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GEN-ERIC Patent News
Tuesday, October 21, 2003

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HEADLINES (patents issued a few hours ago..)
The Friendly Skies Patent of the Day goes to
The Boeing Company of Chicago for an
Airplane seat computer connection

The Mobile 411 Patent of the Day goes to
Sun Microsystems, Inc. of California for
Delivering location-dependent services to automobiles
    Index
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NEWS
Itron settles patent suit for $7.9M
http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2003/10/13/daily22.html
Itron Inc. of Spokane said it has agreed to pay $7.9 million to settle a patent-infringement claim against it. The company maintains that its products do not infringe on the patent in question, but said settling the matter "will allow us to focus our efforts and resources in a positive direction for our customers, employees and shareholders."
    Index
PayPal, Bank One settle lawsuits
http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1104_2-5093745.html
eBay, its PayPal money transfer service, and Bank One agreed to settle two patent infringement lawsuits, eBay and PayPal said Monday. Terms of the agreement were confidential. Bank One Delaware had sued PayPal, the largest U.S. online payments service, on Sept. 6 in federal district court in Delaware. PayPal filed a separate lawsuit against Bank One in the same court on Sept. 29. PayPal, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., said it and eBay do not expect the agreement to materially affect operations or financial results. eBay, the online auctioneer, is based in San Jose, Calif. Bank One, the No. 6 U.S. bank, is based in Chicago
    Index
Office 2003 may carry end-user risk, says inventor
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2003/10/prweb85470.htm
Computer users considering Microsoft Office 2003, to be released tomorrow, should be informed of any potential risks associated with patents pending, says Eric Wilson, inventor of 'Document Display System and Method' technology. Mr. Wilson warns end-users will be pursued for additional royalties and special conditions, if patent applications are granted and use of Office 2003 infringes. The inventor cites concerns over features found in a trial version of Office known as 'Beta 2', which was distributed to over 500,000 people.
    Index
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PATENTS OF THE DAY

6,632,180

Airplane seat computer connection

Abstract: A flexible computer connection attaches to a passenger seat in an airplane to supply a personal computer used by a passenger with electrical power and communications with an external location such as a ground source for telecommunications and connecting to the internet.

Summary: To overcome these and other drawbacks, the present invention provides a personal computer connecting device that has a combined reading light and PC connection port especially adapted for use with an airplane seat on an airplane. The personal computer connecting device comprises a PC connector forming a communications port, a communication line connecting the PC connector to a transmission device that transmits information to or from the personal computer with ground station external to the airplane, and a flexible support structure supporting the communication line and the PC connector. Accordingly, the present invention provides a quick and efficient PC connection even in light of the small size constraints in an airplane.

Index

6,631,904

Delivering location-dependent services to automobiles

Abstract: An automobile equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and an on-board computer is configured to transmit the automobile's location and direction of motion to a central server. The central server is configured to identify the automobile, the route taken by the automobile. The central server obtains location information or geo-related information pertinent to the route taken by the automobile, filters the data according to certain criteria, and then delivers an audible version of the filtered data to an audio output device such as a radio receiver located in the automobile.