Tag: patent
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Univ of Washington Sues GE for Patent Infringement
The University of Washington in Seattle filed suit in federal court against global manufacturer General Electric Company and its subsidiary GE Healthcare for infringing on a patent held by the university for registering images from ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sources. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued the patent to the university in…
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U.S., Europe Patents Issued for RNAi Drug Delivery
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. in Vancouver, Canada, a developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, says that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and European Patent Office (EPO) have issued patents covering elements of Tekmira’s lipid nanoparticle technology for delivering nucleic acid therapeutics, including small interfering RNA (siRNA). RNAi therapeutics have the potential to treat…
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USA, EU, Japan Patent Offices Vow To Improve Work Sharing
Leaders of the patent offices in the United States, European Union, and Japan agreed to speed the process of examination of patent applications by better sharing materials on common filings. The three organizations met this week at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia for their 28th annual conference. The three…
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University Spins Off Biomarker Targeting Company
The University of Liège in Belgium announced the first spin-off company, called Targetome, from GIGA, the university’s applied geno-proteomics center. The company is led by Vincent Castronovo (pictured left), a university faculty member on whose research the company is based. The company is developing a new technique to identify biomarkers which are over-expressed in certain…
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Patent Awarded for Engineered Soybean to Control Parasite
A Kansas State University research team in Manhattan, Kansas received a patent for a genetically engineered soybean plant that aims to control a devastating parasite causing millions of dollars in crop damage each year. The engineered soybean plant was developed by four current or former K-State faculty: Harold Trick, Timothy Todd, Michael Herman, and Judith…
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U.S. PTO to Continue Gene Patents, BIO and AUTM File Brief
The Dow Jones news service reports today (2 November) that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. PTO) will continue to consider applications for gene-related patents, while the Justice Department has come out against such patents in a friend-of-court brief filed late on Friday in a case challenging them. David Kappos, undersecretary of commerce for…
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New Process Accelerates Nanoparticle Production
Engineering researchers at Oregon State University in Corvallis have discovered a new method to speed the production rate of nanoparticles by 500 times. The researchers say this advance — for which a patent has been applied — can help make products from nanotechnology more commercially practical. Nanoparticles are extraordinarily tiny groups of atoms and compounds…
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Report: U.S. to Oppose Gene Patenting
The New York Times reports today (30 October) that the U.S. Department on Justice late on Friday filed a friend-of-the-court brief stating the U.S. government’s opposition to making genes from humans and other natural sources eligible for patents. The Times says the case involves two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The brief…
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Portable Scanner Enables Quicker Breast Cancer Detection
An engineering professor at University of Manchester in the U.K. has invented a portable scanner based on radio frequency (microwave) technology, which can show in a second the presence of tumors -– both malignant and benign -– in the breast of a patient on a computer. The device can be used at a primary care…
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Magnets Improve Understanding of Influenza Drugs
Using powerful magnets [sponsored link] to scan proteins’ atomic structures, scientists at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah are close to understanding why some drugs to treat the influenza A virus have become less effective, and how new drugs can replace them. FSU has patented this magnet-screening process…