President Obama today released information on planed executive orders and push for new legislation that will attempt to block companies from asserting their patents unless they are also manufacturing a product based upon the patented design. And at the same time, the President's National Economic Council and Council of Economic Advisers released a report a report titled "Patent Assertion and U.S. Innovation." The report generally takes the viewpoint that Patent Assertion Entities are bad for the US Economy and makes the bold claim that, in the past year PAE's have threatened "over 100,000 companies with patent infringement." The bulk of the report that identifies the "problem" is based upon the work of professor Colleen Chien (Santa Clara); Jim Bessen & Mike Meurer (BU); Mark Lemley (Stanford) and Michele Boldrin (WUSTL) & David K. Levine (WUSTL).
Despite the unknowing hyperbole of the report, the suggested actions are, for the most, welcome and will benefit the patent system as a whole. In fact, this move to finally address the problem of predictability of patent scope and patent validity hits the sweet spot of where problems emerge in the system. Of course, the devil will be in the details of these approaches.
Executive Actions:
1. Knowing Who Owns the Patents: Through the PTO a new rule will require patent applicants and owners to regularly update ownership information with the "real party of interest" so that the assignment records are accurate complete.
2. Tightening Functional Claiming. The PTO will provide new targeted training to its examiners on scrutiny of functional claims and will, over the next six months develop strategies to improve claim clarity, such as by use of glossaries in patent specifications to assist examiners in the software field.
In my view, these two elements are sorely needed and will generally improve the patent system without actually limiting the ability of patent assertion entities to derive value from their innovations through patent assertion. In addition, the PTO will begin a number of outreach mechanisms intended to provide assistance to non-patent-insiders who receive patent demand letter.
Legislative Actions:
1. Require patentees and applicants to disclose the "Real Party-in-Interest," by requiring that any party sending demand letters, filing an infringement suit or seeking PTO review of a patent to file updated ownership information, and enabling the PTO or district courts to impose sanctions for non-compliance. [DC: This would add statutory back-up for the PTO rulemaking]
2. Permit more discretion in awarding fees to prevailing parties in patent cases, providing district courts with more discretion to award attorney's fees under 35 USC 285 as a sanction for abusive court filings (similar to the legal standard that applies in copyright infringement cases). [DC: This can be helpful if allowed to go both-ways, although courts generally find that patent litigators are the most well-prepared and honorable of any that they see in court.]
3. Expand the PTO's transitional program for covered business method patents to include a broader category of computer-enabled patents and permit a wider range of challengers to petition for review of issued patents before the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB). [DC: This has the potential of capturing a substantial percentage of issued patents, but that may be fine.]
4. Protect off-the-shelf use by consumers and businesses by providing them with better legal protection against liability for a product being used off-the-shelf and solely for its intended use. Also, stay judicial proceedings against such consumers when an infringement suit has also been brought against a vendor, retailer, or manufacturer. [DC: We are on our way here toward a fair use of patents.]
5. Change the ITC standard for obtaining an injunction to better align it with the traditional four-factor test in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, to enhance consistency in the standards applied at the ITC and district courts. [DC: The focus here is to get patent assertion entities out of the ITC]
6. Use demand letter transparency to help curb abusive suits, incentivizing public filing of demand letters in a way that makes them accessible and searchable to the public. [DC: This sounds good, I wonder how those writing demand letters would respond.]
7. Ensure the ITC has adequate flexibility in hiring qualified Administrative Law Judges. [DC: However, must ensure that the flexibility is not used to hire because of particular political bent.]
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) ? A Mississippi man suspected of sending poison-laced letters to President Barack Obama and two other officials was charged in a five-count federal indictment made public Monday that could send him to prison for life if he's convicted.
The indictment charges 41-year-old James Everett Dutschke with developing, producing and stockpiling the poison ricin, threatening the president and others and attempting to impede the investigation. The indictment also alleges that Dutschke mailed the letter in part to retaliate against a rival, who briefly became a suspect in the investigation.
The indictment was made public Monday, but it was dated May 31.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday in U.S. District Court in Oxford. Dutschke has been jailed without bond since his arrest.
George Lucas, Dutschke's lawyer, told The Associated Press in an email Monday that his client will plead not guilty to each of the five charges.
Dutschke (pronounced DUHS'-kee) was arrested April 27 at his home in Tupelo. He's suspected of mailing ricin-laced letters on April 8 to Obama, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Lee County, Miss., Justice Court Judge Sadie Holland.
Dutschke has denied any involvement in the letters.
He is the second person to face charges in the case.
The first, entertainer and Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, was arrested on April 17, but the charges were dropped six days later when the investigation shifted to Dutschke.
After his arrest, Curtis said he was framed and pointed investigators to Dutschke. The men had met years earlier while both worked for an insurance company owned by Curtis' brother. Curtis said they had feuded over the years.
Count five of the indictment says Dutschke mailed the letters "to retaliate against and frame Kevin Curtis."
The letters contained language that Curtis had often used on his Facebook page, including the line, "I am KC and I approve this message." The letters also contained the phrase "Missing Pieces," the same title as an unpublished book Curtis wrote about his belief that there's a black market for body parts in the United States.
Curtis says he discovered the underground market while running a janitorial service at a hospital. Dutschke briefly owned a small newspaper and the two had discussed publishing the book, but later had a falling out, Curtis has said.
Dutschke, a former martial arts instructor, has unsuccessfully run for public offices, such as in 2007 when he challenged Democratic state Rep. Steve Holland, the son of the Mississippi judge who received one of the letters. That letter was the only one to make it to its intended recipient. The others were intercepted at mail sorting centers.
Authorities said that a dust mask Dutschke removed from his former martial arts studio and dumped in a nearby trash can tested positive for ricin and the DNA of two people, including Dutschke. Authorities haven't said who else's DNA was on the mask, but an FBI agent testified during a preliminary hearing that most of the genetic material on it belonged to Dutschke.
Authorities said Dutschke used the Internet to make three purchases of castor beans, from which ricin is derived, and researched how to make the poison.
The FBI has not revealed details about how lethal the ricin was. A Senate official has said the ricin was not weaponized, meaning it wasn't in a form that could easily enter the body. If inhaled, ricin can cause respiratory failure, among other symptoms. No antidote exists.
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Duke to co-lead NIH research network on antibacterial resistancePublic release date: 3-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Harrison 919-419-5069 Duke University Medical Center
DURHAM, N.C. -- Investigators at Duke Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have been selected to oversee a nationwide research program on antibacterial resistance, which includes a focus on the growing unmet challenges associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and E. coli.
The research team will direct the allocation of a federal grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Duke has been awarded $2 million in initial funding to launch the network; total funding for the award will reach at least $62 million through 2019.
The grant creates a network of researchers who will design, prioritize, implement and manage a clinical research agenda to address antibacterial resistance, an issue that has been identified as one of the leading threats to human health worldwide. The group's goal is to develop new approaches that can benefit patients.
"Antibacterial resistance is an incredibly complex problem because of a convergence of issues: a dwindling pipeline of new products to treat infections, and a growing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria," said Vance Fowler, Jr., M.D., MHS, professor of medicine at Duke and one of the network's two principal investigators.
Antibiotics have been used for the past 70 years, significantly reducing illness and death from bacterial infections. However, some bacteria have adapted to the antibiotics designed to kill them, leaving the drugs less effective.
"Infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria are challenging to treat because one often has to rely on second- or third-line antibiotics, the effectiveness of which is not well known, or if known, is less than drugs of choice. These antibiotics may be more toxic, as well," said co-principal investigator Henry "Chip" Chambers, M.D., professor of medicine at UCSF and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.
To address this growing issue, NIAID created the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group. Led by researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) in collaboration with UCSF, the group serves as a central hub to identify, prioritize, execute and disseminate clinical research on antibacterial resistance. The global scientific community will be invited to submit proposals for research projects on antibacterial resistance, which the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group will review and fund based on alignment with the group's priorities.
"One of the strengths that we've tried to leverage in this project is the formidable expertise of a number of investigators across the United States," Fowler said. "We want to partner with these smart, talented, and driven investigators in the key areas we've identified."
The research effort will focus on four priorities:
Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli;
Gram-positive bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA;
Stewardship and infection control, which will determine how to best prevent infections, prescribe antibiotics and avoid overuse;
Devices and diagnostics, which will aim to reduce the amount of time it takes to determine what type of bacteria are causing infection.
"Gram-negative bacteria are front-and-center in our research agenda because the need for new treatments is greatest with them," Fowler said. He also stressed the importance of improving diagnostics, noting that technology will likely play a role in helping identify pathogens more quickly.
"For most bacterial infections, our diagnostic strategies are still fundamentally the same as they were 100 years ago," Fowler said. "We're still isolating, culturing and identifying bacteria that have been grown from a clinical sample. Each of those steps takes time, and clinicians don't always have the luxury of time.
"Reducing the time to knowledge would have the dual benefit of improving care for individual patients, but on a broader scale can serve to reduce the need for unnecessary antibiotics," Fowler said.
In addition to the four research priorities, the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group will focus attention on pharmacokinetics, or how drugs behave in patients, and antibacterial resistance in children.
The group will also work to cultivate the next generation of experts in antibacterial resistance by placing an emphasis on mentoring and training.
The group represents a partnership between NIAID staff and the antibacterial resistance research community, and will have the capacity to rapidly respond to emerging priority clinical research questions in antibacterial resistance.
The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group builds on a model of successful research networks led by Duke, including the Pediatric Trials Network and the NIAID-funded Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology.
The structure of the DCRI also gives investigators the ability to perform complex clinical trials necessary for antibacterial resistance research.
"The track record that DCRI brings to the table for networks, particularly NIH-funded networks, is unprecedented," Fowler said.
###
Additional investigators and institutions involved in Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group include Scott Evans of Harvard University; Barry Kreiswirth of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Robert Bonomo of Case Western Reserve University; Brad Spellberg of the University of California, Los Angeles; John Bartlett and Sara Cosgrove of Johns Hopkins University; Ebbing Lautenbach of the University of Pennsylvania; Robert Daum of the University of Chicago; Robin Patel of Mayo Clinic; Melinda Pettigrew of Yale University; and Keith Rodvold of University of Illinois at Chicago.
The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group will be funded through cooperative agreement award 1UM1A1104681.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Duke to co-lead NIH research network on antibacterial resistancePublic release date: 3-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Harrison 919-419-5069 Duke University Medical Center
DURHAM, N.C. -- Investigators at Duke Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have been selected to oversee a nationwide research program on antibacterial resistance, which includes a focus on the growing unmet challenges associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and E. coli.
The research team will direct the allocation of a federal grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Duke has been awarded $2 million in initial funding to launch the network; total funding for the award will reach at least $62 million through 2019.
The grant creates a network of researchers who will design, prioritize, implement and manage a clinical research agenda to address antibacterial resistance, an issue that has been identified as one of the leading threats to human health worldwide. The group's goal is to develop new approaches that can benefit patients.
"Antibacterial resistance is an incredibly complex problem because of a convergence of issues: a dwindling pipeline of new products to treat infections, and a growing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria," said Vance Fowler, Jr., M.D., MHS, professor of medicine at Duke and one of the network's two principal investigators.
Antibiotics have been used for the past 70 years, significantly reducing illness and death from bacterial infections. However, some bacteria have adapted to the antibiotics designed to kill them, leaving the drugs less effective.
"Infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria are challenging to treat because one often has to rely on second- or third-line antibiotics, the effectiveness of which is not well known, or if known, is less than drugs of choice. These antibiotics may be more toxic, as well," said co-principal investigator Henry "Chip" Chambers, M.D., professor of medicine at UCSF and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.
To address this growing issue, NIAID created the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group. Led by researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) in collaboration with UCSF, the group serves as a central hub to identify, prioritize, execute and disseminate clinical research on antibacterial resistance. The global scientific community will be invited to submit proposals for research projects on antibacterial resistance, which the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group will review and fund based on alignment with the group's priorities.
"One of the strengths that we've tried to leverage in this project is the formidable expertise of a number of investigators across the United States," Fowler said. "We want to partner with these smart, talented, and driven investigators in the key areas we've identified."
The research effort will focus on four priorities:
Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli;
Gram-positive bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA;
Stewardship and infection control, which will determine how to best prevent infections, prescribe antibiotics and avoid overuse;
Devices and diagnostics, which will aim to reduce the amount of time it takes to determine what type of bacteria are causing infection.
"Gram-negative bacteria are front-and-center in our research agenda because the need for new treatments is greatest with them," Fowler said. He also stressed the importance of improving diagnostics, noting that technology will likely play a role in helping identify pathogens more quickly.
"For most bacterial infections, our diagnostic strategies are still fundamentally the same as they were 100 years ago," Fowler said. "We're still isolating, culturing and identifying bacteria that have been grown from a clinical sample. Each of those steps takes time, and clinicians don't always have the luxury of time.
"Reducing the time to knowledge would have the dual benefit of improving care for individual patients, but on a broader scale can serve to reduce the need for unnecessary antibiotics," Fowler said.
In addition to the four research priorities, the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group will focus attention on pharmacokinetics, or how drugs behave in patients, and antibacterial resistance in children.
The group will also work to cultivate the next generation of experts in antibacterial resistance by placing an emphasis on mentoring and training.
The group represents a partnership between NIAID staff and the antibacterial resistance research community, and will have the capacity to rapidly respond to emerging priority clinical research questions in antibacterial resistance.
The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group builds on a model of successful research networks led by Duke, including the Pediatric Trials Network and the NIAID-funded Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology.
The structure of the DCRI also gives investigators the ability to perform complex clinical trials necessary for antibacterial resistance research.
"The track record that DCRI brings to the table for networks, particularly NIH-funded networks, is unprecedented," Fowler said.
###
Additional investigators and institutions involved in Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group include Scott Evans of Harvard University; Barry Kreiswirth of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Robert Bonomo of Case Western Reserve University; Brad Spellberg of the University of California, Los Angeles; John Bartlett and Sara Cosgrove of Johns Hopkins University; Ebbing Lautenbach of the University of Pennsylvania; Robert Daum of the University of Chicago; Robin Patel of Mayo Clinic; Melinda Pettigrew of Yale University; and Keith Rodvold of University of Illinois at Chicago.
The Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group will be funded through cooperative agreement award 1UM1A1104681.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
House front wall is the main areas are seen and assessed by most people to describe the beauty of a building. Therefore, homeowners need to make it look attractive on the wall areas.
Various tricks can be done to beautify the exterior house walls in order to appear attractive, used of various types of materials (from natural stone, brick, roaster, ceramic, glass, wood or maybe metal) and also play with the walls color to make different shades from the other angle will make a more vibrant accent.
Outside wall decoration using natural stone or can be done to improve the aesthetic value of the building and create a beautiful and natural look, but wall is one of the most dominant element on house exterior or building . Therefore, in order to look more attractive then exterior house walls (especially the front) needs to be decorated.
Use of natural stone, decorative stone, brick exposure, ceramic, roaster, glass or even wood, each type of this material able to create the impression of a different character to the building. Material selection must be precise, consider the climate and house owner taste.
Here are some tips to beautify the front wall (exterior) of the building:
Materials used should be adjusted to character of the building to be created.
Choose suitable material to be used for exterior. You can use the sandstone, roaster, or brick.
Sunlight should be considered to anticipate resistance color. To keep the original material color does not change due to sunlight, provide a layer of coating on the material used.
In addition to the beauty factor do not forget to pay attention to the function. If you want a decorative as well as functional materials, roaster is one that has benefits of both. Very pretty to be mounted for exterior and also serve as vents for air circulation into or out of the building.
Optimize existing exterior elements to create a unified look of the buildings and the environment.
Here are some steps you can take to the installation of natural stone on the wall, the main front wall (exterior) of your home:
Installation of natural stone with a pattern can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal pattern, specifically for diagonal pattern installation should use a size stone with high level of precision.
It would be beautiful if the installation combines a plain stone with ornate stone carvings, ornate stone is widely available in the market at a relatively cheap price.
Do not combine too much natural stone on the same areas unless the existing field is very wide or large.
When using a combination of different stones whenever possible avoid use different types of stone but have similar color, it will make an impression as though we do not change the color.
Adjust natural stone used to match with your house architectural style and do not forget to clean stone and the walls areas from dirt before setup, the stone should be soaked first before being installed, and remember that natural stone quite heavy and need special treatment to install.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's official news agency says Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's helicopter experienced an unspecified "incident" while touring a rural area, but the Iranian president's pilot landed the aircraft safely and the leader was unhurt.
The report by IRNA did not elaborate on the Sunday incident, which happened as Ahmadinejad was en route to a mountainous area in the north of the country to inaugurate a highway tunnel.
It said the pilot landed skillfully and neither the president nor his companions were hurt. The report said Ahmadinejad made it to the inauguration ceremony on time.
By Traci PedersenAssociate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 2, 2013
A new study shows that children of women who didn?t graduate from high school have double the risk of experiencing major?depression in early adulthood, compared to children of mothers who graduated.
?Our research indicates that a mother?s lack of high school education has a robust impact on her child?s risk of major depressive episode in early adulthood,? said senior author Am?lie Quesnel-Vall?e, Ph.D.,?of McGill University.
The higher risk of depression in children of mothers with less than a high school education could not be attributed to parental history of depression, early life adversity, or the children?s own education and income in early adulthood.
The study is the first in Canada to distinguish the impact of a mother and father?s education on depression in early adulthood.
For the study, researchers looked at a sample of 1,267 individuals from Statistics Canada?s National Population Health Survey.
Participants were first interviewed in 1994, when they were between 12 and 24 years old, and living with their parents. They were then followed for 12 years, and their risk of major depressive episode was assessed between the ages of 22 and 36.
?Depression in early adulthood strikes at a critical time,? said Quesnel-Vall?e.
?An individual may be pursuing studies or apprenticeships, or starting a career or a family.? A disruption caused by depression can potentially derail these events and have lifelong consequences.?
Interestingly, the father?s level of education has no impact.
?This, along with the fact that the effect of mother?s education was not explained by the children?s own education or income, suggests that mothers? parenting skills may be at play here,? she said.
Alison Park, a researcher at the Institut National de Sant? Publique du Qu?bec who worked on the research for her master?s degree, said, ?Education gives people practical skills, such as communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as an increased sense of mastery.?
?A better-educated mother might be more confident in coping with difficulties arising from child-rearing.? This increased confidence and feeling of self-mastery might serve as a model for her children.?
The research is published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
Source:? McGill University
APA Reference Pedersen, T. (2013). Mom?s Education Impacts Adult Kids? Depression Risk. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 2, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/06/02/moms-education-impacts-adult-kids-depression-risk/55505.html
Gmail's desktop inbox just went through some pretty significant UI changes, and we've just been waiting for Google to update its mobile apps with many of the same elements. The Android app, which Android Police reports is beginning its rollout today, reflects the new multiple-tabbed interface we've had the opportunity to play with for the last week -- it offers the same five tabs that are found on the desktop version, in addition to a new slide-out navigation interface. We're still waiting to get official word from Google about the update, but we'll let you know as soon as we have it. In the meantime, if you feel daring enough to try the new APK, head below to the source link to find a selection of available mirrors.
Update: it looks like the update is starting to appear in the Play Store. Head here to see if it's available for your device. We've had the chance to download it, and can confirm that it offers swipe to refresh in addition to the features mentioned earlier.
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Public release date: 3-Jun-2013
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A new study shows that children of women who didn?t graduate from high school have double the risk of experiencing major?depression in early adulthood, compared to children of mothers who graduated.
