Insights

    Patenting Artificial IntelligenceIt is hard to avoid the AI revolution that is taking place around us. Indeed, in a lot of areas this revolution is already mature. We have come a long way from teaching computers to play draughts and chess or tell the differences between cats and dogs and it often seems like your smartphone knows more about what where you are likely to go next (and what the weather, traffic and COVID infection rates are there) than you do.
This “revolution” is not just evident in the high-tech, computer-focused fields that are traditionally associated with AI. The latest breakthrough in biological...
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    Can My Computer Own a Patent?In recent years, interest has been growing in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the potential use of AI in different technologies for improving our lives. One example of high interest is the application of AI in self-driving cars. Other areas of technology such as medicine, where AI might be used in automated diagnosis of disease, are also of interest. However, recent advances in the AI field has led to a particular question – if AI development becomes advanced enough that some form of AI might itself develop a new invention, how would the patent system deal with this?
AI...
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    An Introduction to SEPsA Standard-Essential Patent, or SEP, is a patent that protects an invention that must be used if a product is to comply with a technical standard. 
Technical standards are used across many sectors and technologies to ensure that products from different manufacturers are compatible and interoperable, both for physical products and software. For example, technical standards underpin the field of information and communication technologies, ranging from the dimensions of USB connectors and CDs, to the specific communication protocols used in WiFi, Bluetooth, and 4G/5G mobile communication technologies.
Technical standards are developed by standards organisations working with partner organisations to develop and decide...
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    Branding in Product Design – Finding Your Sweet SpotBrands are all around us. Consumers will be familiar with brands associated with the names of companies and their products, and at the next level the logos, stylised fonts and colours that they use to present themselves in advertising or online usage.
But did you know that brands can also extend into designs applied to the products themselves? It is at this point that the law strikes a tricky balance between protecting valuable goodwill that may exist or be acquired through a particular trading style and not stifling competition by preventing competitors from using standard decorative (or functional) features. This was...
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    Space Technology: Back on EarthThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is at the forefront of technological development for use in space travel and exploration. However, many of the innovations that are developed by, or in collaboration with, NASA are actually used a lot closer to home as well – we take a look at some of NASA’s technologies which have really taken-off here on Earth.
Aerogels: outer space to outerwear
Traditionally, NASA has used hard aeroshells for delivering payloads, such as rovers, to other planets. These generate drag to slow the payloads in descent, while also acting as heat shields for atmospheric re-entry. 
In order to...
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    A Microbiome of OpportunityThe human body includes tens of trillions of cells, but not all of them are human! This article focuses on the at-least 30 trillion non-human cells that we each carry with us – our microbiome. These non-human cells include bacterial and fungal species, together with viruses, and can be found throughout our bodies, including the skin, respiratory tract, and gut. 
There are many hundreds of species of non-human cell present in varying combinations in different sites throughout the body, with the result that even within one individual there are many incredibly diverse microbiomes. There is also considerable variation between individuals, with...
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    3D Printing: An Overview With the recent boom in the consumer 3D printing market, it is perhaps easy to forget that early attempts at the technology were made as far back as the 1980s. Indeed, the patent application for the material extrusion technology used in most consumer machines today, namely Fused Deposition Modelling (granted as US 5,121,329), was filed in this period. 3D printing may have started off as a fanciful idea, but it would quickly turn into an effective option for small-scale manufacturing.
A breakthrough was made in 1999 when scientists succeeded in printing a human bladder. By 2008, advances in materials science and...
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    The Startup Patent Dilemma“I need a patent to get investment, but I need investment to get a patent!”
This is something I hear quite frequently when I meet people involved with very early stage technology businesses, or those with aspirations to start a business. 
My first response is usually to commend them on the fact that they are considering an intellectual property (IP) strategy at this point. As many readers will know, patents are time-sensitive. Most jurisdictions, and all the popular ones, now grant patents on a “first-to-file” basis, rather than “first-to-invent”. This means the first one to file a patent application to an invention...
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    Patents in an Academic EnvironmentThe word “inventor” tends to conjure a picture of an eccentric working late into the night in a garden shed to create weird and wonderful devices. Everything from novelty snowmen to squirrel-proof bird feeders has been patented over the years but most inventions, and inventors, do not in fact fit this stereotype at all. Many inventions arise during the course of in-house commercial research in major industries such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, telecoms or biotechnology and increasingly the academic sector is a major contributor as well.
The US Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which gave US universities control of federally funded inventions that...
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    Bioinformatics: Revolutionising Healthcare?You have probably heard talk of bioinformatics - it is an increasingly popular field of research – but do you really know what it is, and how it is affecting research carried out in your area? In short, bioinformatics is about applying statistical and computational techniques to the analysis of biological systems. This is of particular interest in relation to the genome, where a growing number of academics and companies are interested in the applications of genetic analysis in the fields of clinical care, digital health, and personalised medicine.
Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, a number...
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    Women in STEM: Unsung Heroes of VaccinologyThe Covid-19 pandemic has brought STEM out of the lab and into the wider public domain in a way that is relevant to us all. At the start of the pandemic in early 2020, engineers were in a race against the clock to build more mechanical ventilators; mathematical modelling was used to predict how the number of cases could grow; smartphone apps were developed to track the progress of the virus; we clapped for our healthcare professionals; and more recently we have had positive news on the rapid development of a new vaccine. As part of the Ada Lovelace Day...
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    Understanding IP: Some Common MisconceptionsThere is a growing awareness of IP in our society, and the potential value of an IP portfolio is gaining more and more attention. However, misconceptions abound. Let’s debunk five common misunderstandings: 

“We have a patent, so we have the right to exploit our invention.” Unfortunately, this is not the case. In fact, IP only provides the right to stop others from doing something - it does not provide the right to do something yourself. Before you exploit your invention, you need to check to see if there are patents owned by third parties that might cover what you plan to...
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Insights

Patenting Artificial Intelligence

Can My Computer Own a Patent?

An Introduction to SEPs

Branding in Product Design – Finding Your Sweet Spot

Space Technology: Back on Earth

A Microbiome of Opportunity

3D Printing: An Overview

The Startup Patent Dilemma

Patents in an Academic Environment

Bioinformatics: Revolutionising Healthcare?

Women in STEM: Unsung Heroes of Vaccinology

Understanding IP: Some Common Misconceptions

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