Patents are categorized based on their claims. Some of these newly issued patents, therefore, may have only a slight link to insurance based on only one or a small number of the claims therein. 

The Resources section provides a link to a detailed list of these newly issued patents.

Published Patent Applications

Thirty eight (38) new patent applications with claims in class 705/4 have been published since our last issue. They are broken down by product line or type area as follows:

The Resources section provides a link to a detailed list of these newly published patent applications.

Again, a reminder -

Patent applications have been published 18 months after their filing date only since March 15, 2001.  Therefore, there are many pending applications that are not yet published.  A conservative assumption would be that there are, currently, about 200 new patent applications filed every 18 months in class 705/4.   

The published patent applications included in the table above are not reduced when applications are issued as patents, rejected, or abandoned.  Therefore, the table only gives an indication of the number of patent applications currently pending.

Resources

Recently published issued U.S. Patents and U.S. Patent Applications with claims in class 705/4.

The following are links to web sites which contain information helpful to understanding intellectual property.

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) : Patent Application Information Retrieval - http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair

Free Patents Online - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) - http://www.wipo.org/pct/en

Patent Law and Regulation - http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/legis.htm

• Dial the USPTO’s main number, 1 (800) 786-9199.
• At the first prompt press 2.
• At the second prompt press 4.
• You will then be connected to an operator.
• Ask to be connected to the Inventor’s Assistance Center.
• You will then listen to a prerecorded message before being connected to a person who can help you.

Mark Nowotarski - Patent Agent services – http://www.marketsandpatents.com/

Tom Bakos, FSA, MAAA - Actuarial services – http://www.BakosEnterprises.com

What’s In a Name: Choosing An Effective Trademark

By: Leora Herrmann, Esq., Partner, Kluger, Peretz, Kaplan & Berlin, lherrmann@kpkb.com http://www.kpkb.com/professionals-28.html

"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." So spoke the heroine in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Juliet’s sentiment rang true in the Bard’s tale of star-crossed lovers. But, when it comes to business, she couldn’t have been farther from the mark.

In insurance, as in any other industry, names are the key to effective marketing. They differentiate one company or product from all others, enable customer loyalty and foster goodwill.

The names (and logos) companies use for their goods and services are protected by the law of trademarks, a branch of intellectual property law. Trademark law gives the owner of a valid trademark a monopoly that allows it to stop others from adopting any confusingly similar mark for related goods or services.

A trademark monopoly is best established by registering one’s trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). A federal trademark application can be filed as soon as a company has a bona fide intent to use the mark. This gives the applicant nationwide priority over others who later adopt the same or a similar mark for related goods or services.

But not all names qualify for trademark protection. The key is to choose a protectible name that does not infringe on others’ established trademark rights. As Shakespeare would say, "There’s the rub."

First, in choosing a trademark, avoid generic terms. The generic names for goods or services belong to the public at large and cannot be monopolized by a single company. Just as no one can claim "automobile" as a trademark for cars, any word that is the generic name for an insurance product is off limits as a trademark.

Descriptive terms are a step in the right direction, but still difficult to protect. In 2005, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America’s application to register WEALTHCARE as a trademark for healthcare insurance, life insurance and annuities was rejected by the USPTO because "the term WEALTHCARE is merely descriptive of a function or purpose of Applicant’s insurance services, that is, to care for or manage the insured’s wealth."

Descriptive terms like WEALTHCARE are not given trademark status unless and until they have been so widely advertised and used that they have acquired "secondary meaning" with the public; that is, the public has learned to recognize them as trademarks despite their descriptiveness. In the case of WEALTHCARE, the USPTO found that Allianz had not shown that "relevant customers of such insurance services have come to view WEALTHCARE as Applicant’s source-identifying mark," rather than a mere description of the insurance that Allianz offered. As a result, trademark protection was denied. To avoid this fate, stay away from descriptive marks.

A better choice for a trademark is a term or phrase that is "suggestive." Suggestive marks evoke an image related to the product or service, but do not describe it. They are protectible without proof of secondary meaning. In a recent federal lawsuit, the court held that CAREFIRST is a suggestive trademark for health insurance and related services because "CareFirst connotes some kind of health-related service or product, although consumers would be unlikely to identify the service or product without actual knowledge of it."

Fanciful and arbitrary terms make the best marks. KODAK – a coined term – is a fanciful mark and APPLE for computers is arbitrary. Marks like these, which do not describe or even suggest the goods and services for which they are used, are the strongest and most easily protectible. They may, however, be less desirable for marketing purposes. A suggestive mark like CAREFIRST connotes reliability, compassion and responsiveness. It’s more difficult for an arbitrary or fanciful mark to evoke such sentiments.

The selection of a protectible term is the first step in choosing a trademark. The second is to determine, with as much confidence as possible, that the mark will not infringe existing third party trademark rights; that is, that the mark is available. This evaluation should be performed by a qualified trademark attorney who will first conduct and commission a trademark search to identify third parties who have registered or are using identical or similar marks. If the mark will be used internationally, foreign trademark searches must also be commissioned and evaluated.

Just because a search reveals that the term is already being used as a trademark does not mean that it is off limits. Trademark availability depends on whether simultaneous use of both marks will create a likelihood of confusion among purchasers. This is determined by weighing such factors as the strength of the prior trademark, the similarity of the marks, the similarity of the parties’ goods and services, the sophistication of the relevant group of consumers, and the extent to which advertising and distribution channels overlap.

Clearly, under the right circumstances, the same word can be used as a mark in different fields without confusing the public. No one mistakenly concludes that Delta Airlines is the source of Delta faucets, or that the Ford Modeling Agency is the source of Ford automobiles.

However, where the parties’ goods and services are more closely related, a likelihood of confusion may arise. Thus, some years ago, Guardian Life Insurance Company succeeded in getting an injunction against an independent insurance agency barring it from using the name Guardian Group-Gerardi Associates as its service mark. (A service mark is nothing more than a trademark that is used to identify the source of services.) Even though the agency’s sales of life, group and business health insurance amounted to only 5.75% of its business, the court concluded that consumers were likely to conclude that the agency was affiliated with Guardian Life and ordered it to stop using "Guardian" in its name.

Choosing a trademark can involve multiple false starts. The obvious "good names" are often already taken. But with creativity, persistence and good legal advice, a trademark that is effective, available and protectible can always be found.

NOTE: More information about trademarks is available at the USPTO Trademark web site: http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm