Court case will test the practice of patenting genes

I came across an editorial in this morning's Chronicle (you can read it without advertisments here if you have an SFPL library card) discussing a lawsuit that a group of cancer patients have filed against a biotech company called Myriad Genetics. The plaintiffs allege that Myriad's patents for two genes that are closely linked to breast cancer and ovarian cancer are invalid.

Myriad's patents enable the company to remain the sole provider of a lab test that can determine an individual's risk of these types of cancer. The test costs more than $3000 and, as the plaintiffs point out, it's impossible to get a second opinion because Myriad is the only company that offers it.

The Chronicle editorial and this earlier feature in the New York Times discuss the question of the validity of gene patents (can you patent something that occurs naturally?) and whether a patent monopoly is the best way to encourage innovation in biotechnology (other companies have widely licensed gene patents, making the lab tests more available and more affordable).

Excellent patent searching tutorial from the PTDLP

The people who run the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program office put together some of the best patent and trademark guides available. Making this information available is what the program is all about, and you can count on the PTDLP materials to be even-keeled, realistic, and authoritative.

I mean, however tempting it is to believe the late-night TV ads guaranteeing a successful patent application, virtually any novice inventor does him or herself a favor by checking out the explanatory materials put together by the PTDLP. Here's a link to some of their classic brochures.

A few months ago, the PTDLP folks outdid themselves by producing this tutorial. It's an animated, narrated, interactive slide show that covers the fundamentals of a preliminary patent search. It's just right for someone looking to dive in to the USPTO's resources but unsure where to begin. Two thumbs up!

Chat with USPTO officials tomorrow

Talk about direct access to your government!

On Thursday, May 21, inventors can log on to the USPTO website to submit questions for senior officials of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The theme for this chat will be information for independent inventors, so get your questions ready. The chat lasts from 2 to 3 EDT, but folks can start logging in to submit questions at 1:30.

If you want to see what kind of questions people have asked in previous chats, or make sure that your question hasn't already been answered in an earlier session, check out the chat archives here.

IP Couture, H1N1 Edition: Undergarment/Facemask

The flu has certainly been in the news lately. And while the reports are anything but funny, this invention, filed in 2005, presents a rather amusing solution to the, uh, problem of carrying around a face mask to use in the event of air contamination.


Garment device convertible to one or more facemasks Elena N. Bodnar et al

Book Review -- The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art of Chindogu

Actually, this isn't a proper book review, so that post title is misleading. This book, the Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions by Kenji Kawakami, was recently brought to my attention, however, and I want to rave about the excellence of its subject matter, namely the Japanese art/technology combination known as Chindogu.

Chindogu is, for the uninitiated, is the practice of inventing things that do, at first glance, solve a problem but that, upon closer examination, reveal themselves to be practically useless, often for the simple reason that hardly anyone would feel comfortable using the invention in public. Think of it as a sort of Dada inventing.

Falling asleep on the subway, for instance, could present a real problem for a commuter who misses his or her stop. Come to think of it, sleeping on the subway is also usually pretty uncomfortable, what with no head support. A Chindogu artist has come up with a solution -- a helmet with an attached plunger (to support the head against the wall of the subway car) and a sign displaying the passenger's destination and a polite request to shake the wearer when the train arrives. Brilliant! Uh, but I'm not going to wear that thing...

There are ten tenets of Chindogu, which you can read here.

To see more Chindogu, check out the book or the International Chindogu Society's website. Highly recommended!

IP Couture: Smoker's hat

I file this under Great Idea in Theory, But I Don't Think Anyone Would Wear Such a Hat in Public. Patent Number 4,858,627, the Smoker's Hat, patented in 1989, is sort of a medieval torture device that allows a person to enjoy a smoke without the smoke irritating others. I think it's sort of becoming, in a Black Knight kind of way.

Smoker's hat Walter C. Netschert