US Hearing Device Patents for December 2016
The number of hearing device patents granted annually to the Big 6 manufacturers tripled in the last decade (see feature image above), peaking in 2012 and leveling off since then, by Hearing Economic’s estimation.1 The 2012 peak is mainly due to a flurry of patents awarded to Siemens (now Sivantos) that year. Sivantos…
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US Hearing Device Patent Activity for January-February 2016
New hearing device patents featured new players, new money, new concepts, interesting art work, and political commentary. Today’s feature image, courtesy of Starkey’s USPTO #9264824, may not be great art but it succinctly states the company’s dim view of Keynesian economics and government tax ideology. The art award goes to Qualcomm, which joined the hearing…
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US Hearing Aid Device Patent Activity for Jul-Aug 2015
“Tumultuous” captures the essence of Big 6 doings of late. It’s also an apt descriptor for the Exciting World of Hearing Device Patents, which really is the place to be these days. For example, Panasonic’s battery patent (USPTO #9088050) describes a whirlwind New World of Batteries: “the batteries for supplying electric power… small-size electronic devices…
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US Hearing Device Patents for May-June 2015
Ear devices by any name are fast becoming brain portals. Recent Hearables and Augmentation posts probably struck most readers–especially clinicians who fit traditional amplification on aging patients–as fanciful riffs about gimmicky trifles. The growing diversity of patents in the bimonthly list argues that we pay attention to devices and toys which are outside traditional…
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US Hearing Aid Device Patent Activity for March-April 2015
Samsung Electronics’ history of suit-counter-suit patent-infringement litigation was referenced last post. The patent-infringement lawsuit strategy is not peculiar to Samsung. Such lawsuits increased by 25% in 2013. Recent bills introduced in the US House and Senate have bipartisan congressional and White House support. Among other things, the bills propose to reduce the number of frivolous…
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