meant to increase general understanding of what IP is and the impact that it has. It’s a global celebration of music, art, and technology that helps shape our world, and how the IP system contributes to it.
WIPO, the United Nations agency dedicated to the use of IP as means of stimulating innovation and creativity, was first established in 1967. The organization’s roots, however, date all the way back to 1883 and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. This was the first major international treaty created to help people obtain international protection for their designs in the form of industrial property rights.
World Intellectual Property Day began in 2001 with the theme, “Creating the Future Today.” Members of WIPO chose April 26th as the day to celebrate- the day the WIPO Convention came into force in 1970.
WIPO encourages organizations to participate by holding seminars, staging concerts, giving presentations and doing a variety of other activities to raise awareness and generate public and media interest in IP.
Doing something special to celebrate? Let us know here, and then send a brief report to the World IP Day Facebook Page.
Ah, the refreshing scent of Spring flowers. Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could take it everywhere you go? Well, with the Greenhouse Helmet you can! Issued in 1986, this personal biosphere consists of a sealed plastic dome, plants on tiny shelves inside, and microphone/speakers for easy communication with the rest of the world.
April showers bring…strange patents like the Rain Curtain. Designed as an alternative to umbrellas, this pocket portable device can be whipped out the second you feel a rain drop. Simply blow up the inflatable ring cap, place on top of your head, and watch as the round, spoke-like design rigidly holds a sheer shower curtain around your entire body.
Often with the warmer weather comes an increase in the insect population. Rather than repeatedly spraying repellent, you might want to try Insect Balls. Get rid of those nasty gnats by spraying an insect ball with insect attractant, stick it on top of a rod, and attach the rod to the back of a hat.
Wish you had a boat to take out on the lake, but can’t afford it? Be your own boat with the Body Sail. Strap on the form-fitting floats to your head, midsection and feet. Lie on your back and slip the small sails’ masts into the available holes. Just be sure to keep an eye out for real boats so as to avoid serious injury.
Spring picnics have been a family favorite for decades. Take your food on the go wit he Motorized Picnic Table. Built on a 1972 Club Cadet garden tractor chassis, the machines allows families and friends to enjoy a picnic while on the road. “Transport picnic goers and the table simultaneously to a desired picnic location,” but be careful as it may not necessarily be “street legal” quite yet.
Have any other warm weather patent favorites? Share them here!
Twitter recently announced an internal patent agreement in an effort to inspire and support designers and engineers. The Innovator’s Patent Agreement (IPA) is a commitment from the company to its employees that patents will solely be used for defensive purposes. Any offensive litigation using an employee’s invention will not be pursued without that employee’s permission.
“Defensive Purpose,” however, seems to be loosely defined, as any company having instituted or threatened litigation against Twitter in the past ten years is fair game to be sued.
The act is stated to follow patents even after a sale, and gives designers and engineers full power long after they leave Twitter. The company hopes that this act will serve as the beginning of a movement to put a stop to the tech world’s growing arsenal of patent infringement lawsuits.
Already having gained the support of Foursquare’s engineering lead Harry Heymann and Facebook, a draft of the agreement was posted to the online open-source archive GitHub in an attempt to further spread the news. Twitter continues to reach out to other companies to discuss its latest move and inspire others to make a similar change.
Some have already expressed interest in adopting a similar method. The British startup Multizone responded to Twitter’s action with this tweet:
@nuxnix: @adam_messinger the IPA is a great innovation. We will adopt it @multizone as we have been struggling with exactly this issue. Thank you
With all of the back and forth between big tech companies going on in recent years, the act is an important step away from “patent trolling.”
On April 15th, the United States Patent and Trademark Office launched a new tool designed to aid small businesses and individuals with their IP needs. The “IP Awareness Assessment” is an online tool consisting of 62 questions that cover everything from products and services to regular practices.
There are ten categories in the assessment consisting of questions designed to determine the user’s IP awareness. At any time, users can choose the “not sure” answer option to a question in order to receive further training and information.
Based on a person’s answers to the questions, the tool will then identify the appropriate IP topics, such as patents or trademarks, and provide further information and resources. It’s a great first step for smaller enterprises that want to identify their IP assets and educate themselves on how to handle them.
The program’s purpose is to provide general guidance and awareness of a business or individual’s potential IP. It is not to be mistaken for legal advice, and the USPTO recommends that anyone who wishes to learn more about specific application processes or appropriate legal proceedings should consult an IP professional.
For anyone not interested in spending the 20-30 minutes it takes to take the entire assessment, there is a pre-assessment available. This short version only consists of five questions, though the results will be much more generalized. Follow that up with a customized assessment to learn more about your particular business.
All educational material provided at the end of the assessment can be printed or saved as a PDF for future use. It’s a fantastic tool that many should really try and take advantage of.
Yesterday, the U.S. Commerce Department shared a report on “Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus,” at a White House event. The report found that IP-concentrated industries contribute more than $5 trillion dollars (over 34%) to the U.S. gross domestic product. It also found that these same industries support at least 40 million jobs (over 27% of all jobs).
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director David Kappos commented that, “Every job in some way produces, supplies, consumes, or relies on innovation, creativity, and commercial distinctiveness.” This study shows that innovation is the key to growing a successful, powerful national market.
While the entire economy relies on some form of IP, the report focused on 75 IP-intensive industries from a total of 313. These 75 industries are directly responsible for creating over 27 million jobs. These jobs were also found to see faster wage growth, with average weekly wages 42% higher than the average weekly wages in non-IP-intensive industries.
Some of the more IP-intensive industries analyzed in the study include: Computer and peripheral equipment, communications equipment, machinery, pharmaceutical and medicines, and medical equipment and supplies. 60 of these 75 industries were considered trademark-intensive, accounting for 83% of all IP-intensive jobs. 24 of the 75 industries were considered intensive with respect to more than one form of IP.
These 24 industries accounted for 4.5 million jobs in 2010, while patent-intensive industries had 3.9 million, and copyright-intensive industries had 5.1 million. In total, IP-intensive industries directly supported 27.1 million jobs and indirectly supported an additional 12.9 in non-IP-intensive industries. Across the economy, these IP-intensive industries accounted for 40 million jobs.
At the White House event, Deputy Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank summed up the importance of IP by saying, “Strong intellectual property protections encourage our businesses to pursue the next great idea, which is vital to maintaining America’s competitive edge and driving our overall prosperity.”