Radio controlled wristwatches

I was reminded today of one of the benefits of a radio controlled wristwatch.

radio-watchA radio controlled wristwatch contains a sensitive AM radio receiver that picks up radio transmissions from a government time standard such as WWVB.  WWVB transmits digitally coded time signals on 60 kHz.  A watch or clock equipped to receive the WWVB signal can synchronize itself to the government time standard and thus can be consistently quite accurate.

Such a wristwatch is designed to check the WWVB signal in the middle of the night, because night-time conditions in the ionosphere permit such signals to propagate much further than during the day.

There are similar government time standard radio stations in China, Japan, Great Britain, and Germany.  The watch in the photograph picks up the Chinese and German signals as well as the US signal.

Which brings us to the fun thing about radio controlled watches.  A radio controlled watch automatically corrects for daylight saving time changes.  At 2:00 AM this morning, this watch automatically “sprang forward”.  There was no need to manually adjust this wristwatch for daylight saving time.

 

Paying attention to Daylight Saving Time and RO/IB for the next two weeks

Most PCT filers know that there are always a minimum of two Receiving Offices (and sometimes more than two) available to any PCT applicant that is entitled to use the Patent Cooperation Treaty.  For example for a US-based PCT applicant, the ROs available are (at a minimum) at least RO/US and RO/IB.  And most PCT filers also know that there can sometimes be very good reasons to use RO/IB rather than RO/US.  Indeed there are some fact situations where it is tantamount to malpractice to fail to use RO/IB rather than RO/US.

Given all of this, it is very important to keep in mind that for the next two weeks, the drop-dead time of day for filing in the RO/IB will be different than it is for most of the year.

Normally the drop-dead time of day for filing in the RO/IB is 4:00 PM (for filers in the Mountain Time Zone).  That is, the time in Switzerland is eight hours different from the time in Denver.

But for the next two weeks, the drop-dead time of day for filing in the RO/IB will be 5:00 PM (for filers in the Mountain Time Zone).  Said differently, for the next two weeks you could file in the RO/IB an hour later than usual and still receive a same-day filing date.

How long a trademark Request to Divide takes?

If you are an active trademark practitioner before the USPTO, the E-Trademarks listserv is a good place to hang out.  Here is a question that a listserv member posted to the discussion group:

Does anybody have an idea of how long it takes to process a request to divide?  That last one I filed took about 2 days, but that was some time ago.  I am currently waiting on one I filed over three weeks ago.  Does anybody know the standard timeline these days?
How long do you suppose it takes for the Trademark Office to act upon a Request to Divide?

Continue reading “How long a trademark Request to Divide takes?”

Trump files three more trademark applications for “Make America Great Again”

Last summer I blogged here and here about Donald Trump’s first US trademark application for “Make America Great Again”.  That one registered in July of 2015 (US trademark registration number 4773272).

Now Mr. Trump has filed three more trademark applications for the same mark:

USPTO’s Design Day 2016 will sell out

As I mentioned here yesterday, registration opened yesterday for USPTO’s Design Day 2016 which will take place on Tuesday, April 19, 2016.

The event opened with 350 seats available.  As of right now, 150 seats are taken.  There are only 200 seats left.  It’s likely the event will sell out well before April 19.

One of the industry speakers at this event will be Brian Kelleghan, president of Bison Designs in Longmont, Colorado.  Bison Designs is a leading designer and manufacturer of accessories including carabiners and bottle openers.  Brian’s company was obtaining and making use of design patents long before recent events made it fashionable to get design patents.  Attendees at this event will get to see striking, even astonishing examples of patented designs and will get to hear from Brian about ways that design patents have benefited his company.

Design day offers a unique opportunity for practitioners and members of industry alike to learn from USPTO people, from experienced practitioners, and from people like Brian.  Don’t miss it!

To register, click on the link above.

Register now for Design Day 2016 at the USPTO

Registration is now open for Design Day 2016 at the USPTO.  This will be Tuesday, April 19, 2016 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  It will be at the USPTO in Alexandria, Virginia.   The agenda includes:

  • Developments at the USPTO including training of new design patent examiners, and the new ID5 initiative
  • Updates on U.S. implementation of the Hague system from WIPO’s perspective
  • Best practice tips and pitfalls of design patent prosecution from a panel of experienced practitioners and USPTO examiners
  • Learn from industry leaders about how to take a design from concept to patenting to enforcement
  • Updates and changes to the MPEP and the effect on design practice
  • Important design patent decisions over the past year, as summarized in the popular case law wrap-up

To register, click here.

A remarkably inexpensive fitness band that outperforms much more expensive ones

For some years now I have seen fitness bands on the wrists of friends of colleagues.  By far what I have seen most frequently is the Fitbit.  The Fitbit lists for $100 bmifitut if you shop around you can get it for as little as $78.  What does it do?  It does exactly one thing.  It measures accelerations in all directions.  It thus serves as a step counter and it tries to figure out when you are asleep so that it can tell you how many hours of sleep you got last night.  When it’s brand new its rechargeable battery lasts five days.

What if I were to tell you that a big company that you have never heard of makes a fitness band that does everything that the Fitbit does, only better, and also measures your heart rate, and only costs $20?   Oh and the battery life between charges is three or four weeks.

Continue reading “A remarkably inexpensive fitness band that outperforms much more expensive ones”

A shutter for the camera on your notebook computer

On the notebook computer of a friend or colleague, I have often seen a piece of a Post-it stuck to the camera opening.  The person who does this is prompted by the fear, perhaps not an unreasonable fear, that a bit of malware might turn on the cameracamhatch2 and permit someone to spy upon the user.

I was fascinated to learn of a commercial product that addresses this concern, and is elegant in its simplicity.   Continue reading “A shutter for the camera on your notebook computer”