Patent And Trademark Office News

AW-Energy Oy, a Finnish wave energy technology developer, received an “approval” for AW-Energy’s patent application from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).The patent [PCT/050485] provides AW-Energy with broad IP protection of its latest generation WaveRoller device including a range of operating improvements made to the device’s system and infrastructure, particularly on fail safe operating improvements to protect against extreme weather conditions.“This is a significant and exciting decision by the USPTO…

The Electrolytic Cation Exchange Module (E-CEM), developed at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), provides the Navy the capability to produce raw materials necessary to develop synthetic fuel stock at sea or in remote locations. The NRL, Material Science and Technology Division, has been granted the first U.S. patent for a method to simultaneously extract carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater. This single process provides all the raw materials necessary for the production of synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels.

EMC earned recognition from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. PTO) with its latest patent - US 9,130,644 B2 - for a power booster that improves efficiency and performance of connectivity links with Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite networks operating in the Ka- and Ku-band frequency ranges. “We developed this MEO Booster to manage the seamless switchover between MEO satellites as they move across the sky from horizon to horizon,” said Federico Fawzi, vice president of advanced engineering, EMC. “A descending satellite can conduct a handoff to an ascending satellite when the propagation delay from the two are equal by aligning amplitudes, frequency offsets and phases.

Evoqua Water Technologies has been awarded a second United States patent on its technical solution for treating ballast water. This latest patent was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on the 3rd of March, 2015. The patent describes a technical solution for treating ballast water under a variety of ambient water qualities. The quality of ambient water can vary widely from port to port where the ship is taking on its ballast. The unique features of Evoqua’s system include the use of oxidation reduction potential (“ORP”) devices to control certain SeaCURE* system operations. The patented SeaCURE system takes into account variations in demand and delivers biocide at the dose necessary for successful biofouling control…

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) announced that long-time partner Moran Towing Corporation has been granted US Patent 8,967,174 for "Articulated conduit systems and uses thereof for fuel gas transfer between a tug and barge." The patent was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 2, 2014, and in general terms describes arrangements and methods for transferring boil off gas between a liquefied natural gas barge and its tug, while taking into account the relative motion between the two vessels. "This design represents an advance in natural gas fuel transfer technology and demonstrates EBDG's and Moran's commitment to the emerging maritime LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) transport industry…

Liquefied     Natural     Gas     Limited    informed    that    the    United    States    Patent    and    Trademark    Office    has    allowed    a    patent    application    related    to    the    Company’s core    LNG    processing    design. The     Company     expects     a     granted     Patent     to     be     issued in     several     weeks     to protect     its primary    invention being a    Method    and    System    for    Production    of    Liquid    Natural    Gas. • Australia    (Gladstone    Fisherman’s    Landing    LNG    Project    in    Queensland,    Australia    export    of    3    mtpa    with    potential    for    future    expansion).

Maine Maritime Academy faculty member, Dr. George Harakas, has coauthored a patent with colleague and business partner, Scott Eaton, for glycerol-containing fuel aimed at reducing emissions in large diesel engines. The two are members of the SeaChange Group LLC a private company formed in 2009 to develop low-emissions fuels. They recently received notice from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that patent # 8,679,202 was formally issued. SeaChange Group (SCG), headquartered in Brunswick, is an entrepreneurial high-tech start-up with strong ties to Maine Maritime Academy. The company is developing Eco-Hybrid fuel technology, a low-cost, low-emissions “drop-in” fuel for marine, rail and power-generation industries.

Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) apprises that faculty member, Dr. George Harakas, has co-authored a patent with colleague and business partner, Scott Eaton, for glycerol-containing fuel aimed at reducing emissions in large diesel engines. The two are members of the SeaChange Group LLC a private company formed in 2009 to develop low-emissions fuels. They recently received notice from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that patent # 8,679,202 was formally issued. The Academy explains that SeaChange Group (SCG)…

System is designed to universally interface with a vessel’s existing navigation equipment and autonomously deliver water depths seen by the vessel to a central server. Almost four years and 100 million soundings later, the concept is a reality. Almost two years after we first reported (December 2011 edition of MarineNews) on an innovative, depth sounding recorder device that made wide swaths of data available to perhaps anyone who wants it, the concept envisioned by ARGUS has developed into a viable tool that could change the way that government agencies schedule surveys and dredging. Today, about 40 boats have voluntarily placed on board their vessels the ARGUS (Autonomous Remote Global Underwater Surveillance) system transmitters.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted MSHIPCO a patent for its Rapid Empirical Innovation (REI®) process including model testing method, platform structure and data acquisition systems. “Time and money are two of the biggest barriers to naval innovation,” explains Bill Burns, Co-Founder of MSHIPCO. Which design provides the best ROI (return on investment) for my maritime service? How far & how fast can a new design go in different sea states? What is the fuel efficiency at different speeds and payloads? Will the passengers be comfortable at high speeds in rough water?

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent for the ARGUS™ (Autonomous Remote Global Underwater Surveillance) system. The purpose of ARGUS™, which has been in operation and field testing since 2010, is to automate the acquisition and processing of depth, environmental, and meteorological data from coastal and inland waterways and provide the data to Government, commercial, academic, and other interested organizations. The autonomous onboard system (without the need…

Jet Edge, Inc. has announced  that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the waterjet manufacturer a patent for a high pressure fluid sealing mechanism designed by Jet Edge R&D Engineer Michael Wheeler. Jet Edge’s proprietary high pressure fluid sealing mechanism (U.S. Patent 8,333,387) improves waterjet seal life by providing robust Metal-on-Metal sealing without the use of conventional plastic seals. This technology uses two convex curved surfaces in single line contact with one another to seal ultra-high pressure (UHP) fluid at static pressures up to 130,000 psi.

Scuderi Group an engine development company, announce the simultaneous publication by both the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of its primary patent application covering Miller Cycle operation applied to a split-cycle engine. The patent application relates to a turbocharged split-cycle engine that divides the four strokes of a conventional Otto cycle engine over two paired cylinders. One cylinder…

Wilden Pump & Engineering announced that its Pro-Flo X Air Distribution System (ADS) has received Patent No. 7,811,067 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Pro-Flo X ADS has been designed to offer operational flexibility in many diverse applications. This flexibility is achieved through the Efficiency Management System (EMS), which optimizes the Pro-Flo X for the actual operational parameters, regardless of the application demands or pump size. The EMS allows the operator to use an integrated control dial to select the efficiency point and flow rate that best suits the application. www.wildenpump.com

American International Industries, Inc. announced that Subsea Oil Technologies, Inc., 50% owned by AMIN, has been assigned U.S. patent application number 12/822,324 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Containing an Undersea Oil and/or Gas Spill Caused by a Defective Blowout Preventer (BOP)," filed on June 24, 2010. The prosecution of the patent application at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been entrusted to the law firm of Volpe and Koenig, P.C., which is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Dror stated, "We believe that the invention disclosed by this patent application (the "BOPstopper") is one of the first to be filed at the USPTO to specifically present possible solutions to contain oil and/or gas spills…

Navy scientists rank No. 1 when it comes to newly patented discoveries and inventions, according to a June report published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The IEEE's annual Patent Power Scorecard, that ranks the relative significance of various organizations' patent portfolios, said the Navy surpassed all international government agencies. IEEE is the world's largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. "This recognition reflects the national importance of the Navy's scientists and engineers and our commitment to protecting the government's intellectual property," said Naval Surface Warfare Center Commander Rear Adm. Jim Shannon.

On April 21, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida found that DeAngelo Marine Exhaust willfully infringed on two of Marine Exhaust Systems, Inc.'s U.S. patents and that these patents are valid and enforceable. The court also awarded Marine Exhaust $92,804 in damages and agreed to consider additional losses, as well as possibly tripling the final amount. In response, DeAngelo Marine Exhaust said it is appealing this decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which is the sole appellate court for reviewing patent infringement decisions.

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) was host to the 2009 Patent Awards Ceremony on May 7, 2009. From October 2007 to December 2008, the Carderock Division had 24 U.S. Patents issued and 31 applications filed. Forty-seven Carderock inventors were presented awards in seven core equity categories: Ship Integration and Design; Hull Forms and Propulsors; Machinery Research and Engineering; Structures and Materials; Environment Quality Systems; Vulnerability and Survivability Systems; and Signatures, Silencing Systems, and Susceptibility. The following are the 2009 patent award recipients that were named in the U.S. Patents and Statutory Invention Registrations (SIR) from Oct. 1, 2007 to Dec. •    Frank A. Leban and Joseph P.

Trailer Bridge, Inc. announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded Patent No. 6,416,264 on July 9, 2002 to Trailer Bridge as assignee for its invention known as the Vehicle Transportation Module® (VTM®). The inventors are Ralph W. Heim, J. Edward Morley and P.W. Shahani. Heim is President and Chief Operating Officer of Trailer Bridge and Morley is Vice President of Operations. Shahani is a consulting engineer who has provided services to the Company. The VTM® container is a module for receiving motorized vehicles for transportation that interchanges easily between transport modes without the necessity of re-handling the vehicles.

Trailer Bridge, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRBR) announced that it has been notified by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that the Company has received a notice of allowance for its patent application related to the process of loading and unloading containers on its Triplestack Box Carrier™ vessels. Trailer Bridge as assignee had initially applied for this patent in April 1998 and the application has been amended several times following review by the USPTO. The patent is expected to be formally awarded within three months of payment of an administrative fee to the USPTO. The inventors of the patent are John D. McCown, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Trailer Bridge and Malcom P. McLean, the late founder of the Company.

US' UltraStrip Systems, the developer of robotic ship hull cleaning equipment, has announced that it has received from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent number US 6,564,815 titled "Air Gap Magnetic Mobile Robot". The new patent allows UltraStrip Systems to further expand its patented coatings removal systems. The advantages to the Air Gap patent over existing UltraStrip patented roller designs are greater adhesion and non-marring of the surface. President and CEO Dr. Robert O. Baratta said, "UltraStrip's latest patent, in our opinion, gives even greater patent protection for our M3500 Robotic System than we had with our earlier patents. UltraStrip Systems has received four other U.S.

In preparation for a report to Congress on the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act, the U.S. Copyright Office and Patent and Trademark Office are requesting written comments and are announcing a public meeting. The Act created sui generis protection for original designs of watercraft hulls and decks. The two agencies are tasked with reporting to Congress on the effectiveness of the Act. They will hold a public meeting in Washington, DC on March 27, 2003. Written comments should be submitted by March 20, 2003. 68 Fed. Reg. 7350 Source: HK Law