PATENT PORTFOLIO

Patents and Published Applications Represented by Patent Marketing LLC

Electronic Auctions

Unpublished Application - Electronic Auction for Optimizing an Event Ticket Sale Parameter

Systems and methods are described for electronic auction of event tickets that permit bidders to bid on a plurality of mutually exclusive ticket options without worry about having to purchase more tickets than desired. The systems and methods also direct collected ticket revenue away from ticket resellers, and toward the event organizers and performers. In an exemplary auction, each bidder places bids for multiple seating options at different locations in the venue. A novel system then calculates which sets of seats should be won by which bidders, in order to optimize auction results according to parameters selected by the auction host. It is possible for a bidder to win tickets for a desired set of seats without being the highest bidder, if the higher bidders for that same set of seats had each won for their own bids on different sets of seats elsewhere in the venue.

Paper/printed document integrity patents
- US 7,676,501 - Document Integrity Verification
- US 7,877,365 - Document Integrity Verification Preparation
- US 8,694,473 - Date-provable registration system for published documents

Published Application - US 2014/02222767 - Page Substitution Verification Preparation

The above invention package permits regular word-processing documents to be infused with forgery detection that does not require special paper, special inks, a special printer, or a third party to retain a copy for verification. The forgery protection survives faxing, photocopying, and scanning to PDF and reprinting to a new paper copy.

This set of patents enables cryptographic strength proof that a document has not been altered based on a mathematical proof rather than a human testifying about business practices. A method has been found and patented that permits recreation of a hash value from properly prepared printed content, even when the original digital file is not available. The patents cover preparation of the paper documents as well as the verification process.

Computer file integrity/electronic document integrity/cybersecurity
- US 7,865,484 - Computer Program Integrity Verification
- US 8,341,751 - Software License Management

- US 8,966,646 - Software License Management
- US 8,347,092 - Subsystem Authenticity and Integrity Verification (SAIV)
- US 8,683,203 - Subsystem Authenticity and Integrity Verification (SAIV)

- US 8,903,839 - Verifying Age and Integrity of Website Pages

- Published Application - US 20140201853 - Subsystem Authenticity and Integrity Verification (SAIV)-

The subject matter of the above includes anti-piracy protections for consumer software ? the same subject area as the recent Uniloc case that went to the US Supreme Court - as well as anti-malware protections and physical security assurance. Almost all software companies, such as Microsoft, need anti-piracy and anti-malware protections to ensure that their software is paid for, instead of being pirated on a large-scale, and is not infiltrated with spyware that can harm the consumer and the company's reputation. The inventions (more than one is disclosed) are strong security concepts that are far more resistant to hackers than the current generation of protections. The inventor had worked as a cybersecurity penetration tester (i.e. "white hat hacker") to test US military cybersecurity systems, searching for vulnerabilities, and has applied the knowledge he gained of ultra-secure hacker-resistant security measures to these inventions.

The anti-piracy invention, for example, is resistant to hacking attacks that are successful against other anti-piracy systems, because it denies critical information to even the most skilled hackers that are able to circumvent all of the security protocols to fully reverse-engineer the anti-piracy measures. The anti-malware invention precludes a threat that could permit spyware to hide within programs that the computer user needs and relies upon, and therefore could not delete from the system. The physical security invention permits security screeners to detect when a bomb-carrying terrorist or other smuggler has successfully hidden certain material within electronic devices - even when the electronic devices still function well enough to pass current security screening tests, such as a power-on test.

In 8,347,092, the verification principal is used in a system that can speed up traveler screening security at airports, without compromise of security effectiveness. An inventive system provides a computer hardware version of a ?trusted traveler? program, by enabling rapid and reliable determination by screening agents that a particular computer has not been altered to smuggle a bomb or other contraband.

Imaging Highlighter Patents
- US 8,520,918 - Medical Diagnostic Image Change Highlighter
- US 8,792,696 - Industrial Diagnostic Image Change Highlighter
- US 8,792,695 - Medical Diagnostic Image Change Highlighter

The subject matter is the visual enhancement of anomalies in medical images, such as X-rays and MRI images, to highlight potential medical issues for doctors and dentists.

In operation, a doctor takes a current image (i.e., a recently-collected X-ray) and an earlier image for the same patient, and submits both of them to the inventive computer program. The program produces a color-encoded image that highlights differences that represent changed patient conditions. What is exceptional about this invention is that no complex algorithms are needed ? because the inventive program does not need to determine what constitutes a difference. The medical expert, who is viewing the resulting output image, performs all of the complex analysis.

A prototype software package is available to demonstrate the invention.

Cell Phone Patents

US 8,380,170 - Cellular Device Identification and Location with Emergency Number Selectivity Enforcement (CILENSE)
US 8965341 - Cellular Device Identification and Location with Emergency Number Selectivity Enforcement (CILENSE)

Published Application - US 20080309520 - Communication Device Input System

The subject matter of the 8,380,170 and 8,965,341 patents are a system that can prevent cellular telephone or texting use within prisons, school zones, commercial aircraft and other moving vehicles, and is resistant to defeat by hackers or other malicious parties. The inventive system is unique among all other known competing systems, in that:

(1) no critical information passes through the cellphone, so the system cannot be defeated by tampering with the cellphone, ;

(2) it is not indiscriminate, like a jammer, that interferes with legitimate cellphone usage in an undesirable manner;

(3) it is not illegal, like jammers;

(4) it is safer to implement, because it permits emergency calls, such as 911 calls; and

(5) it can be used within moving vehicles.

The 20080309520 published application cited above involves a simpler approach to cell phones having multi-tap keyboards (the common 12-key number pad in which ?abc? are letter options on the ?2? key). The invention provides for speeding up the typing of SMS text messages by placing a cursor button the side of the phone.

Cooler Filters

US 7,767,087 - Floating Filter Holder
US 7,955,501 - Floating Filter Holder

The subject matter is an inexpensive way to use Pur or Brita water filters inside a common 5 gallon picnic cooler (such as the yellow and red water coolers that can be often seen on work trucks and at picnic events). Currently, people who wish to fill a 5-gallon picnic cooler face a choice: Fill it with a garden hose, and taste rubber in the water, or purchase several 1 gallon jugs of drinking water from a grocery store, and pour those into the cooler. Because the Pur and Brita filters work so slowly, and can only handle 2 gallons of water per day, it was previously impractical for someone to fill a cooler with water that had been filtered by a Pur or Brita carbon filter cartridge.
The inventions provide a new solution: Fill the cooler with the garden hose, and during the delay between filling and drinking, the water is filtered by a Pur or Brita filter. The water will be safer to drink and taste much better.
The ?087 patent covers a more practical version, whereas the ?501 patent covers a more clever version. The practical version is a platform standing on legs inside the cooler, which holds multiple filter cartridges (so that the load on each is reduced, and the total filtration rate is faster). The more clever version uses a platform that floats upward as the water passes through the filters.

Miter Box with Circular Saw

US 7,757,592 - Power Saw Miter Guide
US 8,201,483 - Power Saw Miter Guide

The subject matter is an inexpensive light-duty power tool accessory for both professional carpenters and do-it-yourself (DIY) project enthusiasts. It enables safe, precise miter cuts using a hand-held circular power saw at two different angles. The available prototypes were constructed for 90-degree crosscut and 45-degree miter cut angles on common 2x4 lumber. These are the most common cut angles on perhaps the most common piece of wood. The prototypes can handle smaller pieces, such as 2x3, 1x2, and most baseboards.

Pushup System
US 8,585,563 - Multi-Functional, Variable-Asset Pushup System

The subject matter is inexpensive home gym equipment (a set of weight plates) that additionally provides ankle-holding for sit-ups as well as a multiple-height assisted pushup machine, with no moving parts

Stereo Speakers
US 7,986,793 - Automatically Reconfigurable Stereo Speaker System

The subject matter is an improvement to audio speakers that are attached to desktop PC systems or desktop docking stations for notebook computers. The invention eliminates the need for speaker extension cables, in some usage scenarios, and it should cost less than 50 cents to adapt common speakers to implement the invention.

Disposal of Digital Media

US 8,000,582 - System and Method for Disposal of Digital Media

US 8,521,005 - System and Method for Disposal of Digital Media

The subject matter is an inexpensive light-duty security device that renders CDs and DVDs unreadable by typical computer CD-ROM and DVD drives. This should help reduce identity theft and data loss, when CDs and DVDs that had contained sensitive information are discarded. The CDs and DVDs can still be read by special recovery equipment, but to defeat those specialized readers requires expensive noisy shredders. The inventions in this patent family strike a balance between low cost and practical security that reduces risk.

Vented Computer Keyboard

US 7,733,644 - Notebook Computer with Tilting Keyboard Vent

The subject matter is the prevention of overheating of compact notebook computers (a.k.a. laptop computers). The invention leverages a convenient tradeoff between airflow needs and the desirability of compactness.