PJ asked:




I know that everyone who is on MySpace has had the same burning questions that I’ve had. How can I see who has viewed my MySpace profile? Where can I find a MySpace Tracker? Since MySpace has become so popular, so have the MySpace profile stalkers. Could be your friends, neighbors, ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends, or even someone you don’t even know. We are fortunate enough to have the technology for 3rd party websites to provide the code to allow you to see who visits your profile. Bands on MySpace Music find this sort of technology very useful because it allows them to see who their fans are. Unfortunately, the majority of the code that these websites offer have been eliminated because they violate MySpace’s TOS (terms of service). Don’t get disappointed yet, there are some alternatives.

I still remember the short reign of several very popular websites that tracked profile viewers right back to their profile. Sites like these provided members with a MySpace tracker code they could enter into their MySpace profile which allowed the tracking of anyone who viewed their profile. After entering the code, you could login to Profilesnoop to see everyone who has viewed your profile. It even had their MySpace pictures! This was very convenient for a short while, until without notice, it stopped working. Apparently, this code violated MySpace’s TOS and the code automatically was cut out of your profile. After this, these sites quickly lost fan base. This left millions of MySpacers in question and looking to find another MySpace tracker.

Fortunately, there is new technology coming back that allows you to not only track your visitors, but also view tons of data about what kind of visitors you are getting. There are now several trackers out there such as MyFriendStats that not only allow you to track profiles and find out where the views are coming from. But now bands can even view stats according to their fans and even demographics. You can create charts, browse data, and even understand what your viewers are looking for. Software like this is great for both the casual MySpace user and bands trying to promote their music on MySpace. With this information, you can easily track your MySpace profile viewers, and possibly get more people and potential fans to your site. This is the easiest way to become famous on MySpace.

So the good news is out, now start tracking your MySpace Profile viewers again.

Bronnie Vaughn asked:




First introduced in 1978, Lego space sets featured spaceships and astronauts. It is also one of the biggest and most expansive toy sets that Lego has produced. It has about 200 individual sets, which when connected formed one big outer space set. The first of the Lego space sets that were produced were considered to be a great leap forward in terms of design. It has since become one of the most loved and cherished Lego toy building sets, putting it upon the same pedestal as the Lego train sets, pirates Lego themed sets and the medieval castle sets. In comparison to the former space set releases which included the Rocket Base, Space Rocket and the Moon Landing sets, the newer and better themed Space and Mars showcased new building techniques as well as Lego parts that were previously unseen. Even though the traditional Lego bricks were still present in these new sets, they also had some finer details, which enabled more multi-purpose space vehicles and smoother looking battleships.

In the early space sets there were certain oddities such as the use of a steering wheel to drive the spacecraft and even though it lacks any on board pilot protection except that of the space suit, it was still fancy enough to spark the imaginations of kids back then. From battleships and the basic 4 wheeled vehicles, the theme further developed and was often said to be following the trends of science fiction movies prevalent at that time. As their development continued, the vehicle designs became more advanced as well. The addition of Lego minifigures, robots, space bases, buggies, as well as, larger battleships soon followed. These early sets, though perhaps rather humble when compared to today’s standards, were some of the most modern among other sci-fi inspired toys during that time. They were simple yet very charming toys that kids adored. Eventually, gray become a major color for this theme which well fitted to its very futuristic and utilitarian theme. There were also more building base plate type Lego parts, in that color, that were being made. More often than not, these gray parts were paired with green, which can be seen in the space ships windows. Other dominant colors also included yellow and blue.

The most recent of space Lego sets would be Life on Mars, which included interaction between the human Lego minifigs and the Martian ones. It shows a very peaceful co-existence between both races and was released during a time when there was much interest and curiosity surrounding the red planet and the possibility of other beings living on it. The new set incorporated what was thought to be very reminiscent of a Martian landscape, thus the sand that was colored in green, red and purple. Though not as colorful as the previous sets, it did feature a first, which are the transparent brown windows for the battleships. Following the release of Life on Mars, 2007 saw the debut of Mars Mission, which is the second installment in the series of Mars related sets. Unlike the early ones where the humans and extra terrestrials existed peacefully, these sets saw them being pitted against each other which was what the children did with the first set anyway. Up to date Lego space sets are sure to be released in keeping with the advances in today’s space technology

Ash Tankha asked:




In recent years, there has been an extensive boost in technological concepts related to electronics and electrical domain. Electronic engineering is a constantly changing and widening branch of technology. Electronics and semiconductor engineering is one of the largest and fastest growing industries. This growth has entailed a wide range of patent filing, all through. Electronics and semiconductors covers a wide range of applications we use daily, such as Television, Radio, computers, telecommunication etc, which make our life easier and enjoyable. It helps us see, hear and communicate over enormous distances and accomplish tasks faster. Electronics plays a major role in industries like oil, energy, agriculture and many other important sectors of economy. Electronics and semiconductor patents form a subclass of electrical patents. The electrical patenting class is broadly classified into many subclasses based on the area of nce. Some subclasses include Digital Electronics, Analog Electronics, Micro Electronics, Fuzzy Electronics, Application Specific Integrated Circuit Design, Semiconductors and Semiconductor devices, etc.

Patents are further classified based on the development of their active elements involving the design and testing of electronic circuits that use the electronic properties of components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes , microcontrollers, microprocessors and transistors to achieve a particular functionality. For example, 326 is the generic class for patents related to electronic digital logic devices, circuitry and sub combinations thereof, wherein non-arithmetical operations are performed upon discrete electrical signals representing a value normally described by numerical digits. It further has subclass 12 for redundant logic having a flip flop and subclass 37 for a multifunctional or programmable logic having a flip flop.

Integrated circuits and processing architectures are other categories protected by patents. Different aspects of these technologies such as architecture, applications or designs are protected by employing different intellectual property laws. As an invention, hardware architecture and their applications are protected as utility patents while Integrated circuit designs are protected as design patents. Hence, both design concepts and hardware are protected by patents. In discharging its patent-related duties, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examines patent applications and grants patents after establishing the patenting class and patentability of an invention. The claims of a patent serve as a guide in patent prosecution and infringement law suits.

There has been a steady growth in electrical, electronics and semiconductor patents being filed and granted by U.S. patent office since 1996. About 8, 16,349 electrical patents are being granted till December 31st 2004 and every year approximately 60,000 electrical patents are granted. U.S. Patent office has approximately granted 3, 70,000 semiconductor patents, 19,279 global positioning system patents, 75,109 electronics and communication patents.

Since its inception, the patent system has attempted to balance the tension between 2 competing objectives. On one hand, the law rewards technical innovation by granting exclusive rights to individuals for worthy inventions. On the other hand, it also seeks to increase the welfare of the society as a whole by providing it with the benefits of innovation. Electronics and semiconductor patents provide public with valuable information about how to use and implement new technology once it enters public domain.

One way to trace the development of electronics and semiconductor technology is to follow the development of its active elements, the switches and valves of electronics systems. A more recent trend in circuit design is to build custom integrated circuits that include as much circuitry as possible, often combining both analog and digital circuitry on a single substrate. This area is known as application specific integrated circuits (ASIC); the designers work with relatively small prefabricated circuits commonly called macro cells. In recent years there has been an increase in patent filing because in many industries and product development companies a division of innovative labor is emerging, resulting in the licensing of existing and prospective technologies. Hewlett Packard, Sanyo and Sony are some of the leading electronic companies in the world with a growing patent portfolio over the years.

Chuck Ros asked:




Either your VP of Human Resources has told you they need an onboarding system, or you’re looking for ways to cut costs in HR and you came across this strange term.  Why this system, and why now?  Your VP, consultants, and your own independent research tell you the system will save the company money, but doesn’t every new system purport to save the company money (and then only occasionally deliver)?  To dig deeper, you ask for an ROI analysis and the numbers are phenomenal, incredible, and too good to be true.  If this is such a good money saving idea, why haven’t you heard about it before?

 

Let’s start by looking at what an onboarding system is.  Unfortunately, there are as many definitions of onboarding as there are technology companies and consultants saying you need this solution.  To put it simply, an onboarding system is one that automates the process of a new employee taking on a new role.  Admittedly, I’m a technologist, so I’m offering you a definition that is technology centric; ask a consultant to define onboarding and you’ll really get the definition of the onboarding process.  I’ll discuss later in this article which—your onboarding process versus an onboarding system—you should invest in first.

 

Further complicating any discussion of onboarding systems is that they tend to come in two different flavors: transactional onboarding and acculturation onboarding.  Transactional Onboarding systems focus on automating the direct and obvious cost elements of onboarding an employee: replacing manual forms-filling tasks with automated tasks, eliminating consumption and handling (shipping and storage fees) of paper forms, and eliminating re-keying labor between systems.  Acculturation Onboarding systems focus on the indirect and not-so-obvious cost elements of mentoring and guiding new employees to effectiveness more rapidly.

 

If you’re looking for immediate and obvious savings in cost, a transactional onboarding system will be more interesting to you.  Immediately after the system is implemented you’ll be able to quantify savings: reduction of paper, reduction of shipping costs between units and locations, reduction of storage costs, reduction in document latency costs, and reduction of labor.  Transactional Onboarding systems can benefit all organizations, but are of particular benefit to companies that are highly distributed, with multiple units and locations, and that are in industries with compounding factors like high turnover.

 

Acculturation Onboarding systems, by comparison, deliver value that will be more subjective and less obvious.  How can you measure how quickly someone becomes effective in their new role?  For that matter, how can you measure that effectiveness?  Some roles may be directly measurable and testable, particularly when measured against an industry standard or government regulation (as in healthcare and education), but many roles may be hard to measure effectiveness.

 

It should be noted that the two types of onboarding aren’t mutually exclusive; you might elect to implement both, and the systems may even be provided by two different onboarding vendors.  The dynamics of your organization should be taken into consideration when setting the goals of an onboarding system: if you have a workforce that is costly to recruit, has professional roles that take a long time to achieve effectiveness, and relatively low turnover (think white collar), then an acculturation onboarding system will make more sense.  If you have a workforce that is less costly to recruit, works in roles that effectiveness is achieved quickly, and has relatively high turnover (think blue collar), then a transactional onboarding system will make more sense.  But even these rules of thumb can break down with complexity: the larger the firm and the more complex their onboarding process (think multinational), even with a shiny-white collar workforce, is likely to be better served with a transactional onboarding system or a best-of-breed approach to both transactional and acculturation onboarding.

 

No matter which system is more appropriate for your business, the principle question to ask is: will it save us money?  Both types of onboarding will save you money, but a transactional onboarding system’s money savings will be more obvious and measurable, and will be realized more quickly.

 

How much savings are we talking about?  One research firm’s cost estimation of a manual onboarding event is about $1,100.  If you’re hiring 1,000 employees a year you’re spending about a million dollars each year.  But don’t believe these numbers; do the math yourself.  How many hours do your new employees spend filling out newhire paperwork, and what’s their average labor cost?  How much money do you spend with Fedex and UPS shipping newhire paperwork from your field units to your main office?  How much time does your HR team spend entering newhire data, and what’s their average labor costs?  How many errors do they make when entering data, and what’s the cost of those errors?

 

Speaking of errors in entering data leads us to the other question to ask regarding an onboarding system: will it help us mitigate risk?  You know that all processes surrounding the employer-employee relationship are fraught with risk, and the majority of that relationship is obviously established during onboarding.  A manual onboarding process allows employees to either mistakenly or fraudulently enter incorrect data on forms.  Your HR department works diligently to review and catch the errors (costing you more in labor), but inevitably some errors will slip through, awaiting costly discovery during a future audit.  Good onboarding systems will practically eliminate these risks and their associated costs.

 

Which brings us back to onboarding systems versus onboarding process.  Because of the inherent risks associated with employee onboarding, I would venture to say you have a well established—albeit manual—process designed primarily to mitigate these risks.  By implementing an onboarding system that addresses these risks, you will change the whole focus of your onboarding process from mitigating risk to actually improving the process.  The system then seems to be the horse to the process’s cart, so investing in an onboarding system before investing in consultants to tell you how to improve your onboarding process will more quickly save you money, but you must be certain your new system is flexible enough to accommodate the fine improvements you’ll be making to the process down the road.

 

I can sum up the question of whether you need an onboarding system by pointing out that if you were still doing your accounting by hand, knowing about today’s business software technology, you’d automate your accounting process in a heartbeat.  Onboarding is a very costly and risky manual process in your HR department and you need to automate this manual process.  So, why, you ask, are you just now hearing about onboarding?  The genesis to this question really comes from the passage in 2000 of the Electronic Signature Act, which guarantees the legal validity of electronically signed documents; in other words, before 2000, the federal government insisted documents be signed in ink for them to be legally valid.  Once electronically signed documents were given the thumbs up in 2000, the way was paved for a number of forms-centric processes—such as onboarding—to be automated that couldn’t be automated before.

 

So my specific recommendations are that, yes, you need to implement an onboarding system.  Evaluate first whether a transactional or acculturation onboarding system makes more sense, or if having both is the best solution.  Select your potential onboarding vendor or vendors based on how well they meet your specific requirements on cost savings, how measurable the returns are, and how flexible their solution is to meet your future requirements.  But above all, don’t wait any longer; waiting is costing you money.

Maria Literral asked:


Nowadays, everybody has a mobile phone. Whether they’re on a contract or a pay as you go tariff, the mobile phone has become an essential item for many people. this article will be taking a look at the the mobile phone’s history – as well as its future – in order to find out more about the now essential telecommunications device.

Mobile phones started life as the two way radio, which was also called mobile rigs. these were installed in vehicles such as minicabs, police cars and ambulances, but were not strictly mobile phones as they were not normally connected to the telephone network. while the very first mobile phones were installed permanently in vehicles, later versions such as the transportables, also called bag phones, could also be carried, and can be used as either portable or as mobile two-way radios.

The first generation of mobile phones are often called 1G. These mobile phones are the analog devices that were introduced in the eighties & continued until being replaced by 2G mobile phones, which ran on digital networks. in fact, even though 1G & 2G systems use digital signals to connect the radio towers to the rest of the telephone network, the voice itself during a phone call encoded to digital signals in 2g while voices on 1G phones aren’t.

Second generation, also called 2-g, mobile telephones were introduced in the nineties. 2-g phone systems were characterised by their use of digital transmission and the introduction of advanced and fast phone to network signalling.

The birth of 2-g systems saw telephones move from friendly 1g telephones to little handheld items, which were much more portable. this change was possible through technological developments including more advanced batteries and energy saving electronics.

The second generation mobile telephones had severaladvantages over 1g items. These included text messaging, which became possible on gsm networks initially and eventually on all digital networks. the earliest machine-sent message was sent in 1991 in the uk. the earliest person to person sms text message was sent in 1993 in finland. sms text messaging soon became the preferred method of communication and the public now prefer sending text messages to placing voice calls.

3-g is the term applied to the third generation of mobile phone standards & technology. 3g follows 2g mobile phone technology.

The birth of 3-g technologies allow network operators for instance Vodafone give their users a larger range of more advanced services. These include video calls& wireless internet.

Even though 3-g was successfully introduced throughout the world, issues have been raised by both 3-g providers & users, comprising of costly phones. in addition to this, there’s numerous differences in the licensing terms.

Ever since the launch of 3-g mobile phone technology. people have been talking about 4g. 4g technology will signify the future of mobile telephones, creating the most sophisticated handsets and best services yet. in actual fact, one of the next services to be developed is thought to be live streaming of radio and tv shows to 3-g handsets is and shops including real and disney recently announcing that they’ll be offering services like these.

In conclusion, even though the history of mobile phones they have come a long way in the past few years, it also indicates that they’ll go even further still.

tara peterson asked:




 

Engineering students can expect to work in one of the highest paying careers for a new graduate. An affordable online engineering degree program is a way to start cashing in on the higher salary faster than if the degree was obtained through a more expensive traditional campus based university. Of the 17 engineering specialties, the five engineering degree programs that are expected to have a good outlook for employment in the future are chemical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering and industrial engineering.

Job growth for environmental engineers is expected to increase by 25% over the next decade according to the US Bureau of Labor. Increasing environmental regulations and proactive concern for the environment are influencing the expected growth in this field. The pay range for this specialty ranges from a low of $43,000 to a high of $106,000 with a median salary of $69,000. Schools such as Worcester Polytechnic Institute offer online masters of engineering programs in this field.

Industrial engineering positions are expected to increase by 20% over the next decade. Industrial engineers study the most effective way to affect production through the use of resources; people, material, and processes. Salaries range from a low of $44,000 to a high of $100,00, with the median being $68,000. Penn Foster College is an online college that offers this degree.

Civil engineering is another specialty that is expected to grow faster than average at a growth of 18% over the next decade. Civil engineers are needed to keep up with the demand of an increasing population in developing infrastructure. The salary range is a low of $44,000 to a high of $104,00, with the median being $68,000. Penn Foster College and Norwich University offer online civil engineering programs.

Chemical engineering positions are expected to grow at an average rate of 8%. Pharmaceutical companies are the most likely to need engineers. Also companies involved in biotechnology and nanotechnology. The salary range is a low of $50.000 to a high of $118,000 with the median being $78,000.

Job growth for mechanical engineers is expected to increase only 4%, but mechanical engineers will be able to enter other specialty areas because of their more broad background. Areas of nanotechnology, materials science, and biotechnology are areas where mechanical engineers can fill the bill. The salary range is a low of $45,000 to a high of $104,000 with the median being $69,000. The University of Delaware offers an online masters program in mechanical engineering.

The overall outlook for engineers of any specialty is good with an expected growth of 11%. Currently there are 1.5 million engineers working in a wide variety of specialties. Civil, mechanical, industrial, and electrical engineers hold the four top positions number of engineers employed.

Many schools such as Ashford, Drexel, University of Toledo, Polytechnic, Eastern Kentucky, Norwich, University of Delaware and Penn Foster College offer online engineering programs.

An online college and university website can provide information about the various programs, colleges and universities, costs, and financial aid. Advisors are available to answer questions, and you can send for information to read at your leisure.

Just click on the following link to get online college degree information. It’s fast, it’s free, and you’re under no obligation. You can get information about many types of online bachelors degree programs from many colleges. They also offer information about programs and schools that offer distance learning online masters degree programs.

Mr. Pom asked:




Astronomers are giving various suggestions about the planetary alignment 2012. They are speculating the planets to be in a row close to each other. If you look down on the solar system you can see the heavenly bodies in a straight line. According to the Mayan calendar 12 December 2012 is considered to be the doomsday. There are many astronomers who think this concept as useless and worthless. Researches are going on to understand the planetary alignment 2012. They are trying to understand the nature of the movements of these bodies which helps them to judge the possible position they will attain during this particular year. There is a close conjunction of the sun with the point of crossing of galactic equator and ecliptic.

Know More About 2012 Official Countdown

It is a quite shock for the scientists to notice the planetary alignment 2012 is developing from nowadays. There are many people in the NASA who believe this concept to be a total absurd. Due to the lining up of the planets there can be changes in the cosmic activities leading to droughts, floods, and epidemic diseases which will wipe away the lives from Earth. There are many scientific facts present to prove this theory. There are many sites present online which will show you planetary alignment 2012 pictures and give you a detailed explanation. If this happens the life on Earth will come to a halt and a new era will begin.

According to the planetary alignment 2012, earth will be at the centre and sun will be present at the top. It is expected that the rising sun will come in a straight line with the black hole which is situated in the centre of the Milky Way. The rising sun will touch its lower orbit which can cause many changes in the position of the heavenly bodies. We have to yet wait and see the results of the coming tragedy on our lives.

Planetary alignment 2012 is important as it will decide the position of the planets on this particular year. It can cause destruction to the life of human beings present on Earth.

Richard A. Neifeld asked:




Patent Valuation from a Practical View Point, and Some Interesting Patent Value Statistics from the PatentValuePredictor Model – Rick Neifeld, Ph.D., Patent Attorney, and President of Neifeld IP Law, PC and StockPricePredictor.com, LLC (1)

I. Introduction

My colleague Grover Rutter (see his article in this edition) has presented an excellent review of how to treat patents from a financial and tax reporting standpoint. However, how do you determine the real value of a patent? That begs the question: What factors are relevant to the real value of a patent? You have to know what factors into a valuation before you can address the valuation issue. Let’s start with some definitions, and then address this issue. After that, lets look at the PatentValuePredictor model and some actual valuation data and trends provided by the model.

II. General Valuation Theories

Valuation is an accounting term which means a lump sum of money payable to receive the future benefits of an asset at a particular time. There are three generally accepted accounting theories for valuing assets: market, cost, and income. Market theory values an asset as the present value ascribed to similar assets in an active public market. Cost theory values an asset by the cost of replacing the asset. Income theory values an asset by the present worth of the net anticipated economic benefit of the asset. Can we apply any of these theories to value patents?

III. Valuation Theories as Applied to Patents

Market theory valuation of patents has little or no utility because no two patents are similar enough for the sales price of one to define the value of another. Of course, you can say that patent licensing and sale applies market theory to reach a market price. The problem is that most patents are not bought or sold in an arms length negotiation, and therefore do not have an objective sale price. Even when they are licensed or sold, the transaction is usually clouded by other factors including tech transfer or line of business transfer.

Cost theory is generally inapplicable since a patent cannot be replaced. That is, once the invention is generally known, it is no longer patentable.

Income theorym is applicable in certain circumstances. Patents have known finite terms. If you can determine the income resulting from ownership of a patent over that term, you can assign a value to the patent just like you can assign a value to a long term bond.

Conventional methods using income theory to value a patent analyze micro economic data to determine the anticipated economic benefit of owning the patent. This micro economic data includes market data indicating the gross sales and net income derived from the sale of products attributable to the patent, and any revenue derived from licensing the patent. Applying income theory to micro economic data to value a patent is labor intensive, costly, and complex. This method should include an analysis to determine the meaning of the claims of the patent, a comparison of products to the claims of the patent to determine what products are actually covered by the patent, a determination of the size of the market covered by the patent, and a determination of the cost advantage of the patented technology compared to alternative technologies for that market. A micro economic analysis can be used to prove damages in patent infringement litigation. However, a micro economic analysis of a patent is often cost prohibitive for purposes of business valuation, capital allocation, taxes, and licensing. Moreover, the data necessary for members of the public to perform micro economic analysis of patents is simply not available. This is because that data includes relationships between patents, product lines, product line specific costs and earnings information, and licensing royalty rates and terms. Companies rarely release that type of information to the public. Thus, micro economic analysis of patents is often not feasible.

IV. Problems With Generally Applying Income Theory

I hasten to point out that even income theory valuation based upon micro economic analysis has limited utility in most commercial settings, as opposed to its application in patent infringement litigation. Why? Because patents and products do not have a one to one relationship. They have a many-to-many relationship. As a result, you cannot simply evaluate the value of a patent once you know the financials relating to certain products that the patent covers. To illustrate this point, consider the following two hypothetical situations.

FIRST HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION – UNUSED PATENTS:

A company owns ten patents. The first patent covers a first product, and the company manufactures that product for a hefty profit. The second through tenth patents do not cover the first product, but each one covers some alternative potential product that, if produced, could effectively compete with the first product. No one produces anything covered by the second through tenth patent. Do you allocate all value to the first patent? Surely the other nine patents have actual value to the company! How do you allocate income attributable to sales of the first product to the ten patents in order to assign value to each one of the ten patents?

SECOND HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION – THE MANY-TO-MANY CONUNDRUM:

There are three competing products in a particular niche market and five relevant patents. Patents 1, 2 and 3 each cover the first product. Patents 1, 2, and 4 cover a second product. Patents 2 and 5 cover the third product. You also know of the existence of prior art that indicates a likelihood that some claims in patents 1 and 5 are invalid. As an additional complication, what if it was unclear whether certain of the products were in fact covered by certain ones of the five patents. That is, what if the issue of infringement was not cut and dried? Confusing? You bet! Even if you knew the sales and profit margins for the various products in the hypothetical situations just noted, there would be no simple or logical way to assign values to the various patents. This is all too often the reality when comparing patents and products: there exist many-to-many patent-to-product relationships of uncertain bounds.

What have I told you so far? I have told you that classical approaches to valuation are inadequate. It is time for a new approach.

V. The PatentValuePredictor Theory for Valuing Patents

Now let me tell you about the PatentValuePredictor model for valuing patents. First, you should know that this model is implemented as a web service, and it provides valuations for all U.S. patents and (a provisional valuation of) published U.S. patent applications in real time.

How does the PatentValuePredictor model work? The PatentValuePredictor model simplifies the valuation determination problem by reformulating the problem. It does not attempt to address the many-to-many relationship noted above, and it does not attempt to find and use micro economic data relevant to any particular technology niche. Instead, it substitutes for the foregoing many-to-many quandary and the (generally unavailable) microeconomic data an estimate of an annual sales covered by the patent. The model generates a nominal annual sales covered by the patent based solely upon measurable properties of the patent document and the value of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). I won’t bore you with the details of the model in this article. You can those details of the model in my earlier article entitled “A Macro-Economic Model Providing Patent Based Company Financial Indicators and Automated Patent Valuations ” posted in the publications sections of both www.PatentValuePredictor.com and www.Neifeld.com. Suffice it to say here that there is a heuristic relationship between measurable properties of patent documents and patent value. For example, generally speaking, the broader the claim protection, the more valuable the patent.

I will tell you that there are good points and bad points about the PatentValuePredictor patent valuations. First, the valuations are clearly statistical in nature and therefore imperfect. However, there is no such thing as perfection in valuation. Moreover, there is as far as I know, no other completely objective and generally applicable method of valuing patents. Furthermore, the Web implementation of the PatentValuePredictor model provides immediate results, and it is far less expensive (currently $100 per patent valuation) than any other method of which I am aware. Finally, as the size of an evaluated patent portfolio grows, the PatentValuePredictor model’s portfolio valuation becomes statistically more accurate. See for example the corporate patent portfolio value charts in my earlier article “A Macro-Economic Model Providing Patent Valuation and Patent Based Company Financial Indicators” posted in the publications sections of both www.PatentValuePredictor.com and www.Neifeld.com.

Finally, there are some other interesting statistics I would like to share with you that relate to valuation of patents. These statistics are derived from the PatentValuePredictor model.

First, there are currently 1,726,307 enforceable patents. To determine actual dollar values, the PatentValuePredictor model currently assumes that the entire GDP is covered by patents. The current GDP is $11.252 trillion. Therefore, the PatentValuePredictor model indicates that each enforceable U.S. patent covers, on average, annual sales of about $6.5 million (that is, the GDP divided by the number of currently enforceable patents). However, profit is, generally speaking, only a small fraction of gross sales, and old patents near the end of their term have reduced value. That explains why the PatentValuePredictor model determines an average value of enforceable patents is only about $2.8 million. To get this result, we calculated the current valuation of each one of the 1,726,307 enforceable patents, and then calculated the average value.

The PatentValuePredictor model indicates that the bulk of the most valuable patents are and have for many years been in the Pharmaceutical or Biotechnology (Pharma/Bio) technology areas. The chart below shows the currently ten most valuable patents and their technology area.

TEN CURRENTLY MOST VALUABLE PATENTS (AS OF 3/11/2004)

Patent

Issued

Current Value ($)

Assignee

Technology

6,517,866 2/11/2003 1,797,722,689 Pfizer Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,500,987 12/31/2002 1,570,968,527 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Pharma/Bio

6,566,344 5/20/2003 1,481,848,538 Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,465,496 10/15/2002 1,408,931,126 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. Pharma/Bio

6,452,054 9/17/2002 1,220,308,695 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. Pharma/Bio

6,221,640 4/24/2001 1,194,927,644 Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,071,970 6/6/2000 1,107,999,343 NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,319,919 11/20/2001 1,081,784,355 Davis; Bonnie (Syosset, NY) Pharma/Bio

5,610,034 3/11/1997 1,071,288,767 Alko Group Ltd. Pharma/Bio

6,022,716 2/8/2000 1,069,310,287 Genset SA Pharma/Bio

While the Pharma/Bio tech area has held the lead for most valuable patents, the relative value of the most valuable patents has been increasing for decades. The charts below show the ten most valuable patents issued respectively in 1983, 1993, and 2003, and a relative measure of their value. Note in the sequence of three charts below the trend of the relative value to increase over the decades.

TEN MOST VALUABLE PATENTS ISSUED IN 1983

Patent Issued Relative Value When Issued Assignee Technology

4,399,282 8/16/1983 1,343 Kabushiki Kaisha Yakult Honsha Pharma/Bio

4,375,514 3/1/1983 1,256 Schering, Aktiengesellschaft Pharma/Bio

4,372,948 2/8/1983 974 Kureha Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Pharma/Bio

4,374,829 2/22/1983 661 Merck & Co., Inc. Pharma/Bio

4,396,617 8/2/1983 660 Duphar International B.V. Pharma/Bio

4,399,276 8/16/1983 605 Kabushiki Kaisha Yakult Honsha Pharma/Bio

4,369,189 1/18/1983 551 Union Carbide Corporation Pharma/Bio

4,410,537 10/18/1983 507 Burroughts Wellcome Co. Pharma/Bio

4,399,148 8/16/1983 499 Union Carbide Corporation Pharma/Bio

4,372,953 2/8/1983 490 Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company, Limited Pharma/Bio

TEN MOST VALUABLE PATENTS ISSUED IN 1993

Patent Issued Relative Value When Issued Assignee Technology

5,252,474 10/12/1993 1,696 Merck & Co., Inc. Pharma/Bio

5,256,558 10/26/1993 969 The Trustees of Rockefeller University Pharma/Bio

5,258,502 11/2/1993 868 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Pharma/Bio

5,268,273 12/7/1993 824 Phillips Petroleum Company Pharma/Bio

5,182,263 1/26/1993 823 Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. Pharma/Bio

5,187,241 2/16/1993 763 International Business Machines Corporation Pharma/Bio

5,262,568 11/16/1993 756 State of Oregon Pharma/Bio

5,198,563 3/30/1993 695 Phillips Petroleum Company Chem/Polymer

5,227,405 7/13/1993 690 Duke University Pharma/Bio

5,196,524 3/23/1993 679 Eli Lilly and Company Pharma/Bio

MOST VALUABLE PATENTS ISSUED IN 2003

Patent Issued Relative Value When Issued Assignee Technology

6,517,866 2/11/2003 3,374 Pfizer Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,566,344 5/20/2003 2,646 Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,602,861 8/5/2003 1,252 Research Corporation Technologies, Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,531,282 3/11/2003 1,225 Oligotrail, LLC Pharma/Bio

6,605,606 8/12/2003 1,109 Miravant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,665,641 12/16/2003 884 ScanSoft, Inc. Software

6,602,503 8/5/2003 861 Biogen, Inc. Pharma/Bio

6,596,332 7/22/2003 841 Nestec S.A. Foods products

6,602,499 8/5/2003 824 The General Hospital Corporation Pharma/Bio

RE038073 4/8/2003 804 Research Corporations Technologies, Inc. Pharma/Bio

VI. Conclusion

Conventional valuation models are not generally applicable to patents. In addition, where they are applicable, they are labor intensive, and often require a series of assumptions. The PatentValuePredictor model is unconventional in the sense that it applies a modified version of income theory in which a nominal cash flow is determined based upon a macro economic model that applies heuristic rules. It has the benefits of being completely objective, applicable to all patents, inexpensive, and quick. Application of that model to the universe of U.S. patents indicates that the most valuable patents have generally been in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology technology area for the last three decades.

Patricia Woloch asked:




Choosing a dentist is one of the most important things you have to do for yourself and your family. A dentist is one of the few health professionals who works to improve your health and your appearance at the same time. And this aspect of your appearance is a crucial one, as studies by the American Association of Cosmetic Dentists (AACD) revealed that 99.7 % of Americans consider a smile an important social asset.

To make sure you get the best results, you need to find a dentist that combines science, artistry, and empathy to give you the smile you desire without trying to force services on you that you neither need nor desire. To make sure your dentistry has the qualities you should be looking for to find one who is right for you, here is a list of questions you should be asking any prospective dentist.

Experience

• Where did you receive your dental training?

• How many years have you been a licensed dentist?

• How long have you been serving this community?

• Have you undergone advanced training in dental methods and science recently?

• High-quality technology

• What makes you decide to invest in any new technology?

• What is the most recent technology you have added to your practice?

• Have you received specialized training in the technology?

• Have you seen good results with the technology?

• Quality of Care

• Do you have before and after pictures I can look at?

• Do you have testimonials from former clients?

Affordability

• How do your prices compare with those of other area dentists? If they are more expensive, what makes them a good investment?

• Do you offer financing?

Comprehensive Care

• What services do you offer? Do they include specialty services like neuromuscular dentistry, snoring treatment, or breath treatment?

• What services can you provide that other dentists in the area cannot?

• What services would you recommend to improve my smile?

Personal Service

In addition to all the above questions, you want to make sure that your dentist is personal, that he or she makes you feel at ease. After all, you are going to be trusting your smile to them, and if they are going to perform oral surgery, your life as well. So pay attention to the dentist’s answers. The doctor should answer all your questions thoroughly and easily, and should not seem condescending, tired, or impatient. The answers should not be just rehearsed spiels, but should come from a genuine concern for you as a person and a possible patient. The dentist should be happy to answer follow-up questions, and should provide answers that are particular to your situation, giving your multiple options depending on your finances and your comfort level with more invasive dental treatments. The dentist should also not hesitate to go over before and after pictures with you, rather than simply leaving you with a book or computer.

You should interview several dentists when trying to find one to perform your dentistry procedures, especially if you are considering something as comprehensive and expensive as an extreme smile makeover. Don’t settle on the first one, but make sure that you have one you are comfortable with.