Hearing Device Patents in January and February 2014

Polymer materials were the standouts in today’s round of patents.  Audiologists’ training is short on polymers so we may not fully appreciate their importance:

•  Patent #8628831 praises polymers for their special properties such as “positional selective metallization” which can be applied to hearing aid components where “it may be desirable to combine electrical and mechanical functions in a single component, for example to make electrical circuits directly on the cover or base of a polymer-based product.
• Patent #8609249 describes polymer applications for hearing aid device diaphragms that “require high strength flexible membranes and a venting function in order to relieve pressure buildup due to the thermal expansion of air in the device or barometric pressure changes.

While technology bounded forward, “abusive” lawsuits to capture and control intellectual property by “patent trolls” kept pace.  Efforts to quell the abuse were heard last week in the US Supreme Court where the justices weighed the difference (if any) between “meritlessness” and “objectively baseless” and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy quipped that the hearing boiled down to a “search for adjectives.”

Does Mr. Putin Owe Royalties to One of Our Former Editors?

Intellectual property, adjectives, and world events merged seamlessly this week in another case that has nothing to do with patents but is interesting none the less.   K. Ray Katz, hearing aid dispenser (retired) and former HearingHealthMatters editor published his 3rd book in late 2013.  It’s a well-written, lively read and I’m happy to plug it.

In a eerie case of art predicting life,  My Enemy’s Enemy describes a world power which clandestinely stirs up cultural divisiveness in a neighboring country, uses the ensuing riots as an excuse to invade the neighbor to protect fellow countrymen, and times the invasion to coincide with the Sochi Olympic games as a strategic distraction.  Does this sound familiar?  Did Mr. Putin read Ray’s book?  Should Ray sue for use/misuse of intellectual property?   Should he receive royalties on world events foretold in the book?  Is this a job for a patent troll?

Back to Patents

 editor’s note:  The Patent Series is updated every two months.  Click links for patents approved in Jan/Feb 2014, Nov/Dec 2013, September/October 2013, Jul/Aug 2013, May/Jun 2013, Mar/Apr 2013, Jan/Feb 2013, Nov/Dec 2012

title photo courtesy of University of South Carolina