Los Angeles Patent Attorney - Los Angeles Patent Lawyer

Los Angeles - In a partnership with Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), Los Angeles-based GTX Corp. has been granted a utility patent that will focus on GPS tracking location based solutions aimed at aiding families living with autism. TACA is a non-profit organization which provides valuable information and resources to parents whose children have been diagnosed with autism.

As the leader in customizable, two-way GPS tracking technology, GTX will be bolstering its growing intellectual property platform that includes 11 issued patents and 5 pending patents. Its new patent titled "System and Method for Communication with a Tracking Device" covers many vital communications with its processes that are currently being used everyday by the company's licensed partners and consumers, which will give GTX increased market share in the growing $13 billion location based services industry.

"With our award winning multi-patented GPS Smart Shoe and patent-pending Alertag, we have been at the forefront of connective health for years, providing new levels of functional oversight, security and peace of mind to a variety of audiences and needs," stated Patrick Bertagna, CEO of GTX Corp. "We look forward to developing and bringing to market new, innovative products that both satisfy the ever-increasing consumer demand for location based solutions and that will help support the families challenged with a special needs child."

The patent has thirty claims, including two independent claims. One of the independent claims involves a tracking device with remotely configurable settings and the other independent claim relates to a method of communicating configuration data to a tracking device. This patented technology will provide extra safety and security to individuals afflicted with autism. Recent research has shown that forty-eight percent of autistic children wander from their homes, making them more prone to injury, death, and other safety issues.

The technological innovation covered by the new patent, along with the partnership between GTX and TACA, will enhance the level of healthcare and safety that is becoming integrated into our phones, homes, and even our clothing with the convergence of digital and medical tracking technologies.

In addition to providing technology to keep developmentally disabled children safe, GTX Corp. also develops miniaturized GPS tracking technology for a wide variety of consumer branded products. Founded in 2002, the company is well-known for its patented GPS shoe, a smart shoe that includes a smartphone GPS tracking feature.

Los Angeles - In a surprising twist from an ongoing patent infringement dispute between Microsoft and Barnes & Noble, the two companies have agreed to a new partnership with one another to focus on e-reading and the education market.

The new subsidiary yet to be named will include Barnes & Noble's digital and college businesses. Microsoft's Windows 8 program will be included in a Nook e-reading application to be created by the subsidiary.

The largest book retailer in the United States will reportedly own the lion's share of the subsidiary, with an 82.4 percent stake, while Microsoft will make an initial investment of $300 million at a post-money valuation of $1.7 billion in exchange for a 17.6 percent equity share. The subsidiary will apparently have an ongoing relationship with Barnes & Noble's retail bookstores, however it is not clear how much of a role the stores will have in promoting it, considering that the subsidiary's goal is to accelerate the transition from tangible books and publications to e-reading.

The inclusion of its college division in the new subsidiary is said to be a very crucial component of the strategic vision of the partnership. Under the venture, Barnes & Noble's Nook Study software will offer college students and educators an outstanding technology platform for the distribution and management of digital education materials. The goal of the subsidiary is to revolutionize the way people consume, create, and share digital information.

Back in March 2011, Microsoft sued Barnes & Noble, Foxconn and Inventec (the companies that manufacture the Nook), claiming that the Android-based device infringed several Microsoft patents. Barnes & Noble responded to the patent infringement complaint by counter-suing with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Neither company has offered much information relating to the settlement details. In the past, Barnes & Noble has been quite stubborn when it comes to paying Microsoft royalties for the patents it allegedly infringed, however it was confirmed that the bookseller will be paying the software giant royalties for every Nook sold as a result of the subsidiary.

Los Angeles - It was ruled a win for Finland's Nokia and Taiwan's HTC when the European Patent Office stated its judgment that the IPCom patent '100A' was "invalid in its current form." However this ongoing battle of over five years likely won't end here as IPCom has stated that it will challenge the ruling.

In 2007, IPCom purchased the mobile telephony patent portfolio of Bosch, which led to licensing agreements with multiple top phone makers. However, Nokia and HTC were not among that list due to the fact that a licensing agreement could not be reached. Therefore, IPCom claimed that Nokia and HTC products were infringing on patents owned by the company and decided to proceed accordingly. While IPCom attacked the two companies for patent and licensing infringement which includes infringement of the '100A' patent, Nokia has said that IPCom's "licensing fee demands are excessive and unjustifiable."

This five year battle has included mostly victories for IPCom. In 2009, IPCom challenged HTC for infringement and won in a German court. HTC appealed the ruling at first but then decided to put a halt to its pursuit of the appeal. Also, last week a German court ruled that Nokia had in fact committed infringement on IPCom's intellectual property. Nokia is challenging the ruling.

During the court proceedings and investigation of this particular infringement, a decision was made that the '100A' patent was invalid. The patent relates to 3G users access of channels and the assignment in its networks.

Paul Melin, the Vice President of Intellectual Property at Nokia stated, "We are pleased that the European Patent Office has confirmed that this IPCom patent is invalid," and added that IPCom "needs to recognize its position and end its unrealistic demands for what remains of this significantly diminished portfolio." A representative from HTC stated, "This ruling undermines IPCom's license infringement claim against us. We trust IPCom will now reconsider its opportunistic dispute with HTC and withdraw its legal action against us."

Los Angeles - Samsung has filed a counterclaim against Apple with the U.S. District Court in Northern California that accuses the iPhone maker of infringing on eight of its patents. This move was made in response to Apple's lawsuit against Samsung, which was originally filed in February of 2012. Apple accused Samsung of patent infringement and "seeking an injunction and damages on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus." Samsung has since denied Apple's allegations and has now filed the counterclaim accusing the company of the same type of infringement.

Samsung, originally founded in South Korea, now has multiple subsidiaries and owns approximately 30,665 U.S. patents. It is accusing Apple of infringing on its U.S. patent numbers 7,756,087; 7,551,596; 7,672,470; 7,577,757; 7,232,058; 6,292,179; 6,226,449 and 5,579,239. Samsung claims that the infringed patents are "essential to European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)." Two of the patents are referred to as "FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory)-pledged." A FRAND patent allows companies to "develop open standards by sharing information and technology."

Three of the eight infringed patents were originally owned by Hitachi and other companies but were eventually purchased by Samsung.

Although both companies are said to be in litigation in multiple countries for separate matters, it was just last year that the two companies were in a lawsuit against each other in a separate patent infringement claim. Apple sued Samsung in April 2011 claiming infringement on patents related to the iPhone and iPad. Just this week U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ordered that the two innovative companies meet to discuss a settlement agreement in this lawsuit. Judge Koh ordered that along with the patent attorneys, Apple chief executive Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Choi Gee-sung also participate in the discussions.

It is possible that there will be a settlement in the Apple v. Samsung case that was filed last year. However, the latest action of Samsung in filing a counterclaim against Apple may make it more difficult to reach an agreement on its most recent case.

Los Angeles - The flailing Internet service provider America Online (AOL Inc.) has sold approximately 800 technology patents to Microsoft at a recent patent auction. Patent fire sales are becoming more and more popular as floundering companies try to raise the funds to stay afloat and for financially sound companies to increase their market share and earn licensing royalties.

Microsoft would not comment on what technology the patents cover, however technology analysts believe they relate to Internet technology, including advertising, search, and mapping. If that is the case with the patents purchased from AOL, Microsoft will have a chance at competing with Google, which dominates the market in all three areas.

"There is a fight for market share occurring on multiple fronts - technology, patents, and advertising," stated Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Partners, who covers Microsoft. "Microsoft, more so than others out there, has been using its patent portfolio as a way to generate license fees. This should strengthen that."

In recent years, the high-tech industry has become a hot bed for patent sales as well as for messy litigation. Many companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung have used their patent artillery for suing their competitors for patent infringement as well as for disputing infringement claims against them by trying to invalidate their competitors patents.

A recent example of this is social networking giant Facebook acquiring 750 patents from IBM, which aided the company in defending itself after being sued for infringing 10 Yahoo patents. With the newly acquired patent portfolio, Facebook was able to respond to Yahoo's complaint with a counter complaint, accusing Yahoo of violating ten of its patents.

Just after the announcement of the patent sale, AOL's stock rose $7.98 or 43% per share, to $26.40. The iconic Internet service provider says it plans to pay out a portion of the proceeds as dividends to its shareholders. Once the sale is final, AOL should have about $15 per share of cash on hand.

AOL will still retain more than three hundred patents covering a wide array of technologies, including advertising, search, content generation, social networking, mapping, multimedia, and security.

Los Angeles - Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC has recently signed a patent licensing deal with Intertrust Technologies Corporation that will give it rights to use the company's patents for digital rights management.

HTC reportedly also walked away with a twenty percent share in SyncTV, a subsidiary company of Intertrust, for an undisclosed amount. SyncTV offers a cloud-based streaming service that is compatible on several different platforms, including Android, Windows Phone, Xbox, iOS, and Internet-enabled televisions. Many are speculating that this move could potentially catapult HTC into many other consumer technology markets besides the mobile media device market.

Other handset manufacturers such as Motorola, Samsung, and Huawei, have entered into patent licensing deals with Intertrust in the past, however the company stated that this is the first time that a partner has negotiated a stake of one its subsidiaries into the agreement. Intertrust has termed its deal with HTC as a "broad strategic technology partnership."

Intertrust Chief Executive Officer, Talal Shamoon, commented that HTC is now "licensed to do anything with our IP," with its mobile devices and potentially other consumer electronics products. He also pointed out that HTC has historically been involved with a broad range of products. In the past, Intertrust has been mainly involved in developing patented technologies in areas such as distributed computing, including cloud-based services, as well as digital rights management.

In its patent deal with HTC, Intertrust's Marlin DRM software will be used "to protect and manage content in various national video distribution ecosystems in Japan, China, and Europe."

In order to compete with technology giants like Apple, HTC has been building up its patent portfolio of content and service investments over the past year with the potential to enhance its product line and distinguish itself apart from other smartphone manufacturers. Its decision to purchase twenty percent of the SyncTV subsidiary will allow it to fulfill its goal of growing its product line because of the company's ability to cover streamed video services to more than just mobile devices.

Luckily for HTC, Intertrust has had a successful history in the technology industry when it comes to protecting its intellectual property. In one particularly notable patent infringement litigation dating back to 2004, Intertrust settled a lawsuit with Microsoft, collecting damages of $440 million.

Los Angeles - As Facebook prepares for a legal battle against Yahoo over patent infringement, it has just recently boosted its intellectual property portfolio by purchasing hundreds of patents from International Business Machines Corp., better known as IBM. Facebook purchased about 750 technology patents from IBM including patents ranging from software to networking.

The purchase comes at a high-profile time for Facebook. Last month, Facebook received notice from Yahoo claiming that it had been infringing on about 10 patents including advertising and online messaging patents. Unable to reach any sort of agreement, earlier this month Yahoo filed a lawsuit against Facebook for patent infringement. It would appear as if Facebook is looking to reach a settlement with Yahoo before its up and coming IPO. Facebook has said that it is "puzzled" by the lawsuit. Yahoo has asked the court for an order which would bar Facebook from any further infringement on its patents as well as compensation for damages. According to LegalMetric.com, in 2011 Facebook was faced with 22 patent lawsuits.

Not only is the social networking giant facing a legal battle in court but it is also nearing an initial public stock offering which is said to be valued at about $100 billion.

Although Facebook, an eight-year old company, has about 850 million active users, at the end of 2011 it had only 56 U.S. patents. This isn't the first time a company from Silicon Valley has turned to IBM to beef up its intellectual property. Thousands of IBM patents have been purchased by Google as well. There is no question that IBM has an extraordinary track record when it comes to patents. It not only received about 6,100 new patents just in 2011 alone but IBM has also made it to the top of the U.S. patent recipients list for almost twenty years straight.

A Facebook representative confirmed the purchase from IBM but declined to comment further. IBM has declined to comment on the report.

Los Angeles - India-based Natco Pharma Ltd has licensed a generic version of Bayer's cancer drug Nexavar, effectively ending Bayer's so-called monopoly on the drug. Under the licensing agreement, Natco will be required to pay a six percent royalty fee to Bayer.

This case of compulsory licensing, where the government allows another entity to produce a patented product without consent from the patent owner, came out of necessity for public emergency since Bayer's patented Nexavar was priced out of reach. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based subsidiary of the German pharma giant markets Nexavar for about $5,600 per month to the Indian market under a patent that will expire in 2020.

Determining that Bayer was not making the drug available to the public at a 'reasonably affordable price," the patent office approved Natco Pharma's application to manufacture the kidney and liver cancer treatment snorefinib. The drug will reportedly be available to Indian patients for $175 per month.

"We are disappointed about this decision," stated Bayer spokeswoman Sabina Cusimano, adding, "We will see if we can further defend our intellectual property rights in India."

The ruling from the patent office will likely upset other Western pharmaceutical companies as well. Over the past several years, Western companies have been pushing for stronger patent protections and rules in response to a $26 billion Indian generics industry they claim is infringing on their intellectual property rights. They also argue that the 2005 Patent Act that allows for the compulsory licensing fails to guarantee investors' rights. Human rights groups insist that the Indian generics are a vital resource for saving lives in poor and underdeveloped countries, where patients cannot afford to pay the high prices for the Western drugs to treat deadly diseases like cancer, HIV, and malaria.

"This is a victory for Indian patients and for India's generic manufacturers, which are under attack," said Natco's general manager, Madineedi Adinarayana. He added that Bayer's patent "was not working as a patent in India," and predicted that "many more such cases will follow."

The 2005 Patent Act requires that a patent be at least three years old before a generics company can apply for a compulsory license. Regardless of the recent law, many Indian pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to apply for the licenses out of fear it may jeopardize future opportunities to manufacture other drugs for Western companies.

Los Angeles - A group of sixty family farmers, seed businesses, and organic agricultural organizations have joined together in a lawsuit to challenge chemical giant Monsanto Company's ongoing allegations of patent infringement.

The farmers' lawsuit was filed after years of Monsanto taking them to court in order to assert its patent rights. In the latest courtroom action for the lawsuit filed last March, the Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association (OSGATA) offered Judge Naomi Buchwald arguments to what they say has been nothing short of a climate of fear created by Monsanto's long series of patent infringement lawsuits. OSGATA represents as much as twenty-five percent of the nation's organic farmers and non-organic farmers alike.

OSGATA's complaint, filed under the Declaratory Judgment Act, would allow for a preemptive judgment that would clear the farmers of any patent infringement before they even grow and harvest their crops. The farmers are reportedly not seeking any monetary damages from Monsanto.

According to the individual farmers and businesses suing Monsanto, the issue is that Monsanto's transgenic plants, also known as genetically modified organisms or GMO's, are contaminating their organic crops by introducing the unwanted GMO's into the soil. Interestingly, Monsanto has often responded to the farmer's complaints by suing them for patent infringement, even though the farmers were desperate to keep the material out of their crops.

Jim Gerritsen, an organic seed farmer and president of OSGATA, said, "We consider the threat of contamination from GMO crops to be significant, and the reality is that the organic market will not tolerate anything that has GMO content, either by design or contamination."

Monsanto, who is the largest commercial grower of corn seed in the world, claims that any cross-pollinating from the wind or at distributors' seed bins is completely unintentional.

The patent attorney representing the farmers is attempting to prove that Monsanto's GMO seed patents are invalid because they have no social utility. Patent law requires patented inventions to have a social utility and Monsanto's seed is harmful to society, therefore making the patents invalid.

Patent attorneys for Monsanto have asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, citing that it is "hypothetical" and "abstract." The judge has until the end of March to respond to Monsanto's request.

Los Angeles - Wind turbine industry giants General Electric (GE) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) were both handed partial victories in the latest round in an on-going patent infringement battle over wind turbine technology.

In GE's favor, a federal court ruled that the United States International Trade Commission will be required to reconsider its decision that MHI did not infringe on GE's technology for turbine wind power, a reversal of its January 2010 ruling. In that decision, the Trade Commission said that Mitsubishi's 2.4 megawatt wind turbines did not infringe any of GE's turbine patents, thus allowing Mitsubishi to continue importing the turbines into the United States.

The long-running patent infringement battle began in February 2008, when GE filed a complaint with the Trade Commission claiming that the Japan-based Mitsubishi and its American subsidiary had infringed three of its patents related to variable speed wind turbine technology.

The most recent ruling comes as good news to GE, however Mitsubishi did not emerge without victory. The Court of Appeals upheld the previous ruling by the Trade Commission that Mitsubishi had not infringed on a second patent and also said that one of the three patents allegedly infringed had expired and was dropped from the case. Companies must be able to prove that a patented technology is being used in the United States in order to file a patent infringement complaint with the International Trade Commission.

"GE will continue to take necessary steps to protect its significant investment in technological research and development in the United States and around the world," the company said in an online statement.

General Electric acquired the wind power assets from Enron during its bankruptcy proceedings in 2002. At the time of the acquisition, Enron was the only remaining U.S. manufacturer of large wind turbines, with GE managing to double its Wind Division's annual sales to $1.2 billion in 2003 by increasing engineering and supplies. In 2009, GE purchased Norwegian turbine company Scanwind and eventually became the second largest wind turbine producer in the world. Vestas Wind Systems A/S, a Danish company, is reportedly the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbine technology.

No comment was available from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries regarding the ruling.

Los Angeles - Apple has recently won a ruling against Motorola Mobility in Munich in a patent infringement dispute over the 'slide-to-unlock' feature for smartphones. This judgment marks Apple's first patent victory in history and could potentially see Motorola's smartphones running Google's Android operating system which are banned for sale in Germany.

As the same patent dispute heats up in other European courts, technology analysts believe that the judge's ruling could potentially affect patent disputes involving Android device makers globally.

Apple first introduced the 'slide-to-unlock' system on the iPhone in 2007, which controls how to make the touch screen active. The court ruled that two devices manufactured by Motorola Mobility that use the Android software infringe Apple's technology because they are both unlocked by sliding an icon (of a padlock) across the screen to activate it.

Regarding the judge's decision, Motorola says that it plans to appeal the verdict and that it would have no impact on future sales. "Today's ruling in the patent litigation brought by Apple in Munich, Germany, concerns a software feature related to phone unlocking in select Motorola devices sold in Germany. Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature. Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales," stated a spokesperson for Motorola.

The court's announcement is the latest in an ongoing patent infringement battle between Apple and a number of Android handset makers, including Samsung and HTC. In those disputes, Apple is claiming that its competitors are infringing patents it holds on functions embedded into the chip technology of the iPhone. Apple currently has a lawsuit in German courts asserting the same patent against Samsung, the biggest manufacturer of Android handsets.

The latest verdict will further heat things up between Apple and Google. Google has received almost all of the formal approvals it needs to complete its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, and most of its handsets operate from the search firm's Android mobile operating system.

The patent at issue in this case, EP1964022, involves the process of unlocking a smartphone by simply swiping a finger from one end of the screen to another. A second patent ruling relating to a method for scrolling through pictures on a mobile device's photo gallery, was postponed by the court.

Los Angeles - Honeywell has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nest Labs, Inc. in a United States District Court in Minnesota. The lawsuit is alleging the infringement of seven Honeywell patents relating to its thermostat technology. Honeywell is a leading manufacturer of safety, security, and energy technologies.

The allegedly infringed patents involve simplified methods for operating and programming a thermostat including the use of a natural language, user interfaces that facilitate programming and energy savings, a thermostat's inner design, an electric circuit used to divert power from the user's home electrical system to provide power to a thermostat, and controlling a thermostat with information stored in a remote location.
In addition to Nest Labs, Honeywell's patent infringement lawsuit also names Best Buy, which sells the Nest Labs thermostat, and is seeking an injunction from the two defendants from using its patented technology in addition to recovery monetary damages. This lawsuit comes on the heels of recent patent litigation initiated by Honeywell accusing Venstar Inc. and ICM Controls of infringing its thermostat and combustion controls technologies.

"Competition is good and we welcome it, but we will not stand by while competitors, large or small, offer products that infringe on our intellectual property," stated Beth Wozniak, president, Honeywell Environmental and Combustion Controls. She added, "From our iconic 'round thermostat' to the first programmable and simple-to-use touch screen thermostats, Honeywell is known for setting the standard in home comfort and energy efficiency. We are focused on upholding the integrity of the hard work and development our company has put into its home comfort and residential control technologies."
The Honeywell complaint raises many questions for the home energy management industry as a whole. The patents that Nest allegedly infringed include a set of functions and features that are widely used by competing companies and partnerships in the industry.

Nest Labs is a startup company founded in 2010 by Tony Fadell, the former Senior Vice President of the iPod division at Apple Inc. The company manufacturers the Nest Learning Thermostat, which requires no continual programming or constant changing of the temperature. The thermostat automatically programs itself in a week to keep users in a comfortable temperature while saving energy.

Los Angeles - HTC Corp., the world's largest manufacturer of mobile devices running off of Google's Android operating system, is embroiled in an ongoing patent infringement battle with IPCom GmbH in a U.S. court.

A recent ruling from the court of appeals said that a 2010 decision by a lower court judge to invalidate an IPCom patent that the company was using in a patent infringement dispute against HTC was wrong. According to the ruling posted on the website for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, the lawsuit is being sent back to a federal judge who can consider additional arguments on the patent's validity. The arguments concern mobile-device base stations. Apparently, the federal court is considering dismissing HTC's motion for summary judgment to have the patent invalidated because it said the lower court misconstrued HTC's claims, which only considered the apparatus but not the methodology.

This all began when HTC sued IPCom in 2008 and sought a declaration that it did not infringe a valid and enforceable claim of IPCom's '830 patent. IPCom filed a counterclaim and in addition to the '830 patent, it alleged infringement of two additional patents. The '830 patent at issue involves technology that provides a way to maintain service as a mobile phone moves from one coverage area to another.

IPCom is seeking royalties from a portfolio of mobile device-related patents that it had acquired in 2007 from Robert Bosch GmbH, the world's largest supplier of automobile components. IPCom purchased the family of patents after Bosch failed to reach a licensing agreement with Nokia in 2003.

In addition to its patent infringement claims against HTC, IPCom has sued various German retail outlets that sell HTC's Android-based 3G mobile phones.

HTC was founded in 1997 by Cher Wang, HT Cho, and Peter Chou. Initially established as a notebook computer manufacturer, the company soon began designing and engineering some of the world's first touch and wireless hand-held devices. HTC's smartphones were initially based on Microsoft's Windows operating system software, but eventually shifted its core focus in 2009 to making Android OS-based devices.

Los Angeles - Schiff Nutrition International, Inc. announced that it along with Aker BioMarine Antarctic USA, Inc., and Aker BioMarine ASA (collectively, Aker) have filed a motion to stay the patent infringement lawsuit filed by Neptune Technologies & Bioressources (Neptune).

The patent infringement complaint, filed in a Delaware federal court, alleges that Schiff MegaRed infringes U.S. patent 8,030,348, which was issued to Neptune in October 2011. No rulings or injunctions have been placed against Schiff and Aker at this point, and the mere fact that Neptune has filed claims against them has not in any way affected Schiff's ability to sell and promote its krill oil.

A motion to stay is a request to temporarily stop a case or halt proceedings. Courts can subsequently lift the stay and resume proceedings, however a stay is sometimes used as a strategy to postpone proceedings indefinitely.

The motion to stay for this case follows Schiff and Aker's request for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to re-examine the Neptune '348 patent. In its request to the USPTO, Aker cited several prior art references that were not included in Neptune's patent application. By granting the re-examination request, the USPTO has issued an initial rejection of all twenty one claims of the '348 patent. According to statistics provided by the USPTO, re-examination requests take on average three years for a decision, and of the re-examination certificates issued, claims were modified or cancelled in eighty nine percent of the cases.

In July 2011, Schiff and Aker entered into an indemnity supply agreement in which Aker agreed to supply Schiff with its Marine Stewardship Council certified krill oil. The agreement also protects Aker from any losses incurred as a result the patent infringement lawsuit. Under the same supply agreement, Schiff and Aker have agreed to collaborate on future innovations for the nutrition industry.

Schiff Nutrition International, Inc. is a global leader of vitamins, nutritional supplements, and meal replacement bars. Its portfolio consists of well-known brands such as Schiff Move Free, Schiff MegaRed, Schiff Mega-D3, and Tiger's Milk nutrition bars. In business since 1937, Schiff's corporate headquarters, manufacturing and distribution facilities, are located in Salt Lake City.

Los Angeles - With its record number of U.S. patents granted in 2011, for the nineteenth consecutive year IBM held the top patent holder spot in the world. However, IBM now has stiff competition in the rankings from Asian companies who are building their own patent portfolios.

As the world's leading information technology services provider, last year IBM added 6,180 new patents to its portfolio of 34,000 active patents. Since 1911, the New York based company has been granted 70,000 patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Its first patent, granted over a century ago, was for technology related to a perforating machine. Since then the company has developed patents for DRAM cells which became the standard for computer memory. IBM is also known for its patented non-computer inventions, such as a laser technique that went on to become the foundation for LASIK eye surgeries.

Microsoft was the only other American company to place in the top 10, dropping to sixth place in the rankings. There were eight Asian companies in the top 10, with South Korea-based Samsung gaining 4,894 new patents in 2011 and Canon with 2,821 new patents. In total, the USPTO issued a record 224,505 new patents in 2011, a two percent increase from the previous year.

In the coming years, IBM may fall out of its comfort zone as the Asian technology giants take the lead. Information for Industry, Inc. (IFI), a patent data research company, said that Samsung's eight percent patent growth outpaced that of IBM's increase of five percent. More importantly, Samsung has overshadowed IBM for the past two years in its number of patent applications. The number of pending patent applications is a good indicator of future patent grants.

A patent attorney for IBM said that IBM has been successful at using its patents to manipulate trends in the technology world. For instance, if it wishes to promote certain standards, it may advise other companies that it won't bring legal action to anyone innovating in that area even if its patents are infringed in the process. As a result, IBM has managed to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation, allowing it to invest about $6 billion in research and development each year. The company reportedly makes approximately $1 billion annually in royalty fees from licensing agreements.