In my next post about obviousness, I went to YouTube to find
a video that would help me better understand obviousness in patents. The video I came across (included below) is
by a man named Robert Greene Sterne, editor-in-chief of Patent Office
Litigation.
In his video, Sterne claims that obviousness is king when
applying for and maintaining patent rights.
With recent laws and legislation coming out in past years, Sterne gives
some advice to existing and potential patent owners. He advises that the proper research must be
done on every patent as to prove nonobviousness in patents. Specifically, he addresses that an appeals
board requires a mere 12 months for owners to prove nonobviousness and
therefore keep or attain a new patent.
Overall, this video is a great example of how important
obviousness is in keeping patent rights.
Sterne is a highly qualified speaker on the subject and I highly suggest
watching the video several times to understand everything he touches on. Hopefully you found it as informative as I did!
So far, the meaning of obviousness as it relates to patents
is anything but obvious. It is one of
the essential requirements that need to be met by a patent application. Simply, obviousness and anticipation are key
elements that can lead to the declination of a patent application. In this post, I would like to specifically
touch on what exactly obviousness is and how it is applied every day to
potential patented inventions.
The easy way to think about obviousness is to understand that
obvious “inventions” should not be granted patent rights. An obvious invention is something that would
not be hard to invent given a prior art.
Using the example from class, the invention of the chair made of metal
would be an obvious derivative invention of a chair made of wood. The important thing to note when assessing
the obviousness of a patent is to think of how easy was the processing of
conceiving the new invention.
Putting the ambiguous definition of obviousness in context,
it is what drives people to invent and innovate. If a person is given a patent and a new,
insignificant improvement is made on it and is granted a patent, the first
patent is essentially useless. When this
happens, individuals are less likely to want to invent things given that they
can soon be found obsolete. I hope you
found this post beneficial and keep visiting my blog for newer posts on
obviousness. Thanks!
In this
post, I will be returning to my discussion earlier regarding the listed patents
associated with beverage sleeves and insulation. However, here, I will be discussing my
personal view on the anticipation and obviousness factor of each patent.
First, I want
to lay out what exactly I mean when saying “anticipation” and “obviousness” of
a patent. Both terms are aspects that
can result in the decline of a patent application in several ways. Anticipation refers to what is listed in a
previous patent, so as not to grant a second patent for an idea already
claimed. When an application for a
patent is requested, it must not replicate any of the specs listed in a previous
patent either explicitly or inherently.
Therefore, an anticipated patent is not really a patent at all. It is simply a design that has already been
listed under a previously granted patent.
Next, an
obvious patent is simply another version of a previous patent. When a patent is requested, it must
substantially differentiate itself from a pre-existing patent. It doesn’t make concrete sense to issue a
patent for a general design of something that has already been granted patent
rights. By doing so, the patent system
would be meaningless such that the whole goal of a patent is to protect
intellectual property. Based from these
two types of patents, we can summarize that a patent is only granted if and
only if the application is in fact original, and not identical to any
previously issued patents.
Applying
these concepts to the patents listed in my previous discussion, we can follow
the chronological trail that continuously improves the use of beverage
sleeves. First, the thermal coffee cup
was the basic framework designed in 1948.
From that, in 1999, we can see its evolution to adding heat activated
glue-dots to improve insulation. Once
the cup itself had been properly insulated, we moved on to the theme of
beverage sleeves with the “Insulating Sleeve.”
This sleeve provided air gaps between the cup and the sleeve to allow
heat to escape from exterior of the cup.
Better sleeves were then developed that provided grip, different layers
for several different purposes, to finally a sleeve that can inform the consumer
as to the temperature of the beverage inside the container.
As time
progressed, better and better designs and techniques began to be developed and
expand on its predecessor. These patents
and applications, though improving on each other, are neither obvious nor
anticipated and were thus granted patent rights. From the basic “Thermal Coffee Cup” to the “Temperature
Indicating Sleeve and Related Container”, each patent has achieved the ability
to better insulate beverages and provide convenience to consumers in the forms
of better grips and temperature gauges.
The
following are a list of patents and applications that I will be discussing in
depth. I will focus my summary and
analysis based on the each patent and application’s background, priority date,
technology, ideas, specs, and diagrams.
1.The Insulating Sleeve (US 6343735)
·Priority date: May 4, 2000
·The basic use of this device is that it is a
sleeve, designed to fit around a beverage container so the user is able to
handle hot drinks without feeling the heat transfer to their hand.
·The technology involved in this patent includes
strategic gaps between the sleeve and the container. The air gaps provide an outlet for the heat to
escape, rather than to be transferred to the user’s hand.
2.The Thermal Coffee Cup (US 2661889)
·Priority date: July 20, 1948
·This patent describes a paper cup used for
holding hot coffee and a lid that allows for easy consumption.
·The lid has a tab which the user can tear back,
as to allow coffee to flow through the cap.
The tab can be torn at a variety of lengths, according to the consumer’s
preference
·The diagram given in the patent illustrates the
ease of using the product. It also
implies its cheap production costs and simplicity
3.Thermal Sleeve, Method for Manufacturing a
Thermal Sleeve, and Combination Cup and Thermal Sleeve (US 8,251,277 B1)
·Priority date: August 28, 2012
·The cup associated with this patent is closely
associated with not only providing cup insulation, but also to have a strong “gripper”
·It is a sleeve such that you can slide a whole
coffee cup into and keep warm
4.Insulator Sleeve for a Beverage Container
(US 7922031 B1)
·Priority date: March 1, 2006
·The sleeve includes two sleeves: an outer
frusto-conical sleeve and a frusto-conical inner sleeve
·The inner sleeve acts as an insulating mechanism
whereas the outer sleeve provides grip to the user
·The special aspect for this device includes its
ability to be reused
5.Temperature Indicating Sleeve (US 8118189)
·Priority date: December 15, 2006
·The core idea to this device is that it has the
ability to tell the consumer the temperature of the beverage inside
·With cups already insulated, it’s hard for the
consumer to accurately tell the temperature of the drink inside based solely of
the touch of the cup. This sleeve is
able to relay to the consumer a temperature of the actual beverage, instead of
the warmth of the cup
6.Sleeve Construction for Improved Paperboard
Cup Insulation (US 6152363)
·Priority date: May 3, 1999
·This invention is designed to work in
conjunction with paperboard cups. It requires
a paperboard sleeve with hot-melt glue dots in order to improve the insulation
of the cup as compared to competing insulated cups
7.Beverage Cup Sleeving System and Method (US
20080078824 A1)
·Priority date: Aug 23, 2006
·This patent involves an insulating cup system
that is built with a layer of elastomer onto a seamless conical sleeve.
·The exterior surface is used for gripping
purposes whereas the inner surface has an upper and lower opening. The upper opening provides a space to receive
the beverage container
8.Protective Sleeve (US 20100019023)
·Priority date July 25, 2008
·This patent and its arc shape provided for easy
and efficient production
·It was patented in response to lowering cost as
well as its environmental impact
·The arc shape is the product of peaks and
troughs that create air gaps to allow heat to escape
9.Hot and Cold Cup Sleeve (US 20140151385)
·Priority date: February 6, 2014
·This sleeve is designed for both hot and cold temperature
cups
·The design involves three layers: an inner layer
designed to absorb water and improve grip, an outer layer to keep hands dry
from the absorbing inner layer, and central polyethylene film
·This design is not only cost efficient, but is
also thin, disposable and lighter than most other models
Welcome back! So for this post, I will be summarizing claim 1 from Apple's patent on Slide to Unlock Technology. Enjoy!
In order to
understand Apple’s first claim in its patent regarding the ‘slide to unlock’
technology, simply picture a device with a touch enabled screen that is
currently “locked” or disabled. The
patent states that if one were to make continuous contact with the touch screen
while following a pattern or pathway on the device, the system will “unlock”
and will therefore be able to be useable.
However, the pathway on the device is very specific and won’t respond
unless contacted in the proper starting location. Apple has incorporated this technology into
many of their devices such as the iPod Touch and more popularly, the
iPhone. This is just one of the many
features Apple brings to the market that has made the popularity of the touch
screen skyrocket in the last few years.
After
ranking the top 5 worst predictions based from the lecture slides from class, I
took to the internet to research 5 other awful predictions. Below are the quotes I found to be just as
incorrect as listed in my previous assignment, enjoy:
1.“If anything remains more or less
unchanged, it will be the role of women,” given by an American social
scientist, David Riesman to Time Magazine in 1967.
·Following the civil rights movement of the early
1960’s, it is naïve to say that women could not rally together for equality
like the African Americans had previously done
·This assumption could not have been any more
poorly timed due to the fact that in 1967, the same year as the quote, the
modern women’s movement began to traverse the country
·The fact that Riesman was a social scientists
suggests that he, over any other professional occupation, should be able to
recognize social change in an population.
Fast forwarding to the present day, we can see that the role of women is
nearly identical to the role of a man.
2."I see no good reasons why the
views given in this volume should shock the religious sensibilities of
anyone." -- Charles Darwin, The Origin Of Species, 1869
·Knowing that the debate between creation and evolution
still exists and continues to thrive, I think this may have been a way, though
unsuccessful, for Darwin to avoid the dichotomy.
·Looking at the core principles, that humans are
a descendant from primates, directly contradicts the story told in the
bible. Claiming that his theories don’t
contradict scripture is completely false
3.“That virus is a pussycat.” -– Dr. Peter
Duesberg, molecular-biology professor at U.C. Berkeley, on HIV, 1988
·What is now one of the most widespread virus in
the world, Dr. Duesberg greatly underestimated that effect that HIV could have
on a person’s life
·The “Human Immunodeficiency Virus”, as the name
suggests, should have never been taken lightly.
The condition associated with HIV is anything but a ‘pussycat’
·Over 35 million people now contract the virus
and the number grows with every passing year
4.“What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect
held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as stagecoaches?” - The
Quarterly Review, March edition, 1825.
·Whoever authored this quote did not understand
the steam engine. The ability of turning
steam into motor activity provided way more power than any fleet of horses
could muster up
·Also, by having preset tracks for a locomotive,
you would not have to worry about the uncomfortable terrain you would be
traversing in a stagecoach. Not only
would a train be more time efficient in
travel, it would also be a much smoother ride
5.“Airplanes are interesting toys but
of no military value” - Marechal
Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre, 1904.
·In regards to military value, a plane is
essential in almost every facet of war.
Whether it be dropping bombs, transporting soldiers overseas, or
shipping supplies to the front lines, planes helped to win several battles
across history
·Most of the battles of WWII involved battling
via the assistance of planes. The
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought Americans into the war, and the atomic
bombings of the US on Japan brought the war to an end. Both of these attacks were made possible only
by having access to the use of planes
·Though this assumption preceded the plane
industry, it is wrong to assume that the act of a flying machine has no
potential in warfare. Nearly everything
can be used in a battle, and an air force should be the first defense created
Here is my
list of the top 5 wrong predictions based from the slides presented in
class. My train of thought in analyzing
these quotes is to not only evaluate their content based on their appropriate
time period, but also on those that gave each individual quote.
1."This 'telephone' has too many
shortcomings to be seriously considered
as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
– Western Union internal memo, 1876
·First off, saying that the phone has no value to
Western Union is just completely false.
It’s hard to imagine a context where the ability to communicate over
long distance at a second’s delay would be of no value.
·Also in looking at this quote, I am curious as
to what shortcomings he is referring to here.
The only thing that I can think of is that of building the
infrastructure associated with a telephone.
However, if the railroads could have been built that surely telephone
wires could be as well.
·Bringing this quote into a present sense,
Western Union would be completely wrong in the context of mobile phones as
well. While that landline phone may be
obsolete in many households, nearly every American over the age of twelve knows
how to operate a mobile phone. All in
all, I don’t think that this prediction could have ever been a popular thought
2."Reagan doesn't have that
presidential look." – United Artists executive after rejecting Reagan as
lead in the 1964 film The Best Man
·Looking at the picture posted on the lecture
slide, I don’t think that there was ever a more prominent presidential figure
than Ronald Reagan. With his couth, dark
hair, perfect white smile, and the fact that he was a Hollywood actor just
screams the face of America – which in fact what a president represents
·Another issue I have with this statement is that
topic of a ‘presidential look’ in general.
A presidential look, in my opinion, is something that can only be
witnessed after a person takes office.
When a random person addresses the nation, he could take on any number
of impressions. However, when you say
that a man such as Reagan takes the mic as president, he is sure to command the
respect that an American president deserves
3."I think there is a world market for maybe
five computers." – Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
·Looking at this sentiment in a current setting,
this quote could not be any more far from the truth. Walking around my house, I have witnessed
over 15 computers in the hands of my housemates. To say that 5 for a world market would be
sufficient is absurd. There are few
things in general that would only have a world demand of 5 and I am having
difficulty coming up with an example anyway.
·Also, Watson was the Chairman of IBM at the time
of this quote. As the head of a
technology firm, you would think that he would want to promote the use of
computers and therefore find a segment to where he could profit in conjunction
with the computer. Everything about this
quote seems off to me
4."The horse is here to stay but the
automobile is only a novelty—a fad." – -The president of the Michigan
Savings Bank advising Henry Ford's lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Co.,
1903
·This doesn’t make sense to me, simply because
the amount of time and labor is much less in taking care of a car then a
horse.
·Also, the rate of transportation is much faster
with an automobile than a horse. A car
can carry more people as well as more cargo than the saddlebags on the side of
a steed
5.“ Television won't last because people
will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night." – -Darryl
Zanuck, movie producer, 20th Century Fox, 1946
·First off, I think that Mr. Zanuck greatly
underestimated the potential of the television.
From this quote, it seems as though he only addresses the entertainment
value of the television. He fails to
recognize the potential of the news media, sports industry, and even the
possibility of broadcasting movies on TV
·I think this quote was in direct fear of the
television. Zanuck possibly feared that
if people had a television in their household, they would be discouraged in
going out to the cinema. That would, in
turn, hurt his business and his whole industry in general. Either way, this prediction was more than incorrect
After
looking over what the rest of the class had listed as the top ten inventions of
the world, I have revised my list based on the new ideas brought to mind. Though the inventions I had originally listed
are somewhat similar, I have made a few changes. In no particular order, here is my new list:
The Internet
Also being
on my original list, I was not surprised to see that this idea was a prevalent
one across the class. Since the birth of
the internet, I think it is safe to say that our world has never seen as much
technological advancement as it has in the last fifty years. The internet has done many things to change
everyday life as we know it. For
example, it birthed Amazon, Facebook, Wikipedia, and sparked the computer
industry. These serve as examples of a
new form or ecommerce, social media, information sharing, and millions of other
ideas based on a global network.
The Light Bulb
This
invention by Edison is the sole reason that people are no longer living in the
Dark Ages, literally. By simply heating
a filament in a glass bulb, Edison gave rise to not only controlled light, but
the widespread use of electricity in the home and in the workplace. With billions of bulbs lit at this moment,
not only would it be hard to imagine a life without light bulbs, but it would
also be difficult to not include this invention in the top ten.
The Wheel
Cars,
bicycles, scooters, trains, all of these would meaningless words without the
invention of the wheel. Conceived
thousands of years ago, the length of time that the wheel has been used speaks
volumes to how significant of an invention it has been. Modifications of the wheel such as the
conveyor belt and even gears in a machine are all direct benefits associated with
the invention of the wheel.
Telephone
The
telephone did something that had never been done before its time: to connect
people verbally despite geographical location.
Grahm Bell had come up with an idea that would blossom further into
other industries we see and use today.
Skype, facetime, and the mobile phone are all expansions on Bell’s
genius and are impossible to go a day without witnessing first hand. Aside from that, the telephone has also been
used as a tactical weapon throughout history.
The role of the telephone in the art of warfare made transmitting
commands from higher up the ladder easier to communicate with generals on the
battlefront. By being able to speak
directly to a soldier instead of sending a messenger, attacks as well as defenses
were more efficiently coordinated than had been previously.
Personal Computer
As I sit and
type on my computer while listening to music and experiencing all the other
perks of a laptop, it is hard to imagine a time where laptops were a mere dream
than reality. By giving people easy
access to the internet, the globe was readily connected by the powering of a
screen. Much of the ideas discussed
earlier attributable to the success of the internet, the computer acts as a
complementary platform in the cyber industry.
In short, the computer provides its user with a business market, social
interactions, entertainment, and many more features.
Indoor Plumbing
Many people
take flushing a toilet or having a hot shower for granted and the reasoning is
the importance that indoor plumbing plays in the majority of people’s
lives. Back in the days of outhouses and
boiling water to take a bath, germs and associated diseases were widespread
amongst households. Looking to
underdeveloped countries where running water is not a reality, there are much
higher rates of bacterial infections and disease per capita. In an era where health and hygiene are highly
valued, many would agree with indoor plumbing as being one of the top ideas of
all time.
Printing Press
When Gutenberg
first printed the bible several hundred years ago, he significantly lowered the
cost of spreading written word in the printing industry. When books or letters needed to be published,
they had to be done by hand at a very high cost. By being able to print with a machine instead
of by hand, more people were gaining access to literacy and the aristocrats
were no longer the only ones with the privilege of literacy. With the majority of people around the world
knowing how to read and write, the printing press had a significant impact on
the printing industry as well as widespread literacy.
Airplanes
Just as the
car allowed people to speed up their commutes from town to town, the plane gave
humans the ability to travel thousands of miles in the matter of a few
hours. When the Kitty Hawk first took
flight, the Wright Brothers sparked an industry that would revolutionize the
mobility of people as well as cargo. If
I wanted to travel to New York and back to California in the same week, that
would be impossible to do by car.
However, with an airplane, it would take me the same amount of time to
fly to London and back as it would to drive to and from New York. That being said, the time saving aspect of
the airplane speaks as to why it should be on the top ten list.
Birth Control
The
invention of contraception gave a new meaning to the difference between the
idea of sex and procreation. While
recreational sex could in fact result in procreation, the use of contraception
drastically limits this chance. If a pregnancy
occurred from the majority of sexual encounters, the Earth would be severely
overpopulated. There’s no telling how
the world would be if the every city in the world had the density of people per
mile as does San Francisco.
Language
Though not
considered an invention by some, the concept of language is hard to shoot down
in its role in developing modern society.
Simply, it gives people the ability to communicate emotions, ideas,
intellect, and any other concept that can be exchanged. With numerous languages currently spread
across the globe, personal interaction would be nothing without
linguistics. Any invention or innovation
would be difficult to come by without the ability to collaborate with peers and
to publish and spread out to the masses.
That’s my
list of the top inventions to grace the Earth.
Though you might not agree with every one listed here, it’s hard to
dispute that any of these inventions play a significant role of everyday life.
