Patents on the soles of your shoes...

Sunday, February 26, 2017

USPTO – Patents for humanity 2016!

What’s more than a patent? A patent for humanity!

The USPTO Patents for Humanity program confers awards since 2013, when the program was launched. The winners obtain acceleration certificates for certain USPTO proceedings, and public recognition of their work. The winners are selected for the invention of “game-changing technology to meet humanitarian challenges” and for their vision in “pioneering innovative ways to provide affordable, scalable, and sustainable solutions for the less fortunate”.

In 2016, four awards and two honorable mentions were granted. The following is an extracted and further hyperlinked list of the recipients.

2016 awards winners

U.S. Food & Drug Administration - for developing an improved meningitis vaccine production process that’s been used to immunize 235 million people in high-risk Africa countries
Case Western Reserve University - for creating a low-cost, accurate malaria detection device using magnets and lasers that allows better diagnosis and treatments
GestVision, Inc - for developing a quick, simple diagnostic test for preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication, for use in developing regions.
Global Good Fund at Intellectual Ventures - for creating a passive cooler that can keep vaccines cold over 30 days and donating dozens of units to the fight against Ebola and other relief efforts.

Honorable Mentions

Alere Inc – for developing diagnostic assays for rapid and early HIV diagnosis at the point of care in low-resource settings
Sanofi – for researching new malaria drug candidates with shorter, simpler treatment regimens that can potentially counter the growing trend of drug resistance.

References

About the USPTO Patents for humanity Program

https://www.uspto.gov/patent/initiatives/patents-humanity/learn-more

USPTO Patents for humanity 2016 Award recipients
https://www.uspto.gov/p atent/initiatives/patents-huma nity/2016-award-recipients

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Oh, patents! Fastskin swimsuits (2)

The amazing Speedo® tech swimsuits are not without a bit of controversy!

The Speedo® fastskin swimsuits were first used at the Summer 200O Olympics, in Sidney Australia, where the Australian swimming team wearing the suits won 8 gold medals! The Speedo® tech suits were then caught in a large sportswear controversy, culminating in 2010 with the FINA (Fédération International de Natation - International Swimming Federation) ban on the use of all non-textile, buoyant polyurethane swimming suits, in all competitions, and in 2015, with a ban on the use of suits covering the whole body (for men covering the torso, and for women covering below the knees). The grounds on which FINA upheld that it is “the athlete’s performance that counts in swimming” are perhaps more contested than those of the high costs of engineered suits, manufactured by large sports companies, which create an uneven playing field (Barrow, 2012; Scientific American; Steinbach, 2005).

The Speedo® Fastskin swimsuits are however approved and used for competitive swimming, while the pressure mounts from large sportswear companies for less stringent rules on the use tech fabrics for swimming.

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In Fiona Fairhurst’s own terms, shark skin was her inspiration! No wonder, since sharks can torpedo swim for food at 60 MPH! However, against all possible intuitions about the correlations between the texture of skin and speed, it turns out that rough skin rather than smooth skin, promotes speed, just like shark’s skin which is very rough!

Fastskin swimsuits help competitive swimmers by reducing drag (i.e.; the resistance to a fluid or fluid friction) against the water, and the amount of water entry between a suit and the body, which also causes increased drag. Thus, the suits are made of a knitted elasticated fabric that is less water absorbent. More importantly, the panels of fabric and the position of the seams are researched according to muscle anatomy and activity, both to create compression and to also prevent water entry by making the fabric even more high-tension fitting on the body. Seams are thus used to both reduce the stretchability of the fabric, and to increase tensioned fit in specific areas, such as the lower back and abdominal areas. The tighter tensioned fit of the fabric, resulting in muscle compression, also causes less muscle vibration, which otherwise uses more oxygen, causing more fatigue and drag.

In addition to the researched position of seams and paneling of the fabric, Fastskin suits include ridges in the fabric called “surface flow modifiers”. These structures, placed longitudinally to the body, on the surface of the suit, are designed to create turbulence which reduces the overall amount of drag.

For the many aspects of the Fastskin swimsuit invention, Fiona Fairhurst and her colleagues are the recipients of at least 26 US, Australian, German, British and Austrian patents listed below:

AU20017234000 (A) ― 2001-06-21 - Articles of clothing

AU2002100223 (A4) ― 2002-05-02 - Articles of clothing

AU2005248944 (A1) ― 2006-02-02 - Articles of clothing

AU2009200188 (A1) ― 2009-02-12 - Articles of clothing

DE60007002 (T2) ― 2004-06-03 - Swimsuit

EP1110464 (A3) ― 2001-08-16 - Articles of clothing

EP1250858 (A1) ― 2002-10-23 - Close fitting article of clothing with highly tensioned fit

EP1110464 (B1) ― 2008-07-16 – Swimsuit

ES2207626 (T3) ― 2004-06-01 – Swimsuit

ES2310510 (T3) ― 2009-01-16 -Swimsuit

GB2361409 (A) ― 2001-10-24 - Close-fitting garment - e.g. swimsuit - consisting of panels of fabric joined by flat seams

GB2361409 (B) ― 2003-11-26 – Swimsuits

GB2411816 (A) ― 2005-09-14 - Surface flow modifiers and swimsuits

US2001014981 (A1) ― 2001-08-23 - Articles of clothing

US6446264 (B2) ― 2002-09-10 - Articles of clothing

USD456111 (S) ― 2002-04-30 - Garment

USD456110 (S) ― 2002-04-30 - Garment

USD456109 (S) ― 2002-04-30 – Garment

USD456588 (S) ― 2002-05-07 – Garment

USD460242 (S) ― 2002-07-16 – Garment

USD461034 (S) ― 2002-08-06 – Garment

USD462154 (S) ― 2002-09-03 - Garment

USD461033 (S) ― 2002-08-06 – Garment

USD541008 (S) ― 2007-04-24 - Swimming costume

AT255338 (T) ― 2003-12-15 - Swimsuit

AT401012 (T) ― 2008-08-15 - Swimsuit

References

Speedo USA

http://www.speedousa.com/

Scientific American – Swimsuit controversy… again!

https://www.scientificamerican.com/media/multimedia/0812-olympics-swimsuit/index.html

Steinbach, P. (2005)

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/Aquatics/swimsuit-issues.html

Barrow, J. (7-25- 2012) Why ban full-body Olympic swimsuits: A scientist explains polyurethane – The Daily Beast

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/25/why-ban-full-body-olympics-swimsuits-a-scientist-explains-polyurethane.html

FINA-approved swimwear

http://www.fina.org/content/fina-approved-swimwear

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Oh, patents! Speedo® Fastskin swinsuit (1)

Fiona Fairhurst is the inventor of the Speedo® Fastskin swimsuits.

The abridged story of this invention is told in her own words in the short video below.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

One Billion Rising!

During the month of February and especially, today on V- day, since 2013, Women RISE, DANCE, DISRUPT and CONNECT in a fierce movement against the sexual and physical violence directed at women and girls. The movement is called One Billion Rising! because of the shocking statistic of 1 in 3 women worldwide who will be raped or the victim of violence in her lifetime.

In 2013 One Billion Rising! danced to show their outrage.
In 2014 One Billion Rising! danced for justice.
In 2015 and 2016 One Billion Rising! danced for revolution, in more than 200 countries, with millions of women and girls participating.
In 2017 One Billion Rising! is dancing against exploitation and in solidarity.

The movement grew out of Eve Ensler’s famous play, The Vagina Monologues, performed everywhere on Feb. 14^th. The almost as famous theme song of the One Billion Rising! movement, “Break the chain”, was written and produced by Tena Clark, with music by Tena Clark and Tim Heintz. The original choreography of the piece was created by Debbie Allen.

Below a video of the original song and the choreographed dances, that Disrupt! Connect! and Occupy! bringing women together, joyfully and globally, in their struggle to end violence.

References

One Billion Rising!

http://www.onebillionrising.org/about/campaign/

Ensler, E. (2001) The Vagina Monologues. New York, NY: Random House Publishing house.
Eve Ensler (website)
http://www.eveensler.org/
Eve Ensler interviewé par Le Monde
http://www.eveensler.org/other-writings/articles/je-ne-serais-pas-arrivee-la-si-eves-latest-interview-in-le-monde/
Tena Clark (website)
http://www.tenaclark.com/
Tim Heintz (website)
http://www.timheintz.com/www.timheintz.com/Home.html
Debbie Allen Dance Company
http://www.debbieallendanceacademy.com/about/debbie-allen

Friday, February 10, 2017

Oh, patents! Corning® Gorilla® Glass

Chances are that the glass on your tablet, smartwatch or smartphone boasts the “superior damage resistance, optical clarity and touch sensitivity” that is the stuff of Corning® Gorilla® glass! If you are not sure, try the Corning® lookup page!

Perhaps that the windshield, sunroof and dashboard on your car, might already be equipped with the latest Gorilla® glass product unveiled at CES 2017, specially designed for cars. A new Gorilla® glass product that is ever lighter, tougher and more optically advantageous to enable greater fuel efficiency, passenger safety and better performance for the driver [CES2017].

Corning® has been designing the toughest glass on earth, trademarked Gorilla® glass since the first generation of Iphones circa 2007. Since then Corning® has developed several generations of different sorts of Gorilla® glass, including:

Five categories of Corning® Gorilla® glass with ever higher drop protection and resistance to damage, Gorilla® Glass 5 offering the highest shoulder height drop protection on a hard surface;
An antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® glass for frequently touched public glass surfaces, that contains a built-in ionic silver component to keep the glass bacteria-free;
Corning® Gorilla® glass NBT™ for “touch-enabled notebooks” with increased scratch and shock resistance;
Large Cover Corning® Gorilla® glass for digital signage and market boards;
Vibrant Corning® Gorilla® glass for printing colorful designs on glass.

The following list includes some of the most recent patent applications disclosing the Corning® Gorilla® glass invention and some of its newest patentable aspects. The core of the Corning® Gorilla® glass invention is chemical strengthening of the alkali aluminosilicate glass through an ion-exchange process that forms a compressed and super hard surface armor, or layer. This layer is extremely resistant to scratching and cracking from drops or other forms of fracture, compared to other glass products on the market. Gorilla® glass is also very thin and light, ranging from 0.4 to 2 mm, and compatible with haptic feedback.

US2017029325 (A1) ― 2017-02-02 - Antimicrobial and strengthened glass articles through pressurized ion exchange
US2017022093 (A1) ― 2017-01-26 - Glass articles exhibiting improved fracture performance
US2017022092 (A1) ― 2017-01-26 - Glass articles exhibiting improved fracture performance
US2016376186 (A1) ― 2016-12-29 - Glass with high surface strength
US2016376187 (A1) ― 2016-12-29 - Glass with high surface strength
US2016368812 (A1) ― 2016-12-22 - Strengthened glass articles and methods of making
US2016280591 (A1) ― 2016-09-29 - Methods for producing ion-exchanged glass and
resulting apparatus

And of course, no Gorilla® glass could exist without a cute gorilla to pitch the sale! 👠

References

Corning® Gorilla® Glass

https://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/worldwide/en.html

Is it on yours?

https://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/worldwide/en/products-with-gorilla.html

CES 2017: Gorilla Glass is moving from Phone to automobiles.

https://futurism.com/ces-2017-gorilla-glass-is-moving-from-phones-to-automobiles/

Monday, January 30, 2017

Amendment to the WTO-TRIPS Agreement finally effective on Jan 23, 2017

On Dec, 8 2005, an amendment to the WTO TRIPS Agreement (World Trade Organization - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) was voted by all of the members of the WTO (World Trade Organization). This amendment called for safeguards and measures to ensure legal pathways for access to generic versions of patented drugs in poorer nations via compulsory licensing agreements. Compulsory licensing occurs when a court orders the production or distribution of patented drugs at specific prices, without the patent holder’s permission. However, for the amendment to come into full force within the TRIPS agreement, a 2/3 majority of the 164 members of the WTO have to ratify the amendment in their own countries.

Recent ratification of the 2005 amendment by Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Liechtenstein, the United Arab Emirates and Viet Nam, finally created the much delayed and needed 2/3 majority. Thus, the amendment to the TRIPS agreement finally became effective on January 23, 2017 -- 12 years after it was voted (WTO News - Jan 23, 2017).

This news is heartening -- even if 12 years is far too long to wait for the victims of such diseases as AIDS, TB, malaria and other sorts of curable afflictions and epidemics.

The amendment to the TRIPS Agreement now includes provisions for the import and export of patented medicine under compulsory licensing agreements to all poor countries with limited or no local production capacities. Compulsory licensing had always been possible under the TRIPS agreement (Part II, Section 5, Article 31), but the distribution of medicine under compulsory licensing could only occur in the local markets of the member states invoking the procedure, where the drugs were being produced. This made it impossible for poor countries with limited or no production facilities to invoke compulsory licensing agreements, and consequently barred their access to needed medicines as well as any legal recourse to obtain access.

Now that the amendment is incorporated in the TRIPS Agreement, such compulsory licensing agreements are secured for poor countries, with limited or no production facilities, in order to facilitate access to medicine via third parties and the routes of imports and exports.

News of this modification of the TRIPS agreement prides itself on putting the interest of public health before the interests of patented medicine. Indeed, this amendment is seen as an alignment with the 19th-century concerns for the risks of patented medicine. Medicine actually only became patentable in the 1960s and 70s, precisely because it was feared that the monopolies created by patents would drive the price of medicine to the point of being prohibitive, and thus create unequal access to health. It turns out that the 19th-century fears of unequal access to essential medicines, and consequently to health, have already largely played out, exactly as anticipated. So, any step that restores a measure of greater fairness in access to medicines is a success – however incomplete.

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Incidentally, in the aftermath of the US 9/11 events and the fear of anthrax biological warfare, the United States DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) negotiated the purchase of a supply of 100 million tablets of Ciprofloxacin antibiotics, at a reduced price of .95 cts per tablet, under compulsory licensing agreement, from the Bayer Corporation (DHHS press release, 2001). This purchase was designed to supplement the nation’s existing emergency reserves of antibiotics. The agreement also included further price cuts in case subsequent 100 million-tablet supplies were needed.

References

Amendment to the TRIPS Agreement (Dec. 8, 2005)

https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/wtl641_e.htm

HHS, Bayer agree to Cipro purchase (Press release)

http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/cl/cipro/dhhs10242001.html

Cipro compulsory licensing dispute

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=anthtax+feer+us+obrains+computsory+licensing+for+cipro

TRIPS - Trade-related aspects of IP rights

https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips_01_e.htm

WTO IP rules amended to ease poor countries’ access to affordable medicines

https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news17_e/trip_23jan17_e.htm