19. December 2011 by admin.

Globalization trends remain strong, with investment, research capabilities, and commercialization migrating to
optimal locations, and new countries entering the mix of those committed to R&D as a national strategy. China’s
profile as the second-largest sponsor of global R&D continues to increase, whether measured in terms of funding or
generation of intellectual capital.
Even so, with over $400 billion in annual R&D funding from both public and private sectors, the United States continues
its historic and world-leading commitment to innovation as an essential catalyst for prosperity and growth. 

• U.S. Industry R&D Increases 3.8% to $280 Billion
• Growing Worldwide Emphasis on Basic Research
• Global R&D Spending to Increase 5.2% to $1.4 Trillion.
• Increasing Importance of R&D ROI and Collaboration

PDF

…for the kids:

“Finally, each year I address the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) at all levels of education.
Among our charitable purposes, Battelle is deeply committed to STEM education as the foundation for a healthy,
productive, innovation-based society. In this Forecast is a powerful statistic: between 2003 and 2007, educational
output of scientists and engineers increased Asia’s share of the global researcher pool from 16% to 31%. It is no
coincidence that this corresponds to a period of rapid innovation and economic growth in that region, offering strong
evidence that STEM education is a critical enabler of research and innovation.”

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8. December 2011 by admin.

A granted patent is a territorial legal right that excludes others from practicing, manufacturing and selling within the relevant territory.  To achieve such patent coverage, one must submit a separate application for each country (or region for the EPO - European patents).  During the process, the examiner checks the patent application to determine whether the claims are novel, nonobvious (or inventive) and useful.  The examiner often requires adjustments to the claims, text or drawings before granted.  The examination process has taken 3-8 years and sometimes longer.

A patent goes through multiple stages before a patent is granted.  Filing the application is only the beginning. All countries require an additional fee once the patent application has been granted.

Claims that are perfectly acceptable in one country might be unattainable in another, due to the different rules for examination. Once gratend, patents have a lifetime of 20 years form the date of the original patent application.

Note that a patent may protect the initial basic concept, but subsequent improvements may not be covered. Amendments or reduction in protection may occur. If a patent application protects a product for a short market lifetime, it may be a good idea to file in fewer countries.

Zombie patents (nonrelevant applications for which significant sums are still being paid) are a resource drain.

What is new NOW:

The America Invents Act significantly changes the patent system by including a “first inventor to file” system which grants patents to the first inventor, regardless of which inventor filed a patent application first.  This harmonizes the system with most other countries.

A first -inventor to file system provides clear standards for dispute resolution regarding the question of inventorship.

The new system encourages inventors to file their patent applications quickly rather than rely on the US 12 month grace period for public disclosure.

Disadvantages:

Hits small, early stage (especially medical products) as racing to the patent office with well written claims will be flooded by well-established companies with resources to file quickly and often.

Places pressure on inventors rush to file potentially missing critical claims.  I should have used the words electromagnetic energy to cover the frequency domain of lasers, which became important when granted an SBIR award in 2009.  The cost of the amendments are high unless you are a lawyer skilled in the art of the invention.

Another disadvantage is the need for limited disclosure of an invention before the invention is filed.  This is particularly relevant to startup companies seeking venture capital funding - they must be guarded about what and how much they disclose.

The creation of a nine month post =grant opposition review period.  This provision is effective on year from enactment of the bill but applies only to the first-inventor to file applications filed 18 months after enactment.

A decrease in litigation also may not occur to the extent expected because final post-grant review decisions are appealable to the Court of Appeals for Federal rulings.

Fees will go up 15% and an accelerated examination path will be reinstated (was on hold in April due to budget cuts).  Estimates of over a half million patent applications are in backlog.

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2. December 2011 by admin.

I have installed and managed vTiger and SugarCRM installations and am fascinated by this free account

KarmaCRM

If you need a sales management tool in the cloud, give it a try!  I am evaluating it now…more later

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