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Patent Assistance Worldwide Shares Recent Patent News

Patent Assistance Worldwide knows that American inventors still lead the world in producing ideas that result in new patents each year but stories about those innovations do not dominate patent news. What tops the headlines in patent newsletters; blogs and other media are items about disputes over patents, particularly among technology giants like Google, Microsoft and Apple. Patent law is more challenging than ever before and as technology produces not only new ideas and inventions but refinements on existing ones, U.S. courts are kept busy shares Patent Assistance Worldwide.

Here are some recent examples:
• Google and Oracle have been in litigation over Google’s use without permission of computer language Java in its Android technology. Oracle owns the patent on Java. Since the use of Java only represents a small part of the Android’s features, judgment is still out on whether Google actually infringed intentionally.
• Rolls Royce, the second largest manufacturer of jet engines in the world, just lost its case against industry leader, Pratt. Rolls Royce claimed that Pratt had infringed on a patent covering fans made to cool the engines. The judge ruled that Pratt’s fan design was enough dissimilar to avoid infringement.
• Giant Microsoft is recently lost its suit against Canadian company, i4i. In a ruling in June 2011, the Supreme Court found Microsoft guilty of infringement of a patent held by i4i covering text formatting in word processing documents. Microsoft had asked for a judgment that would have removed the “clear and convincing” standard from patent law, making all patents less easy to defend. Many technology companies, especially smaller ones with less money to spend in court, are breathing easier.
• Patent Trolls also make for interesting patent news stories explains Patent Assistance Worldwide. Trolls are companies that buy up patents and then go over after anyone who infringes. They make money by first offering to license the patent and sue for infringement if the license is refused. One of the most aggressive Trolls is Intellectual Ventures, which owns over 35,000 patents and has generated two billion dollars in royalty revenue since the company was founded in 2000. Patent Trolls claim that their business model helps the small inventor by providing a willingly buyer for their patents.
In other patent news, the big story is the recent passage by the U.S. House of the First to File Bill. Patent Assistance Worldwide explains this change to patent law replaces the old standard that the patent would be issued to the first person or company who proved invention. The new legislation grants the patent to the first person or company that files the successful application. U.S. law now conforms to the standard held in most industrialized nations.

Patent Assistance Worldwide watches patent news carefully and can help inventors navigate the complex tasks involved with obtaining a patent in today’s world. Patent Assistance Worldwide provides clients with references to patent attorneys, patent agents, writers, graphic designers and marketers who can assist in all stages of patenting a new idea. With over twenty years’ experience, Patent Assistance Worldwide helps the independent inventor compete in today’s difficult marketplace.