Mar 31
Inventor wins $1m in patent scrap over clever champagne opener
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10795728
- A Kiwi inventor has been awarded more than $1 million in damages after a court ruled an American company copied his patented champagne bottle opener.
Mar 19
The new Lytro “Light field camera”
- …new technology to create photos that can have their focus changed after they have been taken.
- …there is no need to auto-focus, resulting in virtually no shutter delay.
Mar 18
Nike running shoe make from knitting machine
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-15/is-nikes-flyknit-the-swoosh-of-the-future
- …a 5.6-ounce running shoe called the Flyknit, made from synthetic yarn ingeniously woven together by a knitting machine.
- The computer-controlled weaving technology, which knits the entire upper part of the shoe in a single piece thats then attached to the sole, promises to cut labor costs and production time while also increasing profit margins and opportunities for personalization.
Mar 16
Aussie inventor settles with Microsoft in patent dispute
- Ric Richardson, the Australian “man in a van” who has been fighting Microsoft in an eight-year legal battle has settled with the software giant out of court in a deal that could potentially net hundreds of millions of dollars.
- …the software giant to pay compensation of $US388 million…The verdict was overturned five months later.
- “I was in it because the right thing needed to be done,” he said.