Medical Device Trends of the Next 10 Years - Part 2

In part one of this article, we talked about obesity and heart disease... two growing trends in America that will require new and innovative medical devices.

Today, we will look two more large-scale health issues that will require new technology, innovation and patents.

Medical Device Patents and Diabetes

Coming in as the seventh deadly killer in the U.S., Diabetes claims roughly 71,382 lives per year. 17.9 million Americans live with diabetes. And another 2.5% of the population does not know they have the disease.

In fact, since 1988 there has been an across the board increase of instances of diabetes regardless of age, sex or ethnicity.

Diabetes leads to greater incidences of heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, neuropathy (disease of the nervous system) and even amputations.

And diabetes is a $175 billion per year (and growing) industry.

Surely, creative new patents and medical devices will need to be invented to fight this dreaded disease. What are some of the opportunities for inventors?

There are two types of diabetes. People are either born with type-1 diabetes, or they develop type-2 diabetes. Both versions result in the pancreas producing little or no insulin (a hormone needed to allow sugar to enter cells to produce energy).

Traditionally, diabetics are treated with insulin injections to supplement the lower amounts in the bloodstream. Perhaps there is some invention-in-waiting that is less painful/intrusive than injections? Or maybe you could invent an "insulin pill" that slowly releases insulin over the day? An insulin patch?

Medical Device Patents and Antibiotics

Nearly 100,000 people a year die from antibiotic resistant infections in the United States alone. And doctors are fearing it's only going to become more common.

The reason? Antibiotics are losing their potency.

Here's why, human beings are a vastly complex creature. We have multiple systems for pumping blood, breathing air and sending electrical systems back and forth. Bacteria are so primitive they don't even have a nucleus.

Our complexity betrays us. The simple antibiotics we've used for the last half century have prompted bacteria to evolve. To develop biological countermeasures that are rendering antibiotics harmless. This wouldn't be a problem if we were still discovering new antibiotics. But the vast majority of antibiotics were developed over twenty years ago.

What can inventors do?

Inventing new antibiotics is NOT the answer.

I think the more lucrative area for inventors is preventing bacterial infection in the first place (if you've seen the explosion in antibacterial products over the last twenty years, then you know what I'm talking about).

More and more people will be scared by news accounts of these new "super-bugs" and will look for different ways to protect themselves.

That's it for part two of this article. In part three we will look at the growing threat of cancer, and where the most help is needed...and...why you might want to consider how to help seniors live out their golden years.

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Software Patent Strategies If Federal Circuit Decisions Results in a Change to the Law

In an earlier article I discussed a recent Federal Circuit decision, and the possibility that it may be an outlier or the start of a change in United States law regarding software patents. If this decision is the start of a change, patent applications for software innovations would do well to anticipate likely changes in the law.

I don't know if or how software patent law will change, but I can make a good guess based on prominent decisions from the past. Judges like to at least appear to make decisions that are consistent with past rulings, even when they are dramatically changing the law. By looking at some important software decisions, one can anticipate and prepare for even significant changes.

In the Supreme Court's recent decision on software patents, the Court changed the law so as not to limit "software, advanced diagnostic medicine techniques, and inventions based on linear programming, data compression, and the manipulation of digital signals...." With such strong, recent support for protection for software inventions, a change in the law is unlikely that would eliminate software patents entirely.

However, an even earlier Supreme Court ruling, found fault with a software patent claim that was so abstract that it covered all uses of a particular conversion. If patentability for software innovations is narrowed, it is very likely that applicants will be required to claim a specific, well-defined use of an algorithm or process. Therefore applicants should include descriptions of very specific, limited uses of an algorithm or process in their applications.

The Supreme Court's earlier decision also held that a purely mental process that could be done by a person was unpatentable even if performed by a computer. So if software patents are restricted, it is also likely that processes that claim only steps that can also be done by a person will not be allowed. A machine must be integral to the invention.

To anticipate a change to the law that restricts patents for processes that can be done only by the mental effort of a person, one should include support for limiting claims to include hardware actions that can't be performed by a human. For example, a rendering of results, digital communications through specific hardware, or direct communications with a digital interface may be enough to distinguish a patentable invention from purely mental process.

Finally, there is international precedent for allowing operations to be patented that include a hardware limitation as part of a key inventive element. China and the European Patent Office ostensibly do not allow algorithms to be patented. Yet these jurisdictions regularly allow patents where hardware is key to an important step of the invention.

To anticipate a similar legal doctrine in the US, a software application should now include hardware descriptions and distinctions relating to the key operations and actions. If needed these descriptions and distinctions could be used to show that the invention is more than an abstract algorithm.

By including elements like these in a software patent application, an inventor can prepare for changes to the law that might otherwise prevent the granting of protection for a software invention. We don't know if the law will change, but being prepared never hurts.

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Why a Patent Attorney Should Conduct the Patent Search

Inventions need to be protected. Some fellows wouldn't think twice before trying to steal it from you. Legally put, infringe on your intellectual property. This is where the concept comes in. Patents are the exclusive rights that an inventor is granted to protect the invention from such fellows. The invention can vary from a machine, article of manufacturer or any new enhancements that the inventor might come up with. The rights are claimed in an official application whose first and crucial stage is the search.

Why You Need a Patent Attorney The method of getting hold of patents is not easy. It requires the expertise of a patent attorney. He is also called a patent agent or lawyer in some quarters. He is an expert in patent law and represents his/her clients in acquiring patents and also acts on all affairs and dealings that relate to the patent law and practices like filing an opposition. Application is an intricate process. This is because unlike a passport application where you are guaranteed of issuance as long as you fulfill the requirement, patents rely on more complicated information. For an application to be successful, it must not only explain the innovation in depth, but also elucidate specifically what this breakthrough would keep out other people from doing without permission of the patent holder. You don't have to worry yourself with these fine details because the lawyer should instead worry on your behalf.

The Patent Search: However, before seeking to engage the services of a patent attorney, you need to conduct a search. This is the first step in the application towards being granted patents and you can do it on your own. The search is essential as it will enable you aware that indeed the invention is new. The search, also called prior art, stands for all the information that has been made public in any form including preceding periodicals, publications, web publications, thesis papers or any other information anywhere in the world that has been made public. This means that you have to be as thorough as possible because there is no room for mistakes to ensure that indeed the new invention is actually unique. Not only does a thorough search protect and safeguard you from wasting your hard earned resources, but they also help underpin the potency if it is finally issued. This is the reason why a search by the office may not be as far-reaching as may be required due to the limited resources they have.

Since procuring a patent is tedious and will definitely eat up a lot of your resources, time and energy, any slip up in the process may jeopardize the whole process and may even bring down that business that you intend to build around your invention. This means that the services of a patent attorney come in handy here. A competent lawyer should be brought on board to handle a thorough search on your initial search. Furthermore, the patent attorney will conduct the search using the most economically viable methods available to do the whole search. The lawyers are more comprehensive in their searches strategically aimed at discovering not only what prior art can be established, but also help you establish what exactly can reasonably be expected to be patented. Also, agents will advice you whether it is okay for you to forge ahead with your application as it is or not.

To build a strong and serious patent application, one needs a strong foundation which can only be established via a thorough search. This can only be believed if it is conducted by a professional patent attorney. In the end, you save yourself a lot of money, effort and more importantly your invention.

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Intensified Methods for Resourceful Novelty Search

In general, if any significant information related to an invention has been found in prior-art, then patentability for that given invention won't be possible legally. Many times, patentability of an invention substantially depends on that time which has been consumed by the inventor during the novelty search. For instance, if someone is seeking for a significant competitive intelligence for some task or query. So there is a need to be more steadfast in novelty search methods.

Along with the use of precise and accurate search strings, there are so many other factors that also affect it through direct or indirect manner such as Anticipation for new claims, Objective fitness function, and Inferential programming etc.

Some of these factors are discussed below in a brief manner

Anticipation for new claims

Anticipation for new claims is an objective oriented process of imaginative speculation about the result or output. Anticipation for new claims is not always an inherent skill for someone. Its dexterity also emerges from the related novelty search experience.

Objective fitness function

Perceptibly, 'function' states about its property according to which each input is related to exactly one output. In case of novelty search, if we anticipate more than one significant search as a result.

So here, objective fitness function will become vital enough, that means, the input will be a single figure which remains meritorious, i.e., it might be the elegant and summarized form of imagined string search command for the set which is aimed (novelty search for an invention) to be achieved.

Inferential programming

Generally, inferential programming is used, where the some hypothetical logics have significance in novelty search. By using a metaphor such as a fitness function or a logical specification, a person will describe some novelty search-targeted results to the patent database.

For making this tool more efficient, novelty seekers have to adopt their most preferred choices first, when they start their search by choosing the largest or most preferred set of keywords because that will be definitely work as a strict fitness function.

Novelty search always seems an ultimate recent story that comes out from the historical background of a given particular field. Thus, if we look at a real life example, in football, term novelty, is used for a kick which has never been played before in a recorded game.

Above mentioned methods or tips make it more easy and worthy for novelty seekers. These factors will really boost up the incredible achievements and innovative intelligence among the novelty seekers.

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Are Patent Laws Impeding Innovation in the Software Sector?

The other day, I was discussing the challenges with patent law in the computer programming and software sector. My acquaintance, Troy LaClaire a fellow think tanker type were contemplating a new device for computer gaming and personal tech, which would require some rather unique coding and software to do something which has not been done yet, to our knowledge anyway. Well it turns out that Sony already has some patents, 8-years old for the application of video games, but apparently the patent was vaguely worded and could be interpreted as any computer device.

Yes, they definitely locked that one down tight and of course any large corporation in that sector would have done the same, well any smart company. Troy stated; "and yet it seems that they haven't really done anything with it and one reason why I think we need more patent limitations, as some people would be to afraid to proceed on such a project as they would be to worried about violating patents already in place."

Indeed, now that is a really good point, and yet, I guess I have many mixed emotions on the whole US patent and trademark office for the same reasons. Sometimes it helps industry to spend the money in research and development knowing that they have a patent they will recoup their money, and other times it just prevents innovation from moving forward, and prevents very decent technologies from coming to market. And all these lawsuits over patents are just a nightmare, and all those court awards do nothing but raise the price for consumers, often needlessly.

Troy also reminded me that our patent laws definitely have their benefits; in that companies can review patents someone else owns, and then contact that person on licensing the rights to the patent, without the designer risking losing the idea to someone else. However it has become a method for companies to prevent others from working on similar things, by patenting things that they may never produce.

Okay so, that is very true, and yes, sometimes our free-market loses, consumer loses, and humanity loses, which is not so good. Now then could our concept really make it in the real world, in that free market system, I often speak so highly about? We must also understand as Troy noted to me in our conversation that he doesn't see the overall system changing anytime soon, as there were just recently a number of changes, and even those were not huge changes although they will affect many companies with large patent portfolios, but as Troy says "so we must learn to work within the system and figure out how to use it for our own needs for the current time."

We also agreed as you perhaps do if you are in the software sector, that for these reasons, someday, I think we need to redo the patent system, and especially put in a limit on patents. Such a limit should allow for a longer patent period for something that is actually in production, but on the flip side have early expiration for things that are not being produced, especially software systems tech and consumer electronics.

Lastly, Troy brought up another decent point here; the main problem with software, is for a specific action there may only be so many different ways you can do something. Once all of these are patented, the small developer who may have a new product cannot release it because some small piece may violate a patent/copyright.

And so if a small developer doesn't do it, and a big corporation decides not to, then there is a chance that nothing gets done, thus, nothing gets created. See that point?

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Dispute Resolution Systems

Introduction

Dispute Resolution Systems (DRS) is a general term used to identify means of resolving disputes out of court, such as by mediation or arbitration. DRS programs are becoming increasingly important today as parties and the court system alike are now trying to find DRS programs that will take them out of the traditional legal system and solve their disputes in a quick and cost efficient manner. DRS reflects a serious effort to design workable and fair alternatives to traditional civil litigation.

Types of Dispute Resolution System

Dispute resolution processes fall into two major types:

1. Adjudicative processes, such as litigation or arbitration, in which a judge, jury or arbitrator determines the outcome. 2. Consensual processes, such as collaborative law, mediation, conciliation, or negotiation, in which the parties attempt to reach agreement.

Not all disputes, even those in which skilled intervention occurs, end in resolution. Such intractable disputes form a special area in dispute resolution studies.

Dispute Resolution in International Trade: Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration and Legal Action

There are several types of DRS programs. The more familiar are:

1. Negotiation - This is the direct bargaining between two parties to a dispute where they attempt to resolve the dispute without the intervention of others. Many real estate brokers utilize this form of DRS without realizing it. An example may be when a disgruntled buyer calls after a walk through and finds that the seller broke the mailbox when he was moving out of the home. A real estate broker may offer to purchase a new mailbox in order to resolve the conflict. This resolution has been accomplished using the DRS program of negotiation.

2. Mediation - In mediation, a neutral third party assists the disputants in negotiating a mutually acceptable settlement. Mediators do not render decisions but help to facilitate the parties to the dispute to come to their own agreement by clarifying issues, utilizing persuasion and other conflict resolution strategies. Although there is no guarantee that the dispute will be resolved, surveys reveal that settlements are reached over 80% of the time.

3. Arbitration - Arbitration is probably the best known DRS method. In arbitration agreements, parties agree to submit existing or future disputes to a neutral third party, an arbitrator, who will decide how the dispute will be resolved. In binding arbitration, that decision is a final resolution of the dispute. In non-binding arbitration, the parties elect whether to settle with the arbitrator's decision or to continue on to litigation.

Benefits of DRS Program

• Faster than litigation. • Less expensive than litigation. • Discourages litigation of frivolous claims. • In mediation, parties do not forfeit their legal rights to arbitrate or litigate the dispute if mediation is unsuccessful. • Parties actively participate in the process and control outcomes. • Process contributes to long-term goodwill between brokers and their clients and customers. • Provides a service which brokers and salespeople can offer to their clients and customers. • Improves image of NAR, associations and members because they have taken the initiative to find and provide alternatives to litigation.

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