Hamster cellphone chargers
A 16-year-old boy invented a hamster-powered cellphone charger as part of his school science project, says Ananova.
Peter Ash, of Somerset, UK, attached gears and a turbine to his hamster`s exercise wheel and connected it to his phone charger.
"Every two minutes Elvis spends on his wheel gives me about thirty minutes talk time on my phone," Ash said.
Germany establishes fund to support technology start-ups
The German government has set aside $320 million over the next five years to support technology-based start-ups.
EE Times, citing the Partners for Innovation Web site as the source for the information, reports the fund has been created as part of a reform of Germany`s previous federal venture capital programmes, which started early in 2004 with the creation of an umbrella fund to provide fresh money for venture capital companies investing in the expansion stages of technology-based enterprises money.
In addition to a contribution from a state-owned bank, German multinational companies BASF, Siemens and Deutsche Telekom are also expected to contribute to the fund.
Italy allocates over $780 million for innovation and technology
The Italian government announced on 1 September it would allocate over $780 million for innovation and technology development, reported AGI Online.
The fund will favour the creation of technological inventions and to boost process and product innovation.
The report said 10% of funding will be open ended, 80% allocated with a concessional credit and the remaining 10% granted at an ordinary bank rate.
Amendment to US Patent Act could stifle innovation
The redefinition of "prior art" in the US Patent Act of 2005 could stifle technological innovation, says Kelley C. Hunsaker in the San Francisco Chronicle`s Open Forum.
According to Hunsaker, the new definition will have significant and perhaps unintended consequences, as it could allow a person to copy an idea that is already in the public domain and claim it exclusively as their own.
In the current legislation, prior art is defined not just as earlier patents, but also ideas made part of the public domain through public use, knowledge or sale, regardless of whether the underlying operation, algorithm or manufacturing process is also understood. Early computer systems and software programs sold or used publicly are prior art, regardless of whether they were patented or their underlying source code ever made public, Hunsaker says.
In the proposed redefinition and clarification, prior art would be required to meet a "reasonably and effectively accessible" standard. This creates uncertainty, which could lead to an increase in litigation, Hunsaker says.
Hunsaker states that software industries, in particular, will be harmed by the proposed change because so much of the prior art in software exists outside the patent system. She also states that the change does not harmonise US patent laws with other countries.
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