In part 1 of this week’s Startup Patent Report, we looked at newly issued patents from Convey Computer, Ekinops, Kingsisle Entertainment, Better Place and Avalanche Technology. Part 2 examines several additional interesting patents issued this week to Kosmix, Caustic Graphics, DesignIn, and Kryptiq:
Kosmix
Kosmix was a provider of a social network that allowed users to browse the Internet by topics. The company was acquired by Wal-Mart almost a year ago for a reported 300 million. The company now operates as Wal-Mart Labs and has received its third U.S. patent. U.S. Patent No. 8,122,360 is directed to providing a feed of related content to a user based on the user’s browsing history. Follow Wal-Mart labs on Twitter: @walmartlabs.
One of the inventors listed on the patent, Venky Harinarayan, is head of Wal-Mart Labs. Follow him on Twitter: @venky13
Caustic Graphics
Caustic Graphics, founded in 2007, is a 3D computer graphics company that offers a massively accelerated ray tracing system. The company received its sixth U.S. patent, No. 8,120,609 directed to a system for ray tracing a scene. The company was founded in 2007 and has received 2.71 million in debt funding. Follow Caustic Graphics on Twitter: @causticgraphics
DesignIn
DesignIn is a company founded in 2007 that is developing a collaborative marketplace for home design and decorating products. The company has received its second U.S. patent, No. 8,122,370, directed to creating visual bookmarks for home design products.
Kryptiq
Kryptiq, a ten year old company with 90 employees, received its fifth U.S. patent, No. 8,122,252. The patent is directed to cascaded digital signatures for digital contracts. Kryptiq connects doctors to one another and to patients through a collaborative network.
I am doing a feasibility study on a startup; Im doing patent research but the situation is tricky. The product we have comes from a manufacturer in China. They make freight truck brakes and we are marketing one of the components as a doy chew toy. What patenting complications would there be? Could we get a provisional patent here in the US for the intended use we have in mind for the product?
Thanks!
This is a difficult question to answer without knowing more details. Please email me using the contact form and I will try to be more helpful.