Collapsible dish drainer
US Patent 9,427,136
August 30, 2016
A collapsible dish drainer is formed using a resilient material allowing the dish drainer to collapse to a smaller size for storage. The dish drainer may be formed with one or more feet to raise the dish drainer above a countertop or other surface. A bottom or base of the dish drainer is configured to direct water toward a drain, with a pivotally mounted spout. An upper shelf is attached for lateral movement between an extended and retracted position.
Apparatus, systems and methods for accessing an initial portion of a media content event
US Patent 9,426,516
August 23, 2016
Systems and methods are operable to retrieve a previously broadcast initial portion of a media content event. An exemplary embodiment stores a media content event at a first media device as the media content event is communicated over a broadcast system; receives a request at the first media device from a second media device, wherein the request identifies an initial portion of a media content event that has previously been communicated over a broadcast system; identifies the initial portion of the media content event from the stored media content event; retrieves the identified initial portion of the media content event; and communicates the initial portion of the media content event from the first media device to the second media device.
Apparatus, systems and methods for facilitating social networking via a media device
US Patent 9,426,106
August 23, 2016
Techniques for facilitating social networking via a media device are described. Some embodiments provide a social networking facilitator (“SNF”) as part of a media device, such as a set-top box that is configured to receive media content events from a broadcast system, such as a satellite broadcast system. As the media device presents a media content event, a user can share, via the SNF, information about the presented media content event with members of his social network. In particular, the SNF prepares a message that includes information about or from the presented media content event, such as a title, a channel, a summary, rating, video clip, or the like. This message can then be edited by the user, such as by adding a comment or rating, before being transmitted by the SNF a social networking system, to be forwarded as a notification to members of the user’s social network.
LGJ Attorneys Selected for 2016 Washington Super Lawyer Listing
August 1, 2016
| Firm News
Lowe Graham Jones attorneys David Lowe, Larry Graham, Mark Lorbiecki, and Mark Walters have again been included in the Washington Super Lawyers list for 2016. Larry Graham has been included in the listing every year since 2006, while David Lowe has been listed each year since 2008. Mark Walters has been named either to the Super Lawyers list or the Rising Stars list every year since 2006, and Mark Lorbiecki has been named to the Super Lawyers list every year since 2011. LGJ is pleased to have its attorneys recognized by this important publication which carefully evaluates each candidate for listing and is limited to no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state.
Enfish Decision Breathes New Life Into Computer-Implemented Patents
May 13, 2016
| Intellectual Property News
In the Supreme Court’s pivotal decision in Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank, Int’l (2014), computer-implemented inventions were considered unpatentable if they were directed to an abstract idea. Since that time, many applications have been rejected and issued patents invalidated on the grounds that they were directed to an abstract idea and therefore contained unpatentable subject matter. In Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corporation (2016), the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued a clarifying decision that should stem the tide and provides an important clarification to support the patentability of many computer-implemented inventions.
In setting up a two-stage inquiry for patentability of such inventions, the Supreme Court declared: “We must first determine whether the claims at issue are directed to a patent ineligible concept.” That formulation plainly contemplates that the first step of the inquiry is a meaningful one, i.e., that a substantial class of claims are not directed to a patent-ineligible concept. The “directed to” inquiry, therefore, cannot simply ask whether the claims involve a patent-ineligible concept, because essentially every routinely patent-eligible claim involving physical products and actions involves a law of nature and/or natural phenomenon—after all, they take place in the physical world. Rather, the “directed to” inquiry applies a stage-one filter to claims, considered in light of the specification, based on whether “their character as a whole is directed to excluded subject matter.” The Federal Circuit then concluded that “We do not read Alice to broadly hold that all improvements in computer-related technology are inherently abstract.” According to the formulation of Enfish, the issue should be determined by a close evaluation of the claims. As the Court held, “Therefore, we find it relevant to ask whether the claims are directed to an improvement to computer functionality versus being directed to an abstract idea, even at the first step of the Alice analysis.”
The patentability of computer-implemented inventions is still very much a case-by-case issue, but after the decision of Enfish there is once again room for pursuing such patents, particularly where the claims are written to be more particular to the specific functionality of the improvement, rather than generally to a broad or abstract idea that merely happens to be implemented on a computer.
Mobile heater and fan system and methods of commissioning a data center
US Patent 9,285,138
March 15, 2016
A mobile system for simulating a thermal load and airflow expected in the operation of a data center includes a thermal energy source, an impeller and impeller drive unit, an outlet port, a frame and a ground engaging member. The thermal energy source provides thermal energy to air adjacent to the thermal energy source. The impeller controls a flow rate of air adjacent to the adjacent to the thermal energy source. The outlet port outputs the flowing air. The impeller drive unit drives the impeller at a frequency based on a determined airflow at the outlet port. The frame supports the thermal energy source, the impeller, the output port and the drive unit. The ground engaging member supports the frame and enables the mobility of the system.
Vehicle speed limiter via gauge interface
US Patent 9,286,264
March 15, 2016
An electronic control unit (“ECU”) limiter is disclosed. The electronic control unit may be configured to receive a user-specified vehicle limit, such as a speed limit, from an input device, such as a gauge interface of the vehicle or a diagnostic tool. The electronic control unit is further configured to enforce the received vehicle limit, without a need to reprogram (e.g., erase and rewrite) vehicle engine control data stored by the electronic control unit, such as lookup tables or maps that are used to determine the operational parameters (e.g., ignition timing, throttle) based on sensor inputs (e.g., engine revolutions per minute, engine temperature).
Retention system and method for a wing
US Patent 9,285,068
March 15, 2016
A retention system includes a base supporting a wing spar and a post extending through the base from a first side of the base to a second side of the base. The post inserts through an aperture in the spar. A stop is selectively securable to the post over the second side of the base. A locking member engages the post on the first side of the base. The locking member is configured to selectively move the post from an unlocked position to a locked position in which the post is withdrawn toward the first side relative to the unlocked position. A biasing member encircles the post and is positioned between the stop and the second side. When the locking member is in a closed position the biasing member expands to engage the aperture and resist movement of the wing spar. A plurality of cradles may support the wing.
Vehicle speed limiter via gauge interface
US Patent 9,286,264
March 15, 2016
An electronic control unit (“ECU”) limiter is disclosed. The electronic control unit may be configured to receive a user-specified vehicle limit, such as a speed limit, from an input device, such as a gauge interface of the vehicle or a diagnostic tool. The electronic control unit is further configured to enforce the received vehicle limit, without a need to reprogram (e.g., erase and rewrite) vehicle engine control data stored by the electronic control unit, such as lookup tables or maps that are used to determine the operational parameters (e.g., ignition timing, throttle) based on sensor inputs (e.g., engine revolutions per minute, engine temperature).
Tissue fixation delivery apparatus
US Patent 9,277,914
March 8, 2016
A device for deploying a tissue fixation apparatus of the type including first and second tissue anchors coupled together by an adjustable suture assembly. The device comprises a handle mechanism and a needle cartridge assembly releasably coupled to the handle mechanism. The needle cartridge assembly includes a needle cannula with a side opening through which a tissue anchor can be loaded into an internal chamber of the needle cannula. A push rod is disposed in the needle cannula and is operable between an extended position in which the push rod prevents the tissue anchor from entering the chamber through the side opening, and a retracted configuration in which the tissue anchor can be pushed into the chamber under the action of a resilient band positioned over the side opening.
