USPTO

While this just may be the next reel in the on-going saga of Kodak’s celluloid dream of destiny initiated when management shunned digital imaging in favor of believing that film would die a much slower death than the market had ordained, this movie is getting more unfocused each day. And to think that it’s all playing out under the cataract-clouded eyes of the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice – neither of whom could actually review this transaction for its anti-competitive effects EVEN IF the material identities of the participants were disclosed.

While this just may be the next reel in the on-going saga of Kodak’s celluloid dream of destiny

initiated when management shunned digital imaging in favor of believing that film would die a

much slower death than the market had ordained, this movie is getting more unfocussed each day.

And to think that it’s all playing out under the cataract-clouded eyes of the Federal Trade

Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice – neither of whom could actually review this

transaction for its anti-competitive effects EVEN IF the material identities of the participants

Patent application US 20110274409 filed by Sony has found its way into the news media. Sony has the gall to patent the operation of pausing play in video games in order to show advertisements. But among the mockery and outrage, where are the facts?

Uncited prior art may hinder the strength and defensibility of patents owned by a “back-end deal” entity derived from Intellectual Ventures, currently using these patents in a lawsuit. Following the recent “When Patents Attack” article, we explore the quality of bullets used in the story’s “mafia” reference to see if it’s a real threat or a protection scheme using rubber bullets issued by the USPTO… after all, what Chris Crawford “Invented” was rejected by the Patent Office in 1996 and the patent that was issued was coached into being by a friendly patent examiner!

In 1999 and 2000, DataTreasury Corporation received two business method patents covering its check-imaging technology. DataTreasury claims that it began negotiating a check-imaging joint venture with Chase Manhattan, but the bank launched a separate check image-processing venture called Viewpointe Archive Services, LLC.