Patent

When you know the answers to these questions, go to www.4Kids.org/detectives/What are nonfiction books about? (Go to tqjunior.advanced.org/5002/ to find out.)What kinds of things are protected by copyright?"That's Odd" says lightning bolts can travel how fast?THE SCIENCE OF FUNSure, sociology, biology and astrology can all be interesting, but for sheer enjoyment, you can't beat Funology. At the Funology Web site, you'll get the inside track on the science of having fun! Laughs and learning go hand-in-hand at www.funology.

Anthony Imperiale, 68, a political firebrand who served as state senator, state assemblyman and Newark, N. J., city councilman, died Sunday of complications related to kidney failure. Mr. Imperiale moved into the national spotlight as a spokesman for law and order in the late 1960s, appearing on "60 Minutes" and inspiring a movie, "Fighting Back." During the Newark riots of July 1967, he organized citizen patrols to keep black protesters out of Italian neighborhoods, and was criticized as a divisive figure and a reactionary who glorified vigilantism.

WASHINGTON -- After a 26-year court fight, Hughes Aircraft Co. gained the Supreme Court's permission yesterday to collect $112 million from the federal government for violating a Hughes patent on space satellite controls.Without comment, the justices refused to hear a Justice Department appeal, probably marking the end of a dispute that has reached the highest court three times.The Hughes invention at issue involves a guidance system that keeps satellites in the same spot over Earth as they orbit -- a stationary position that is vital to communications satellites.

A federal judge in Baltimore ruled yesterday that there have been no fouls in the heated competition among lacrosse-stick makers.In a 55-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis dismissed all claims arising from a patent infringement suit brought by Baltimore-based STX Inc. against its two top rivals, Brine and Warrior Lacrosse.STX had claimed that Brine and Warrior had infringed on its patent for a popular plastic lacrosse stick head, called an "open sidewall" model, and asked for unspecified money damages and an injunction to prevent its competitors from continuing to make the head.

Oncor Inc., the Gaithersburg genetic test developer, said yesterday that it will pay $2 million as part of a settlement in a patent-infringement lawsuit filed against it by competitor Vysis Inc. and the University of California.Oncor said the agreement includes Oncor transferring to Vysis a segment of its genetic probe business, which generated about $3 million in 1997 revenue. Oncor will also make an initial cash payment to Vysis of $500,000 and a payment of $1.5 million on April 9, 2000.

CellPro Inc. will file motions seeking reconsideration of key issues in a patent-infringement case brought against the company by the Johns Hopkins University, Mark J. Handfelt, vice president and general counsel of CellPro, said yesterday.Hopkins and two companies to which it granted licenses sued CellPro in 1994. They charged that CellPro had, in effect, stolen patented Hopkins research leading to a device used in cancer treatment. A federal court in Delaware ruled for the Hopkins side and ordered CellPro last year to pay about $7 million in penalties and damages.

Divisions of Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. won major contracts at opposite ends of the globe yesterday.Australia picked the company to help complete that nation's early warning radar system. And the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded Lockheed Martin $254 million for upgrading computer operations.The Australian project involves a joint venture with Transfield Defence Systems to manage the installation of two radar complexes, the Jindalee Operational Radar Network, which will guard Australia's northern coast.

Oncor Inc.'s president said yesterday that the company is confident it can successfully defend itself against TC patent-infringement lawsuit filed by a competitor, even though a federal judge in San Francisco found two weeks ago that at least one of Oncor's product lines may violate the patent."

Information Resource Engineering Inc. said yesterday that it has received a patent on its new secure portable modem, a product the company said will promote telecommuting by making it easier for stay-at-home workers to affordably scramble transmissions to their offices."

Black & Decker Corp. defeated another foe of its popular SnakeLight when Coleman Co. Inc. said it will stop selling its flexible flashlight and pay the Towson-based company $2.5 million, company officials said yesterday.The agreement settles a patent infringement suit filed by Black & Decker against the camping gear company in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va.Combined with wins in other lawsuits, the settlement means SnakeLight will face little competition this holiday season on store shelves.

Alexander Severinsky thought he had escaped long waits for basic goods when his family fled the Soviet Union in 1978. But barely a year later he found himself in his Oldsmobile Cutlass, in the Texas heat, at the end of a line of cars waiting to gas up. "I just came from Russia a year ago, where I stand in lines for food, and now what changed? I'm back in line, only for fuel," he said, laughing, in his accented English. Better fuel efficiency, he reasoned, could boost gas supplies and end the lines.

A Rockville technology company took on Japanese gaming giant Nintendo yesterday, saying it filed patent-infringement complaints with two federal agencies asking that U.S. importation of the popular Wii video game system be halted. Hillcrest Labs, which licenses a technology to manufacturers that use it to make motion controls for digital media, said it filed a lawsuit in a Maryland U.S. District Court alleging that components of Nintendo's Wii game systems infringe upon four of its intellectual property patents.

Maryland : Economy Aon to eliminate 2,700 jobs Insurance brokerage Aon Corp., which has several offices in the Baltimore region, said yesterday that it would cut 2,700 jobs as part of a restructuring plan that will save about $240 million a year. The job cuts will be mostly in back-office operations, with about 1,100 expected to be "off-shored or outsourced," Aon said. A spokesman said the Chicago company has not disclosed which offices would be affected by the job cuts. The company has 43,000 employees across 500 offices globally.

Government backlogs are far too familiar to Americans. Many disabled Americans must wait years to receive benefits from the Social Security Administration. Piles of unanalyzed DNA evidence are delaying justice nationwide. And hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants are stuck in line for citizenship because of a backlog of "name checks" at the FBI. But one backlog might top them all. About 730,000 inventors are waiting for patents - the right to a 20-year monopoly on the production and sale of their inventions.

By defiantly licensing generic versions of patented medicines, Thailand late last year and Brazil a few weeks ago have severely tested global health policy and the global trade system itself. A functional system would strike a judicious balance between the interests of drug companies, whose patents compensate them for the large investments required to develop lifesaving medicines, and the imperative to make them available to the world's poor. Instead, today we have a dysfunctional battle between pharmaceutical giants and governments of developing countries, each side claiming to champion the world's health needs and accusing the other of exploitation.

NEW YORK -- The chief executive officer of leading Internet phone provider Vonage Holdings Corp. resigned yesterday amid a continuing patent dispute that has threatened the company's business and phone service for 2.4 million customers. Michael Snyder stepped down as chief executive and was replaced temporarily by Jeffrey A. Citron, the former CEO and current chairman. Vonage, offering a preview of first-quarter results, also said that to save $140 million it would slash 10 percent of its more than 1,700-person work force, freeze new hiring and cut $110 million from planned marketing.

Vonage Holdings Corp. dodged a bullet yesterday, but was left gasping for air after a federal judge ruled that it can continue operating - but may not recruit new customers - during its patent dispute with Verizon Communications Inc. The Internet phone service pioneer, which has 2.2 million customers but continues to lose money, has bet its future on increasing its customer base. If Vonage's appeal of yesterday's ruling fails, the company must either find alternative technology or pull a legal rabbit out of a hat, analysts said.

Maryland: Government 4 area leaders get state jobs Four Baltimore-area government and civic leaders have been named to jobs at the state Department of Business and Economic Development, the agency said yesterday. Samuel J. Lloyd, formerly Baltimore's director of minority business development, was appointed assistant secretary for small business. Dominick E. Murray, who was economic development officer for the Baltimore Mayor's Office under now-Gov. Martin O'Malley, was named assistant secretary for regional development for the Baltimore region.

California's Genentech Inc. announced yesterday that a patent protecting a key drug-making process in the biotechnology industry has been rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, opening the door for dozens of companies - including Gaithersburg-based MedImmune Inc. - to use the technology without having to pay millions in royalties. MedImmune has long claimed the patent, known as the Cabilly II, is invalid. The company sued Genentech in a case that wound its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled last month that the lawsuit could proceed in lower courts after having been rejected earlier.

Imagine that you are an inventor and the government steals your highly lucrative idea. The next day, you are informed that the government plans to mass-produce your invention and give it away for free. If you're lucky, they'll give you a pittance for your efforts. This is what happens, with increasing regularity, to the manufacturers of lifesaving medicines. The most recent example occurred in Thailand when the military-appointed government issued "compulsory licenses" to obtain two drugs.