We study several interconnected problems that arise under the current U.S. patent system when a patent covers one component or feature of a complex product. This situation is common in the information technology sector of the economy. Our analysis applies to cases involving reasonable royalties but not lost profits. First, we show using bargaining theory that the threat to obtain a permanent in...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined the regulatory review period for Therma Choice5 Uterine Ballon Therapy System and is publishing this notice of that determination as required by law. FDA has made the determination because of the submission of an application to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Department of Commerce, for the extension of a patent which claims tha...

In this paper, we present a methodology for the development of interactive domain-tuned patent tools for generating patent claims in English from non-English interfaces. The methodology is based on a merger of an interactive English-to-English patent claim generator, AutoPat1 and any external MT engine that might be appropriate for a certain language. The translation procedure is reduced to tra...

Cumulative innovation is central to economic growth. Do patent rights facilitate or impede such follow-on innovation? This paper studies the effect of removing patent protection through court invalidation on the subsequent research related to the focal patent, as measured by later citations. We exploit random allocation of judges at the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit to control fo...

BACKGROUND We present an intellectual property case in the United States to demonstrate the recent developments concerning patenting novel biomarker discoveries. A court struck down several patents owned by Myriad Genetics, which were related to breast cancer (BRCA1 and BRCA2). This decision can affect patent eligibility for inventions related to biomarkers, particularly genetic biomarkers. M...

BACKGROUND In preparation for implementation of a central water processing system at a dental department, we analyzed the costs of conventional decentralized disinfection of dental units against a central water treatment concept based on electrochemical disinfection. METHODS The cost evaluation included only the costs of annually required antimicrobial consumables and additional water usage o...

Selective photothermolysis (SP) is a novel technique by which brief, unfocused laser pulses are selectively absorbed by, and cause selective thermal damage to, endogenously pigmented structures. The present experiments demonstrate the feasibility of using an exogenous non-fluorescent chromophore (procion blue) to effect cellular damage by SP. Dorsal root ganglia neurons in vitro were selectivel...

The goals of this review were to identify methylene blue (MB) as a compound that follows hormetic behavior for a wide range of effects and to address the question of what is unique about MB that could account for its wide applicability and hormetic behavior as a drug. The MB hormetic dose-response relationship is exemplified by an increase in various behavioral, physiological and biochemical re...

In this work, photoelectrocatalytic degradation of wastewater containing methylene blue (MB) was investigated using a novel photoelectrochemical reactor – a three dimensional electrodes-photocatalytic oxidation reactor in which nano TiO2 was used as photocatalyst. The experimental results are assessed in the terms of decolorization and Chemical Oxygen Demanded (COD) removal efficiencies. The ex...

The synthesis, crystal structures and photophysical properties of two types of pyrene-cored blue-light emitting [4]helicenes (7 and 9) are reported. The chemical structures of all synthesized compounds were fully confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR spectra, mass spectroscopy as well as elemental analysis. Single-crystal X-ray analysis of these [4]helicenes revealed that there are two types of laterally...