What sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom? Opposable thumbs? Free
will? Tools? Not even close.
It may not be what Darwin had in mind, but my theory is that our branch of the evolutionary tree broke off right about the time someone figured out how to keep score. Mankind can make a sport out of anything. And nothing proves my theory better than the Olympics. Badminton, table tennis, team handball--I love this stuff! The IOC even made my beloved snowboarding a medal sport.
So in honor of the "thrill of victory" and the "agony of defeat" in Beijing, PATracer once again presents On The Radar. We tally the monthly patent filings across the United States to determine the medal winners. While there were no Rulon Gardners in June's contest, a few "little" states fared quite well, Chicagoland made a roaring comeback, and things are still big in Texas.
June 2008
Total patent cases filed: 255
Total districts receiving new patent filings: 56
The Leaderboard
(Click the table for a larger view.)
Source: Pacer's U.S. Party/Case Index and a little something the cool kids call math.
Update: Thanks to one of our kind readers, we have corrected the table. The Northern District of California was listed twice (at 7 and 10). The Northern District of Georgia should be in the T10 slot.
Numbers Game
- June beat May by 15 cases.
- Seven of the 56 districts receiving patent complaints had double-digit filings and those districts accounted for more than half of all patent cases filed in June (134).
- The only new member of the double-digit club in June was the Northern District of Illinois.
- Gainers: Northern District of Illinois (+13 over May), Eastern District of Texas (+10 over May), and District of Delaware (+6 over May).
Notables
Litigation Worth More Than A Few Scents
Continuing their pleasant smelling patent battle, Dial Corp., maker of the Renuzit air freshener, sued S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. in the District of Arizona over its Glade PlugIns products. S.C. Johnson had sued Dial for patent infringement last December relating to Dial's Renuzit TriScents products. We'll let you know if we get a whiff of an appeal in these cases.
Busy Month For Pharma In Delaware
June found Canadian generic maker Apotex defending two new suits in the District of Delaware (and one more in New Jersey). Eli Lilly filed two actions there. And Forest Labs, Wyeth, and AstraZeneca all added patent infringement actions to the Delaware docket. Judging by the number of pharma appeals we've covered lately, there's a solid chance we'll have more to report on at least one of these cases.
Media Stream Flows To Illinois
undefined4Media filed two actions in the Northern District of Illinois, charging thirteen defendants with infringement. The patents-in-suit relate to wireless streaming of digital media. Given the defendants named in these lawsuits (Samsung, Logitech, Pioneer, etc.) and the popularity of their products, EZ4Media's cases should garner more attention over the next several months.
After Market Controllers For Your Grey Market Wii
Finding a Wii is not an easy task. Wii accessories, however, seem to be everywhere. Nintendo sued Nyko Technologies in the Western District of Washington for one of its latest Wii add-ons--the wireless Nunchuk controller. Nintendo alleges that Nyko's version of the Nunchuk infringes its patents and trademark. According to the Complaint, Nintendo has at least two design patents covering its controller and a registered trademark for "NUNCHUK." (Nyko calls its version a NUNCHUCK.) More coverage (and pictures) can be found at the Patent Arcade.
The "All Name" Team
Possibly taking their cues from Kyle's comments on naming a company for litigation, several of June's litigants sported interesting monikers.
- Most Patriotic: God Family & Country LLC (God Family & Country LLC v. Marcrest Manufacturing Inc., CD/IL 08-CV-3140)
- Most Sympathetic: Little Kids, Inc. (Arko Development Limited v. Little Kids, Inc. et al., CD/CA 08-CV-4048)
- Most Precious (tie): Babe Ease, LLC and Nurtured Little One, LLC (Babe Ease, LLC v. Nurtured Little One, LLC, D/NH 08-CV-223)
- Most Likely Named By Prince: EZ4Media (EZ4Media v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. et al., ND/IL 08-CV-3732)
- Most Unique: Unique Industries, Inc. (Unique Industries, Inc. v. 96507 Alberta Ltd., D/DC 08-CV-1095)
You have N.D. of California ranked 7th and 10th. I would guess 10th place belongs to someone else?
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