How Are Patent Cases Resolved? An Empirical Examination of the Adjudication and Settlement of Patent Disputes

From an institutional perspective, the patent system is a two-stage bargain. At the first stage, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) grants patent rights to inventors after conducting an examination of the prior art and of the patent application to determine whether the requirements for patentability are met. At the next stage, in order to enforce their issued patent rights, patentees have to resort to the federal courts with an action for patent infringement. This Article is organized as follows. Part II reviews the previous literature on patent litigation. Part III describes our methodology for collecting data on patent cases and classifying them according to the precise manner in which they were resolved. We then analyze the results and insights that we gain from a study of these case outcomes. Part IV presents our analysis of the costs of patent litigation, across all cases, for cases adjudicated through final judgments, and for cases with formal rulings of infringement or invalidity. In Part V, we present our conclusions

Making the user more efficient: Design for sustainable behaviour

User behaviour is a significant determinant of a product’s environmental impact; while engineering advances permit increased efficiency of product operation, the user’s decisions and habits ultimately have a major effect on the energy or other resources used by the product. There is thus a need to change users’ behaviour. A range of design techniques developed in diverse contexts suggest opportunities for engineers, designers and other stakeholders working in the field of sustainable innovation to affect users’ behaviour at the point of interaction with the product or system, in effect ‘making the user more efficient’. Approaches to changing users’ behaviour from a number of fields are reviewed and discussed, including: strategic design of affordances and behaviour-shaping constraints to control or affect energyor other resource-using interactions; the use of different kinds of feedback and persuasive technology techniques to encourage or guide users to reduce their environmental impact; and context-based systems which use feedback to adjust their behaviour to run at optimum efficiency and reduce the opportunity for user-affected inefficiency. Example implementations in the sustainable engineering and ecodesign field are suggested and discussed

DFT STUDY OF SOLVENT EFFECTS ON CONFORMATIONAL EQUILIBRIA AND VIBRATIONAL SPECTRA OF 4-(1-PYRROLIDINYL)PIPERAZINE

Author Institution: Physics Department, Science Faculty, Anadolu University, Eskisehir, 26470, Turkey; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic; Department of Physics, Dumlup_nar University, Kutahya, 43100, Turkey; Physics Department, Science Faculty, Anadolu University, Eskisehir, 26470, TurkeyThe optimized structural parameters (bond lengths, bond and dihedral angles), conformational equilibria and normal mode frequencies and corresponding vibrational assignments of 4-(1-Pyrrolidinyl)piperazine (4-pypp) have been examined by means of B3LYP hybrid density functional theory (DFT) method with 6-31++G(d,p) basis set. Furthermore, reliable vibrational assignments have made on the basis of potential energy distribution (PED) calculated and the thermodynamics functions, highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO) of 4-pypp ($C_8H_{17}N_3$) have been predicted. Calculations are employed for different conformations of 4-pypp both in gas phase and in solution. Solvent effects are investigated using chloroform and dimethylsulfoxide. Results from the theoretical values are showed that the structural parameters, mole fractions of stable conformers, vibrational frequencies, IR intensities and Raman activities of 4-pypp are solvent dependent.\\ \textbf{Keywords}: 4-(1-Pyrrolidinyl)piperazine, vibrational spectra, solvent effect, DFT

DFT, FT-Raman, and FT-IR investigations of 1-cyclopropylpiperazine

WOS: 000329247700007FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of 1-cyclopropylpiperazine (1cppp) are experimentally examined in the range 4000-200 cm(-1). The optimized geometric parameters, conformational equilibria, normal mode frequencies and corresponding vibrational assignments of 1cppp C7H14N2 are theoretically examined by means of B3LYP hybrid density functional theory (DFT) with the 6-31++G(d,p) basis set. Based on the potential energy distribution (PED) reliable vibrational assignments are made and the thermodynamics functions, highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO) of 1cppp are predicted. Calculations are performed for four different conformations in two point groups of 1cppp in the gas phase. A comparison between the experimental and theoretical results indicates that the B3LYP method is able to provide satisfactory results for the prediction of vibrational frequencies, structural parameters, and assignments. Furthermore, the C (s) (equatorial-equatorial) point group is found as the most stable conformer of 1cppp

Refractory effusion cell to generate a reproducible, uniform and ultra-pure molecular beam of elemental molecules, utilizing reduced thermal gradient filament construction

A device and method for producing an ultra pure molecular beam of elemental molecules utilizing a reduced thermal gradient filament construction in an effusion cell is provided. The effusion cell comprises a crucible having an open and a closed end and at least one heating filament distributed immediate the crucible. The at least one heating filament or filaments are provided having a first portion having a first pitch in proximal relationship to the open end of the crucible and having a second portion having a second pitch wherein the first pitch is of a higher spatial frequency than the second pitch. The heating filament is non-inductively wound about the crucible and positioned in conformity to the outside structure of the crucible. The heat shield is positioned proximate and about the crucible and heating filament or filaments. The heating filaments are connected to a controllable electric power supply producing a near constant temperature along the long axis of the crucible. By placing source material in the crucible and placing the crucible heating filaments and heat shield in a reduced pressure atmosphere and powering the heating filaments, a substantially constant temperature is produced along the crucible long axis resulting in an ultra pure molecular beam of elemental molecules of the source material.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Experimental and theoretical FT-IR, Raman and XRD study of 2-acetyl-5-chlorothiophene

The structure of 2-acetyl-5-chlorothiophene (ACT) has been characterized by FT-IR, Raman and single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The isomers, optimized geometric parameters, normal mode frequencies and corresponding vibrational assignments of ACT (C6H5ClOS) have been examined by the density functional theory, with the Becke-3-Lee-Yang-Parr functional and the 6-311+G(3df,p) basis set. Reliable vibrational assignments have been investigated by the potential energy distribution analysis. ACT crystallizes in monoclinic space group C2/c with the O,S-cis isomer. There is a good agreement between the theoretically predicted structural parameters and vibrational frequencies and those obtained experimentally. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

4-Chloro-3-fluorobenzaldehyde: Experimental (XRD, FT-IR and Raman) and DFT studies

The structure of 4-chloro-3-fluorobenzaldehyde (CFB, C7H 4ClFO) has been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and Raman techniques. The conformational isomers, optimized geometrical parameters, normal mode frequencies and corresponding vibrational assignments of CFB have been examined using the density functional theory method, with the Becke-3-Lee-Yang-Parr functional and the 6-311+G(3df,p) basis set. Reliable vibrational assignments and molecular orbitals have been investigated by the potential energy distribution. CFB crystallizes in monoclinic space group P21/c with the O-cis conformation. In order to examine the effect of fluorine on the conformational preference, the chloro- and bromo-analogs of CFB have also been studied theoretically. It is observed that CFB prefers the O-cis conformation while the chloro- and bromo-analogs prefer the O-trans conformation. Although the free energy difference between the O-cis and O-trans conformers is less than 0.2 kcal/mol, the free energy rotational barrier is at least 8.4 kcal/mol B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,p). MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ computations reveal that these free energies remain almost unaffected. The atypical characteristic of fluorine affecting conformational isomerism is observed. In addition, there is a good agreement between the experimentally determined structural parameters and vibrational frequencies of CFB and those predicted theoretically