Patent Report

Technical advances are a necessity for any industry, and to that end, companies invest Technical advances are a necessity for any industry, and to that end, companies invest considerable resources in R&D. This section lists the abstracts of recently approved U.S. considerable resources in R&D. This section lists the abstracts of recently approved U.S. patents. Most are direct to wire and cable while a few may be more indirect/downstream. patents. Most are direct to wire and cable while a few may be more indirect/downstream.

Data cable Title U.S. Patent No.: 11,101,584 U.S. Patent No.: 00,000,000

Assignees: Dongguan Yuanchuang Electronic Patent date: Mon. 00, 0000 Filed: Mon. 00, 0000

Technology Co., Ltd., China Assignee: Company Name, Country

Patent date: Aug. 24, 2021 Filed: June 4, 2020 Inventors: First Lastname, First Lastname

Inventors: Hongping Tan, Xinin Tan A wire and a method of manufacturing are provided The present invention relates to the field of electronic the wire for use in an organic light emitting diode device device accessory technology and in particular to a data includes three parts, a first part and a third part are located cable. The data cable includes a data cable plug and an at both ends of the wire respectively and each of the first adapter element which are in rotational connection. The part and the third part is a single wire, a second part is data cable plug includes at least two metal sheets. A space located between the first part and the third part, and the for rotational connection of the adapter element is formed second part is a composite wire, wherein the composite between two of the metal sheets. When the adapter element wire comprises at least two wires. By dividing a middle is rotationally connected in the space, not only can the part of one wire into multiple wires, the purpose of changelectrical connection between the adapter element and ing a wire width of a single wire is achieved, ductility of the data cable plug be guaranteed, but also an angle of the the wire can be enhanced, thereby avoiding the occuradapter element relative to the data cable plug can be well rence of the problem that the device cannot normally work adjusted. Therefore, use requirements of a user are satiscaused by wire fracture during folding, and improving the fied. Meanwhile, the situation that a cable body connected using efficiency of the device. to a power supply is bent repeatedly to adversely affect the service life of the data cable will be avoided.

Low-profile cable armor U.S. Patent No.: 11,101,056 Assignees: AFC Cable Systems. Inc., USA

Patent date: Aug. 24, 2021 Filed: Sept. 23, 2019

Inventors: Peter Lafreniere, et al

Disclosed is an armored cable assembly may include a plurality of conductors and a metal sheath disposed over

the plurality of conductors. The metal sheath may have a plurality of revolutions extending helically along a lengthwise axis, each of the plurality of revolutions including a first section having a curved profile, a second section extending from the first section, the second section having a planar profile, and a third section extending from the second section. The third section may include a free end angled towards an interior cavity of the metal sheath, the free end extending past a plane defined by a bottom most point of the first section of an adjacent revolution, the plane extending perpendicular to the second section.

Core wire for multi-core cables and multi-core cable U.S. Patent No.: 11,101,054 Assignees: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Japan

Patent date: Aug. 24, 2021 Filed: Oct. 5, 2018

Inventors: Yutaka Matsumura, et al

A core wire for multi-core cables includes a conductor obtained by twisting a plurality of elemental wires, and an insulating layer coated on an outer peripheral surface Title of the conductor. The insulating layer contains polyeth U.S. Patent No.: 00,000,000 Patent date: Mon. 00, 0000 Filed: Mon. 00, 0000 Assignee: Company Name, Country Inventors: First Lastname, First Lastname ylene-based resin as a main component, and the product of a linear expansion coefficient C1 of the insulating layer in the range of 25.degree. C. to -35.degree. C. and an elastic modulus E1 at -35.degree. C., namely (C1.times.E1) is 0.01 MPaK.sup.-1 or more and 0.90 MPaK.sup.-1 or

A wire and a method of manufacturing are provided less. The melting point of the polyethylene-based resin is the wire for use in an organic light emitting diode device 80.degree. C. or higher and 130.degree. C. or lower.includes three parts, a first part and a third part are located at both ends of the wire respectively and each of the first part and the third part is a single wire, a second part is located between the first part and the third part, and the second part is a composite wire, wherein the composite SECTION SPONSORwire comprises at least two wires. By dividing a middle

part of one wire into multiple wires, the purpose of changing a wire width of a single wire is achieved, ductility of the wire can be enhanced, thereby avoiding the occurrence of the problem that the device cannot normally work caused by wire fracture during folding, and improving the using efficiency of the device.

Title U.S. Patent No.: 00,000,000

Patent date: Mon. 00, 0000 Filed: Mon. 00, 0000

Assignee: Company Name, Country Inventors: First Lastname, First Lastname

A wire and a method of manufacturing are provided the wire for use in an organic light emitting diode device includes three parts, a first part and a third part are located at both ends of the wire respectively and each of the first part and the third part is a single wire, a second part is located between the first part and the third part, and the second part is a composite wire, wherein the composite wire comprises at least two wires. By dividing a middle part of one wire into multiple wires, the purpose of changing a wire width of a single wire is achieved, ductility of the wire can be enhanced, thereby avoiding the occurrence of the problem that the device cannot normally work caused by wire fracture during folding, and improving the using efficiency of the device.

Title U.S. Patent No.: 00,000,000

Patent date: Mon. 00, 0000 Filed: Mon. 00, 0000

Assignee: Company Name, Country Inventors: First Lastname, First Lastname

SECTION SPONSOR

Section Sponsor

Fisk Alloy, Inc.

Hawthorne, NJ, USA (201) 563-1397 WIRE FOR INNOVATION WIRED FOR INNOVATION Fisk Alloy, Inc. ~ Hawthorne, New Jersey, USA ~ (973) 825-8500 www.fiskalloy.com~ fiskalloy.com

THE IP PATENT PRIMER

Cautionary words about agreements

What seems clear can be mistaken! Two recent decisions highlight the importance of carefully writing and understanding agreements. One case involves non-disclosure agreements and the other is assignment of future inventions, a common provision in many employment agreements.

Non-disclosure agreements

Businesses use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in many situations, from mergers and acquisitions to obtaining expertise of third parties for development of new technologies to testing products with third parties without publicly disclosing the product. The NDA protects trade secrets and confidential information.

These agreements must be carefully worded, or you could lose your trade secrets and confidential information. BladeRoom learned this the hard way. BladeRoom Group Ltd. and Emerson Electric are competitors that design and build data centers. Emerson was interested in purchasing BladeRoom, and in 2011, it signed an NDA. Its wording would ultimately lead to the company incurring a $60 million judgment and $18 million in attorney and expert fees.

The key was paragraph 12, where the parties acknowledged and agreed that their respective obligations would be continuing and, in particular, that they shall survive the termination of any discussions or negotiations between you and the company regarding the transaction, provided that this agreement shall terminate on the date two years from the date hereof.

The acquisition fell through. A year later, the two were competing for a contract to develop a data center for Facebook. In 2014, three years later, Emerson was chosen by Facebook. BladeRoom later discovered that Emerson had used their trade secrets. In 2015 they sued Facebook for copying its technology, and Emerson for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets. BladeRoom settled with Facebook. The trial continued against Emerson and BladeRoom won.

Emerson appealed, arguing that the NDA ended in 2013 and any disclosure after the NDA terminated wasn’t a misappropriation. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. It said the language “provided that this agreement shall terminate on the date two years from the date hereof” meant that any disclosures after termination were not subject to misappropriation. Emerson was free to use what it learned during due diligence after the two-year period expired.

BladeRoom argued that paragraph 12 referred only to the actual “discussions or negotiations” between it and Emerson, that these terminated after two years—not Emerson’s confidentiality obligations. But the Court pointed out that the agreement stated, “this agreement shall terminate”— not that “discussions or negotiations” shall terminate.

Non-disclosure agreements are not boilerplate, commodity agreements. As this case illustrates, they must be carefully drafted. Once drafted, someone else knowledgeable about these types of agreements, should closely review it for potential issues.

Assignment of future inventions

In the case of Omni Medsci, Inc. v Apple Inc., the question was who owns the patents. Apple argued that Omni did not own them as it had acquired the patents through an assignment from Dr. Islam, a University of Michigan (U of M) professor. During an unpaid leave from the university, he filed several patent applications. He assigned the resulting patents to Omni.

Apple argued that the U of M owned the patents as Dr. Islam had agreed to go by their bylaws, which stated that patents developed by staff shall be the U of M’s property.

The appeals court disagreed. The Court ruled that “shall be the property of the University” is a statement of intended outcome rather than a present assignment. Language that would be a present automatic assignment of a future interest requires a present tense execution verb. The Court said that “agrees to grant and does hereby grant” would be a present assignment of a future interest in a patent.

The Takeaway

Contract language can develop over many years of court decisions. What seems obvious to a layperson can result in a different conclusion in court. Terminate may not mean “with your secrets maintained,” and shall may not mean it happened.

Many employment agreements assign future inventions. Look at yours to confirm that any assignment is a present, not future obligation.

Be careful out there.

-Bill Honaker

Bill Honaker has been an intellectual property attorney for more than 30 years, helping businesses—from Fortune 100 firms to individual entrepreneurs—protect their patents, trademarks and copyrights. A former Patent Office Examiner, he is a partner with Dickinson Wright, PLLC. He notes that he is especially good at keeping clients out of court. He can be contacted at whonaker@dickinson-wright.com, tel. 248-433-7381.

System, composition and method of application of same for reducing the coefficient of friction and required pulling force during installation of wire or cable U.S. Patent No.: 11,101,053 Assignees: Encore Wire Corporation, USA

Patent date: Aug. 24, 2021 Filed: Feb. 20, 2020

Inventors: William Bigbee, Jr., Sheri Dahlke, Ronald Raedeke, Jason Gillen, Melvin Debord

A composition and method for reducing the coefficient of friction and required pulling force of a wire or cable are provided. A composition of aqueous emulsion is provided that is environmentally friendly, halogen free and solvent free. The composition is compatible with various types of insulating materials and may be applied after the wire or cable is cooled and also by spraying or submerging the wire or cable in a bath. The composition contains lubricating agents that provide lower coefficient of friction for wire or cable installation and continuous wire or cable surface lubrication thereafter.

Optical cable having a buffer tube with flexible ribbon U.S. Patent No.: 11,099,346 Assignees: Prysmian SpA,Italy

Patent date: Aug. 24, 2021 Filed: Oct. 12, 2020

Inventors: Ray Marvin, James Holder, Michael Doub

An optical cable includes a plurality of buffer tubes, each of the buffer tubes includes a flexible ribbon, the flexible ribbon including a plurality of optical fibers, the flexible ribbon being wrapped with a finished tape. ... In the production of optical fiber buffer tubes that do not include flexible ribbons, a plurality of loose optical fibers is arranged in a bundle within the buffer tube. One way to design these buffer tubes with improved strain relief characteristics may be to use one or more loose strands of semi-finished yarns within the buffer tube. However, the loose strands of semi-finished yarns are made out of many small filaments that are easily separable.

Rolled wire rod U.S. Patent No.: 11,094,434 Assignees: Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation, Japan

Patent date: Aug. 24, 2021 Filed: July 5, 2017

Inventors: Naoki Matsui, Yutaka Neishi, Makoto Kosaka

A rolled wire rod wherein the contents of Ti, N, and S (mass %) are respectively [Ti], [N], and [S], and, if [S]. ltoreq.0.0010, [Ti] is (4.5.times.[S]+3.4.times.[N]) or more and (0.008+3.4.times.[N]) or less, while if [S]. gtoreq.0.0010, [Ti] is (4.5.times.[S]+3.4.times.[N]) or more and (8.0.times.[S]+3.4.times.[N]) or less, the internal structure is a mixed structure of ferrite and pearlite with an area ratio of a ferrite fraction of 40% or more, and a mean area of sulfides present in a range from a surface of the wire rod to a depth position D/8 from the surface of the wire rod is 6 .mu.m.sup.2 or less, wherein D represents a diameter, in mm, in a cross-section of the wire rod at a plane including the axis of the wire rod, and a mean aspect ratio of the sulfides is 5 or less.

Aluminum alloy welding wire U.S. Patent No.: 11,097,380 Assignee: Hobart Brothers LLC, USA

Patent date: Aug. 24, 2021 Filed: Feb. 17, 2017

Inventor: Bruce Edward Anderson

A composition for welding or brazing aluminum comprises silicon (Si) and magnesium (Mg) along with aluminum in an alloy suitable for use in welding and brazing. The Si content may vary between approximately

(Patent Report continued, see p. 82)