Category Archives: Tech Developments

Indiana medical device maker uses patent portfolio to secure $1.73 million in funding

10 Tuesday Feb 2009

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NicoIndianapolis-based start-up medical device maker NICO Corporation announced yesterday that despite declining economic conditions and a sluggish stock market, the company raised $1.73 million in its Series B round of funding.  NICO is a privately-held medical device company holding exclusive worldwide patent rights to the newest minimally invasive neuro and spinal tumor removal tool, the Myriad.  Click here for full story.

It’s just a press release, but at least it’s some positive news in this rough economy.  It’s also a good reminder of the importance of patent acquisition and management for small businesses.  Investors often perceive patent portfolios as a demonstration of the high level of expertise, specialization and technological capacity within a business.

Indiana’s Green Technology Future

03 Tuesday Feb 2009

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The United States overtook Germany as the biggest producer of wind power last year, and will likely take the lead in solar power this year.  U.S. wind power capacity surged 50 percent last year to 25 gigawatts – enough to power more than five million homes. “Governments must send a strong and unequivocal signal that the age of fossil fuels is over,” said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council.

This is great news for the U.S., but what does it mean for Indiana?  Is Indiana ready to jump into the green technology movement?  Can coal-dependent Indiana benefit from a shift to wind, solar or other green energy source?

Unfortunately, on wind power, the answer is probably no.  In order for an area to have suitable wind energy potential for wind turbine applications, it needs to have class 3 or greater annual average wind power.  Taking a look at a map of Indiana’s average wind power, it’s pretty apparent that, apart from Gary and areas bordering Lake Michigan, there just isn’t a lot of wind blowing here.  Class 1 and 2 wind power dominates the state map.

This doesn’t mean that technology won’t someday allow lower wind powers to be harnessed, but it does mean that current wind power providers are going to look outside Indiana for initial investment.  Indiana is not poised to be a breeding ground for new wind technology.

Notwithstanding wind power, Indiana does tout other renewable energy resources that can be tapped, such as clean, competitive, low-carbon energy, solar, biomass and geothermal energy.  The Green Jobs Development Act, comprised of two bills (Senate Bill 283 and House Bill 1349), is currently making its way through both Indiana legislative branches.  Listed below is a summary of the Act’s main points:

Click here for the full fact sheet, which additionally sets out how the Green Jobs Development Act will create new jobs and what happens with coal energy, on which Indiana is currently 96% dependent.  If you want to improve the chances of the Green Jobs Development Act being heard and passed, contact either (or both) of the Chairmen of the House Utilities and Senate Utilities Committees.  Email Chairman Win Moses (h81@in.gov) of the Indiana House about HB 1349 and Chairman James Merritt of the Indiana Senate (s31@in.gov) about SB 283.

South Bend poised for high tech future in nanotechnology

26 Monday Jan 2009

Posted by in Tech Developments

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Here’s some positive tech news out of South Bend:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – (Business Wire) In these tough economic times, many U.S. cities are bracing for change – negative change, that is.

But not South Bend, Indiana. In fact, the city’s future is looking rather bright.

Defiantly optimistic and audaciously hopeful, the administration of South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke has seen the city’s future, and it’s high tech.

“This is a transformational time for South Bend,” explains Luecke, whose administration has embarked on a bold strategy to attract and promote high tech start-ups through major investments, strategic partnerships, and infrastructure development. “In fact, it’s critical to provide the kind of environment that will attract new investment, draw world-class talent and create jobs.”

southbend

“Central to South Bend’s promising high tech future is the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery (MIND), comprised of Notre Dame and other universities, and funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as well as a consortium of the world’s leading computer chip makers – including Intel and IBM.

MIND is one of four primary research centers nationwide that are part of the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI), established by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC).

NRI Director Jeffrey Welser, Ph.D., notes that the strong partnership between South Bend and Notre Dame played a large role in the decision to base MIND in South Bend.

“In my experience with the SRC, South Bend is the first city to have ever become this involved in supporting a university in its efforts to establish a nanoelectronic research facility,” Welser says.

Follow the link for full article.

Trademark Protection of iPhone App Logos

21 Wednesday Jan 2009

Posted by in Intellectual Property, Tech Developments, Trademark

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Apple recently announced that there are now over 15,000 apps available on the iPhone, with over 500 million (!!!) downloaded since the App Store opened on July 10, 2008.  This seems to me a fairly definitive indication that users are loving the apps and all the additional functionality they provide.  In fact, it’s already hard to remember the iPhone pre-App Store.

500 million Apps downloaded since July 10, 2008

Of course, each of those 15,000+ apps is represented on the iPhone screen by a logo.  Moreover, each of these logos is a trademark.  With over a half billion downloads, it’s pretty clear that consumers are interacting with these trademarks on a regular basis.

This post is meant to serve as a reminder to small businesses, in particular small web/tech firms who are developing apps for the iPhone, to not underestimate the importance of protecting their logos through the trademark registration process.

Some companies use an app logo very similar or identical to their main business logo (i.e. Yellowpages.com, Myspace, Google Earth).  However, I’ve noticed that several (most?) apps are using different logos.  For example, here is the Safari logo as it appears on a Mac.  This logo is registered by Apple.

Safari design mark

On the other hand, here’s the Safari logo as it appears on the iPhone.  Surprisingly, I haven’t found either a registration or application on the trademark database.  That seems to be the case for several popular iPhone app logos.

Safari iPhone app

So is it worth it to obtain federal trademark registration for an app logo?  That’s a discussion for another post, but given the phenomenal rate of downloads so far, it seems like a foregone conclusion.  Companies struggling to find a market before may suddenly have an audience in the millions.  It’s not improbable that your app logo will become more recognised than your primary logo.  And if you’re a web/tech company who doesn’t have an iPhone app yet, be advised that you’re passing on a growing and highly enthusiastic market.