patent News

Claims Business: Sedgwick, True Flood Risk, Xceedance

Sedgwick Buys Managed Care Advisors Sedgwick has acquired Managed Care Advisors, a Bethesda, Maryland-based firm that provides workers’ compensation and speciality health plan products to the federal government. MCA has provided claims management, disability and absence management, analytics and speciality …

Alphabet’s Waymo Raises $2.25 Billion For Driverless Cars

Waymo raised $2.25 billion from a slate of private equity investors, venture capitalists and automotive companies, the first time Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous vehicle unit has taken outside funds. Silver Lake Management LLC, a private equity firm, led the round, which …

Supreme Court Declines to Consider Medical Diagnostic Patents

The U.S. Supreme Court stayed out of the debate over what types of medical diagnostic tests can be patented, leaving in legal limbo companies that discover ways to diagnose and treat diseases based on patients’ unique characteristics. The justices rejected …

University of California Sues Retailers Over LED Bulbs

The University of California is looking to halt imports of vintage-style LED light bulbs that are sold at five of the nation’s biggest retailers, including Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. The University of California Santa Barbara says the …

Voice Software Pioneer Says Amazon Used Its Technology in Alexa

A voice software technology developer is suing Amazon.com Inc., saying the e-commerce giant infringed on patents when developing software for the Alexa digital assistant. VB Assets LLC, which owns the rights to some of the technology developed by voice software …

Government Agency’s Review of Patents Will Be Scrutinized by U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a federal agency’s procedures have made it too easy to successfully cancel patents after agreeing on Friday to decide a case involving a vehicle speedometer that alerts drivers if they are speeding. The …

Maryland Company Gets Patent for Storm Tracking Technology

Earth Networks Inc., a Maryland company that provides weather-tracking services, has received a patent on a technology that can be used to track storm cells. Patent 8,836,518 covers a method that uses lightning-flash rates to track the cells. According to …

Connecticut Student Gets Patent for Ice Safety Device

High school senior Zoe Eggleston said she considered her ice-fishing trips with her father, Brad, a mixed bag: she loved the father-daughter camaraderie but had to fight her terror of falling through the ice. As she confronted her fear time …

Progressive Receives Fourth Patent Related to Usage-Based Insurance

Progressive Insurance has received a fourth patent for system technologies used with its optional Pay As You Drive insurance program, a usage-based form of car insurance. U.S. Patent No. 8,090,598 relates, in part, to producing a driver safety score based …

Virginia Jury Rules for Twitter in Patent Lawsuit

A federal jury in Norfolk has ruled in favor of Twitter in a patent lawsuit. The Virginian-Pilot reports that the jury on Monday rejected northern Virginia patent attorney Dinesh Agarwal’s claim that Twitter used his patented technology to develop the …