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Jack Bresenham

Jack Bresenham

Jack E. Bresenham is a professor of computer science. He retired from 27 years of service at IBM as a Senior Technical Staff Member in 1987. He taught for 10 years at Winthrop University and has five patents. He has three children: Janet, Linda, and David. Bresenham's line algorithm, developed in 1962, is his most well-known innovation. It determines which points on a 2-dimensional raster should be plotted in order to form a straight line between two given points, and is commonly used to draw lines on a computer screen. It is one of the earliest algorithms discovered in the field of computer graphics.
- Ph.D., Stanford University, 1964
- MSIE, Stanford University, 1960
- BSEE, University of New Mexico, 1959

External links

- [http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/bresenham.html NIST entry on Bresenham]
- [http://gauss.bacon.su.se/indices/inventor/bresenhamjacke/ European patents by Jack E. Bresenham] Bresenham,Jack E.

Computer science

Computer science, an academic discipline (abbreviated CS or compsci), is a body of knowledge generally about computer hardware, software, computation and its theory. The discipline itself includes, but is not limited to, the fundamentals of computer languages, operating systems and mathematical foundations of computer science. The study of these fundamentals may lead to a wide variety of topics, such as algorithms, formal grammars, programming languages, program design, artificial intelligence and computer engineering. There exist a number of technical definitions of computer science. The status of computer science as a science is often challenged, typically arguing that it is more like mathematics and that it does not follow the scientific method, however these facts are not unanimously accepted. In popular language, the term computer science is often confusingly used to denominate anything related to computers.

History of computer science

Evolutionary

Before the 1920s, computers were human clerks that performed calculations. They were usually under the lead of a physicist. Many thousands of computers were employed in commerce, government, and research establishments. Most of these computers were women, and they were known to have a degree in calculus. After the 1920s, the expression computing machine refered to any machine that performed the work of a human computer, especially those in accordance with effective methods of The Church-Turing Thesis. The thesis states that a mathematical method is effective if it could be set out as a list of instructions able to be followed by a human clerk with paper and pencil, for as long as necessary, and without ingenuity or insight. Machines that computed with discrete values became known as the analog kind. They used machinery that represented discrete numeric quantities, like the angle of a shaft rotation or difference in electrical potential. Digital machinery, in contrast to analog, were able to render a state of a numeric value and store each individual digit. Digital machinery used difference engines or relays before the invention of faster memory devices. The phrase computing machine gradually gave away, after the late 1940s, to just computer as the onset of electronic digital machinery became common. These computers were able to perform the calculations that were performed by the previous human clerks. Since the values stored by digital machines were not bound to physical properties like the analog device, a logical computer, based on digital equipment, was able to do anything that could be described "purely mechanical." Alan Turing, known as the Father of Computer Science, invented such a logical computer, also known as a Turing Machine, that evolved into the modern computer from the tasks performed by the previous human clerks. These new computers were also able to perform non-numeric computations, like music. Computability, by logical computers, began a science by being able to make evident which was not explicitly defined into ordinary sense more immediate.

Academic discipline

Computer science has roots in electrical engineering, logic, mathematics, and linguistics. In the last third of the 20th century computer science emerged as a distinct discipline and developed its own methods and terminology. Originally, CS was taught as part of mathematics or engineering departments, for instance at the University of Cambridge in England and at the Gdansk University of Technology in Poland, respectively. Cambridge claims to have the world's oldest taught qualification in computing. The first computer science department in the United States was founded at Purdue University in 1962, while the first college entirely devoted to computer science was founded at Northeastern University in 1982. Most universities today have specific departments devoted to computer science, while some conjoin it with engineering, with applied mathematics, or other disciplines. Most research in computer science has focused on von Neumann computers or Turing machines (computation models that perform one small, deterministic step at a time). These models resemble, at a basic level, most real computers in use today. Computer scientists also study other models of computation, which includes parallel machines and theoretical models such as probabilistic, oracle, and quantum computers.

Careers

Some of the potential careers for those who study computer science are listed below:

Demographics

- Nearly half of all computer programmers held a bachelor’s degree in 2002; about 1 in 5 held a graduate degree. [http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos110.htm]
- Computer programmer employment is expected to grow much more slowly than that of other computer specialists.
- Education requirements range from a 2-year degree to a graduate degree. [http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos042.htm]
- Employment, other than computer programmer, is expected to increase much faster than the average as organizations continue to adopt increasingly sophisticated technologies.

Sub-disciplines of computer science

Computer Science has a number of major sub-fields which can be classified by a number of means (for example the [http://www.acm.org/class/1998/overview.html ACM classification system]).

Algorithms

The study of algorithms is aimed at creating techniques that will enable a computer to perform a certain task in an efficient manner. An algorithm is a set of well-defined instructions for accomplishing some task, often explained by analogy with a culinary recipe. Algorithms are often implemented in software, and advancing the state of the art in algorithms is responsible for many of the most spectacular successes in computing. An algorithms specialist may come up with methods to accomplish new tasks, but just as often, they will work on improving the efficiency of an existing algorithm. These improvements can come in "time" (the length of time it takes for the algorithm to work) and "space" (the amount of computer memory the algorithm consumes. The field of algorithms is highly formal and many things can be proved about a given algorithm (using complexity theory), including roughly how long it will take to complete, as compared to the size of its input (the number of options it must consider). One interesting open question in algorithms concerns the complexity classes P and NP, and whether or not P = NP. If it does, then a whole range of seemingly difficult algorithms can in theory be performed quickly.

Data structures

A data structure is a way to store data so that it can be remembered and retrieved efficiently. A well-designed data structure means that an algorithm can be performed using as little memory space and time as possible. Some data structures are very simple: the simplest is an array which is simply a numbered list of items. Since the memory of a computer is usually modelled as an array (of bytes), this is also one of the most important data structures in computer science. For example, strings of text are usually modelled as arrays. But there are many other data structures such as linked lists, trees, hash tables and many others that are quite different but critical to the science. Type theory classifies data at a most basic (mathematical) level into different types, such as integers, complex numbers, strings, etc. and deals with how those types can interact. Abstract data types, at a more concrete level, deal with how types and data structures are used in software programming.

Listing of sub-disciplines

Computer science is closely related to a number of fields. These fields overlap considerably, though important differences exist:

Major fields of importance for computer science

External links

- [http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Computer_Science/ Open Directory Project: Computer Science]
- [http://www.techbooksforfree.com/science.shtml Downloadable Science and Computer Science books]
- [http://liinwww.ira.uka.de/bibliography/ Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies]
- [http://www.geocities.com/tablizer/science.htm Belief that title "science" in "computer science" is inappropriate] Category:Computer science ko:컴퓨터 과학 ja:情報工学 simple:Computer science th:วิทยาการคอมพิวเตอร์

1987

1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

January

- January 1 - Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories, changes its name to Iqaluit. In 1999, it will become the capital of Nunavut.
- January 3 - Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- January 4 - An Amtrak train en route from Washington, DC to Boston collides with Conrail engines killing 16.
- January 5 - US President Ronald Reagan undergoes prostate surgery causing worries about his health.
- January 8 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 2,000 for the first time gaining 8.30 to close at 2,002.25.
- January 13 - New York mafiosi Anthony Salerno and Carmine Peruccia are sentenced for 100 years in prison for racketeering
- January 16 - Leon Cordero, president of Ecuador, is kidnapped by followers of imprisoned general Frank Vargas who successfully demand his release
- January 20 - Terry Waite, the special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lebanon, is kidnapped in Beirut (released November 1991)
- January 22 - R. Budd Dwyer, Treasurer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shoots himself dead at a press conference after being found guilty on charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, and racketeering.
- January 24 - In Lebanon, gunmen kidnap Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh.
- January 29 - William J. Casey ends his term as a director of CIA
- January 31 - The last Ohrbach's department store closes in New York City after 64 years of operation.

February-May

May
- February 11 - British Airways is privatised and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- February 11 - Constitution of the Philippines goes into effect.
- February 11 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- February 12 - Unabomber bomb explodes in Salt Lake City, Utah
- February 20 - Second Unabomber bomb explodes at the Salt Lake City computer store - owner injured
- February 23 - Supernova 1987a is observed, the first "naked-eye" supernova since 1604.
- February 26 - Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes American President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
- March 6 - A cross-channel ferry capsizes outside the harbor off Zeebrugge, Belgium - 180 drown
- April 13 - Portugal and China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999.
- April 27 - US Department of Justice declares incumbent Austrian president Kurt Waldheim as an undesirable alien
- May 5 - Assemblies of God defrocks Jim Bakker
- May 8 - Gary Hart drops out of the running for the Democratic Party nomination in the 1988 U.S. presidential election, amid allegations of an extra-marital affair with Donna Rice
- May 11 - The first heart-lung transplant takes place (Baltimore, Maryland)
- May 11 - Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II
- May 14 - Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka executes a bloodless coup on the island of Fiji.
- May 17 - Iran-Iraq War: The USS Stark (FFG-31), while patrolling the Persian Gulf, is struck by two exocet missiles from an Iraqi F-1 Mirage fighter killing 37 sailors and injuring 21 other crew members
- May 28 - 19-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defense and lands a private plane on Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained and was later released on Wednesday, August 3, 1988.

June-September

- The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues
- July 3 - In Soviet Union, Vladimir Nikolayev is sentenced to death for cannibalism
- July 4 - Court in Lyons sentences Klaus Barbie to life in prison
- July 11 - Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke's government is re-elected for a 3rd term
- July 17 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time at 2510.04.
- July 22 - Palestine cartoonist Naji Salim al-Ali is fatally shot in London. He dies August 28
- July 31 - 400 Iranian pilgrims die in clashes with Saudi Arabian security forces in Mecca
- August 9- 9 people die and 17 are injured when 19-year-old Julian Knight goes on a shooting rampage in Melbourne.
- August 16 - A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carrying Northwest Airlines flight 255 crashes on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport killing all but one of the 156 people on-board (sole survivor was four-year old Cecelia Cichan). The crew forgot to properly set the plane's flaps
- August 17 - The Harmonic Convergence is observed.
- August 17 - Rudolf Hess is found hanging in his cell in Spandau Prison
- August 19 - Order of the Garter opened to women
- August 19 - Hungerford Massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Robert Ryan kills 16 with an assault rifle and then commits suicide
- September 2 - In Moscow, the trial of 19-year-old pilot Mathias Rust, who flew his Cessna airplane into Red Square in May 1987, begins.
- September 7-September 21 - World's first conference on artificial life, Los Alamos National Laboratory

October

October
- Wednesday-Friday, October 14-October 16 - The US is caught up in a drama that unfolds on television as a young child, Jessica McClure, falls down a well and is later rescued.
- October 15- 16 - Great Storm of 1987: hurricane force winds hit much of the South of England killing 23 people.
- October 19 - Black Monday: stock market falls sharply around the world.
- October 22 - John Coolidge Adams's opera Nixon in China debuts at the Houston Grand Opera in Houston, Texas.
- October 23 - Champion English jockey Lester Piggott is jailed for 3 years after being convicted of tax evasion.
- October 23 - On a vote of 58-42, the United States Senate rejects President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court.
November-December

- November 8 - Eleven people killed by an PIRA bomb at a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen.
- November 18 - King's Cross fire on the London Underground kills 31.
- December 1 - NASA announces the names of four companies who were awarded contracts to help build Space Station Freedom: Boeing Aerospace, General Electric's Astro-Space Division, McDonnell Douglas, and the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell.
- December 1 - Channel Tunnel digging commences.
- December 1 - Queensland: Following a week of turmoil from his National Party of Australia colleagues, Joh Bjelke-Petersen resigns as Premier of Queensland. He is replaced by Mike Ahern, the only premier never to contest an election as premier.
- December 7 - Delaware celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
- December 7 - PSA Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.
- December 8 - First Intifada begins.
- December 8 - Queen Street Massacre in Melbourne, Australia. 22-year-old Frank Vitkovic kills 8 and injures another 5 in an Australia Post office building in Queen Street before committing suicide by jumping from the 11th floor.
- December 8 - The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
- December 12 - Pennsylvania celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
- December 13 - Graz I was born.
- December 17 - Czechoslovakian leader Gustáv Husák resigns as General Secretary of the Communist Party.
- December 18 - New Jersey celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
- December 18 - Square Co., Ltd. releases Final Fantasy in Japan for the Famicom.
- December 21 - The ferry Doña Paz collides with the oil tanker Vector I - 1,500 confirmed deaths (reportedly closer to 4,000 due to unregistered passengers).
- December 24 - Japanese legendary rock band BOØWY declare their breakup at Shibuya Kokaido.
- December 29 - Prozac® makes its debut in the United States.
Environmental change

- Varroa destructor, an invasive parasite is found in the U.S.
Unknown dates

- Pendolino train in Italy
- Shoko Asahara founds Aum Shinrikyo
- Barry Minkow's ZZZZ Best fraud unravels
Births

- February 2 - Martin Spanjers, American actor
- April 10 - Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
- April 11 - Joss Stone, English musician
- April 19 - Courtland Mead, American actor
- April 19 - Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
- May 2 - Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
- May 6 - Moon Geun Young, Korean actress
- May 15 - Andrew Murray, Scottish tennis player
- May 21 - Ashlie Brillault, American actress
- June 3 - Lalaine, American actress
- June 3 - Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
- June 16 - Diana DeGarmo, American singer
- July 20 - Nicolas Dansereau, Canadian professional wrestler
- July 25 - Michael Welch, American actor
- August 7 - Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
- August 25 - Blake Lively, American actress
- September 7 - Evan Rachel Wood, American actress and singer
- September 19 - Danielle Panabaker, American actress
- September 22 - Tom Felton, English actor
- September 28 - Hilary Duff, American actress and singer
- December 2 - Teairra Mari, American singer
- December 4 - Orlando Brown, American singer and comedian
- December 7 - Aaron Carter, American singer
- December 18 - Miki Ando, Japanese figure skater
Deaths

- January 15 - Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
- January 21 - Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
- January 27 - Allan V. Cox, American geologist (b. 1926)
- February 2 - Alistair MacLean, British writer (heart attack) (b. 1922)
- February 4 - Liberace, American pianist (b. 1919)
- February 14 - Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky, Russian composer (b. 1904)
- February 22 - Andy Warhol, American artist, director, writer (b. 1928)
- March 2 - Randolph Scott, American actor (b. 1898)
- March 3 - Danny Kaye, American singer, actor, and comedian (b. 1918)
- March 11 - Woody Hayes, Football coach at Ohio State (b. 1913)
- March 19 - Louis-Victor de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- March 21 - Dean Paul Martin, American actor (b. 1951)
- March 21 - Robert Preston, American actor (b. 1918)
- March 26 - Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
- March 28 - Maria von Trapp, Austrian singer (b. 1905)
- March 28 - Patrick Troughton, British actor (b. 1920)
- April 2 - Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer (b. 1917)
- April 3 - Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
- April 4 - C. L. Moore, American writer (b. 1911)
- April 28 - Ben Linder, American engineer (murdered) (b. 1959)
- May 3 - Dalida, French singer (b. 1933)
- May 4 - Paul Butterfield, American musician (b. 1942)
- May 6 - William J. Casey, American Central Intelligence Agency director (b. 1913)
- May 14 - Rita Hayworth, American actress (b. 1918)
- May 17 - Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- May 19 - James Tiptree, Jr, American author (b. 1915)
- May 27 - John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- June 2 - Andres Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
- June 6 - Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor (b. 1922)
- June 10 - Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (suicide) (b. 1943)
- June 22 - Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
- July 10 - John Hammond, American record producer (b. 1910)
- August 17 - Rudolf Hess, Hitler's second-in-command (b. 1894)
- August 26 - Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- September 4 - Bill Bowes, English cricketer (b. 1908)
- September 11 - Lorne Greene, Canadian actor (b. 1915)
- September 11 - Peter Tosh, Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1944)
- September 21 - Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
- September 23 - Bob Fosse, American theater choreographer and director (b. 1927)
- October 2 - Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1915)
- October 3 - Jean Anouilh, French dramatist (b. 1910)
- October 3 - Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (b. 1947)
- October 9 - William Parry Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1892)
- October 13 - Walter Brattain, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- October 19 - Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (b. 1945)
- October 20 - Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (b. 1903)
- October 28 - André Masson, French artist (b. 1896)
- October 29 - Woody Herman, American jazz musician (b. 1913)
- October 31 - Joseph Campbell, American author on mythology (b. 1904)
- December 2 - Luis Federico Leloir, French-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- December 2 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (b. 1914)
- December 10 - Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born violinist (b. 1901)
Fiction
On November 7, Events in the Doctor Who episode Father's Day take place. The animated internet cartoon series Homestar Runner frequently references 1987 as if the name of a year in the close past yet preceding 1999 is needed.
Nobel Prizes

- Physics - J. Georg Bednorz, K. Alexander Müller
- Chemistry Donald J Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, Charles J. Pedersen
- Medicine - Susumu Tonegawa
- Literature - Joseph Brodsky
- Peace- Oscar Arias Sanchez
Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

- Robert Solow
Templeton Prize

- Rev. Professor Stanley L. Jaki
Right Livelihood Award

- Johan Galtung, Chipko movement, Hans-Peter Dürr / Global Challenges Network, Institute for Food and Development Policy / Frances Moore-Lappé and Mordechai Vanunu
- als:1987 ko:1987년 ms:1987 ja:1987年 simple:1987 th:พ.ศ. 2530

Patent

:This article relates to the intellectual property right. A land grant is also called a patent. A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive and useful. The exclusive right granted a patentee is the right to prevent others from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing the claimed invention, not the right to make, use, or sell the invention themselves. The patentee may have to comply with other laws and regulations to make use of the claimed invention. So, for example, a pharmaceutical company may obtain a patent on a new drug but will be unable to market the drug without regulatory approval. The term "patent" originates from the Latin word patere which means "to lay open" (ie. make available for public inspection) and the term letters patent, which originally denoted royal decrees granting exclusive rights to certain individuals or businesses.

Economic rationale and criticisms

There are two primary justifications for granting patents. First, in accordance with the original definition of the term "patent," it is argued that awarding patents facilitates and encourages disclosure of innovations into the public domain for the common good. Without patents, an inventor may prefer to keep his invention a secret. Disclosure of an invention allows other inventors to improve upon it and patent their improvements. Furthermore, when a patent's term has expired, the public record ensures that the patentee's idea is not lost to mankind. Second, it is broadly believed that patents incentivise economically-efficient research and development (R&D). Many corporations have annual R&D budgets of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. In a society without patents, it is conceivable that each corporation would lower or eliminate R&D spending, because each could reap what another had sown. This second justification closely parallels fundamental arguments underlying traditional property rights--who would build a house if another could freely occupy it? However, there are arguments in opposition to patent rights. Most fundamentally, granting a patent confers a monopoly of sorts upon an owner, because he may legally exclude competitors from using or exploiting the invention (though strictly speaking, the word "monopoly" requires that there is no viable alternative in the marketplace). In this way, patent rights differ from traditional property rights--building a house does not prevent one's neighbor from building a house, but patenting an invention bars anyone in the country of filing from producing the invention for the term of the patent. Indeed, patents have historically been granted by sovereigns to non-inventing parties in favor merely so they could profit from monopoly power. The stifling of competition due to patent rights may result in higher prices, lower quality, and shortages--characteristic problems with monopolies. Historically, countries with effective patent regimes have experienced greater economic growth and technological advances than countries where intellectual property is not protected by law. But in such countries there are many problems with the difference between rich and poor classes. People from poor classes often have no ability to initiate new business. Furthermore, industry specific experiences differ. For example, the mid-19th century dyestuffs industry faltered in Britain despite patent protections and flourished in Germany despite the absence of such protections. A more subtle problem with patent rights was put forth by law professors Michael Heller and Rebecca Eisenberg in a 1998 Science article. Building from Heller's theory of the tragedy of the anticommons, the professors postulated that useful innovations that build on earlier patented inventions can be inhibited by the high transaction costs from negotiating with the earlier patentees. According to Heller and Eisenberg, intellectual property rights may become so widely fragmented that, effectively, no one can take advantage of them. As one potential example, the professors identify therapeutic proteins and genetic diagnostic tests that would require the use of numerous patented gene fragments. In analogy to traditional property rights, it would be as if six different parties owned a house's two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, and bathroom--the utility of the house would be wasted until the parties could either negotiate an arrangement in which some or all of the parties were free to use each other's areas of the house or one party acquired ownership of the entirety of the house. Because of the difficulty in balancing the benefits and drawbacks of patent grants, there is ongoing debate over the extent to which patents should be conferred. This controversy is manifested in the ways different jurisdictions decide whether to grant patents. But recent years have seen a global embrace and augmentation of the scope of patents, as evidenced by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). One interesting side effect of modern day patent usage is that the small-time inventor can use the monopoly status to become a licensor. This allows the inventor to accumulate capital quickly from just licensing and may allow rapid innovation to occur because he/she may choose to not manage a manufacturing buildup for the invention. Thus, time and energy can be spent on pure innovation and allow others concentrate on manufacturability.

Legal implementation

A modern patent provides the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention. Generally, patents are enforced only through civil lawsuits. Patent licensing agreements are effectively contracts in which the patent owner (the licensor) agrees not to sue the licensee for infringement of the licensor's patent rights. Governments typically reserve the right to suspend or cancel a patent at will. A patent application, for a utility patent in the United States (as opposed to a design patent), must explain how to work (i.e., make and/or use) the invention(s) and must also include claims that particularly point out the invention(s) and define the scope of the subject matter for which exclusive rights are sought by the patent applicant. The exclusive rights are limited to the subject matter encompassed by the patent's claims. Patent claims are typically of the form of a long noun phrase, e.g.:
- "An apparatus for catching mice, comprising a base member for placement on a flat surface, a spring member..."
- "A chemical for cleaning windows, comprising approximately 10–15% ammonia, ..."
- "A method for computing future life expectancies, the method comprising gathering personal data including X, Y, Z, ..." Each word of a claim is considered an "element" or "limitation" of the claim. In order to exclude someone from using your patented invention in a court, you will have to demonstrate to the court that what the other person is using is included within the scope of at least one claim of the patent. For this reason, it is more valuable to obtain patent claims that include the absolute minimal set of limitations that differentiate a new invention over what came before. While the United States is moving towards more rigid claim interpretations, "equivalents" of claim elements or limitations may be permitted in determining patent infringement. The practice elsewhere in the world differs.

Example

If an inventor takes an existing patented mouse trap design, adds a new feature to make an improved mouse trap, and obtains a patent on the improvement, he or she can legally build his or her improved mouse trap only with permission from the patent holder of the original mouse trap, assuming the original patent is still in force. On the other hand, the owner of the improved mouse trap can exclude the original patent owner from using the improvement. Under these circumstances, patent owners sometimes engage in cross-licensing agreements.

Governing laws

Although patents are fundamentally territorial in their nature, there are currently a number of significant international treaties governing some important aspects of patent law. The most universal of these is the WTO TRIPs Agreement, to which almost all countries are a party. The United States, the countries of the European Union, and Japan, are parties to all of the significant treaties. This has led to significant harmonization of patent law worldwide, particularly in the last decade of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st. Despite recent harmonization, the United States patent laws are unique in several significant respects. The biggest difference is that, if two people apply for a patent on the same invention, the US system awards the patent to the "first to invent", whereas in the rest of the world the "first to file" is awarded the patent. A contest between different inventors over priority is called "interferences". Another unique aspect of U.S. patent law is that an inventor has a one-year grace period after publication or sale to file a patent application, whereas in most other countries patent rights are lost if an application is not on file when a public disclosure, publication or sale takes place. As mentioned above, patents are territorial in nature. Thus, to obtain patents in multiple countries it is required to separately file patent applications in each country, or region, where a patent is sought. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), however, allows applicants to initially file a single international application, which later can be entered into separate countries or regions. Similarly, within Europe, a single patent application procedure is available through the European Patent Office, but successful applications result in multiple patents (up to 36) rather than a single European-wide patent. Such a European-wide unitary patent, or "community patent", has been the subject of discussion at the EU level since the 1970s, with no result so far. Many of the international treaties are designed to afford some recognition of filing dates to patent applications previously filed in another country. In this respect, the most important treaty is the Paris Convention, dating back to 1883. Typically, inventors are allowed one year (the priority year) from the date of their filing (in a first country) to file the application in other countries. The authority for patent statutes in different countries varies. In the United States, the Patent and Trademark Office gets its authority from statutes in Title 35 of the United States Code, which in turn is based on Article One, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

Patent prosecution

Typically, an application for a patent is prepared by a professional agent known as a patent attorney or patent agent, who files the application with a patent office. The person applying for a patent generally does not need to be the inventor who created or authored the invention. However, in the United States a patent application must be filed in the name of the actual inventor or inventors, although the application can be assigned to another party, such as the employer of the inventor. At the patent office an examiner will consider the invention's patentability and whether it is otherwise eligible for grant. The entire legal process of examination and obtaining grant is called patent prosecution. Some countries do not formally review patent applications while others accept the determination of other patent offices. For example, some smaller countries, such as Belgium and the Netherlands grant a patent almost automatically or with minimal examination. This may be contrasted with the strict requirements of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Japanese Patent Office and the European Patent Office. The patent prosecution process typically involves: # Filing a patent application by inventor or applicant. # Formalizing of application (signatures by inventors or applicant), often filed at the same time as the application. # Establishing of a prior art search report by the patent office. # Publication at 18 months from earliest claimed filing date. US applicants can request non-publication if the application is not filed outside the United States. # Review by the examiner or the Examining Division, including communication with applicant to modify the claim language, if needed. # Grant of the patent (if it the patentability criteria are met) and publication of the issued patent. # Opposition period, during which anybody (e.g., other companies) can challenge the patent grant. This is not applicable for the US where other procedures are available, namely the reissue and reexamination procedure. In several countries, oppositions can be filed before the grant of the patent. The specifics of the examination process include: # Verifying that claims are for a patentable subject matter. # Ensuring unity of invention, since each patent application can only be for one invention (called "restriction" practice in the United States). # Formalities. Ensure that the drawings, description, and claims meet all formal requirements. # Utility or industrial applicability. # Novelty (newness) # Non-obviousness or inventive step. Different patent systems use different terms and different standards for these concepts, of which the most important probably are: patentable subject matter, novelty, non-obviousness and sufficient disclosure.

Patentable subject matter

The standard for what is patentable subject matter in the United States is "anything under the sun made by man" that is new (novel), useful, and non-obvious. Similar standards for patentability apply in Japan. Higher standards exist under the European Patent Convention (EPC), where for example computer programs as such are not patentable. Under US law, a claimed invention is deemed useful if, at the time of filing, it is capable of providing some identifiable benefit (to a person of ordinary skill in the art of the invention). The benefit must be specific, substantial, and practical. Generally speaking, there are three broad categories of patentable subject matter: processes, machines and articles of manufacture and use. A process could be a method for making something, a method for using something, or a method for doing something. Processes include business methods, most software, medical techniques, sports techniques and the like. Machines include devices and apparatuses. Articles of manufacture include mechanical devices, electrical/electronic devices and compositions of matter such as chemicals, medicines, DNA, RNA, etc. However, laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patentable. Software inventions implementing algorithms are not patentable for this reason unless it produces a "useful, concrete, and tangible result" (US law) or technical effect (European law). The US standard for the patentability of software is more liberal than that in Europe. Japanese patent law lies between the US and Europe. The patentability of software (and business methods) is quite controversial from a global perspective. Case law in the United States permits patents for software and business methods. Yet computer programs as such are not patentable in Europe, although some inventions that use software can be patented in Europe. Patents related to natural compounds (e.g. items found in rainforests) as well as medicines, medical treatment techniques, and genetic sequences are also controversial. There are significant country-by-country differences in handling these subject matters. For example, in the United States you can get a patent for a surgical method but you cannot exclude physicians from performing the surgical method.

Novelty

Novelty relates to whether something existed before its invention by the applicant or was disclosed to the public before the patent application's filing date. For public disclosures of the invention by the inventor, the United States and Canada permit a one year grace period, but most other countries provide no grace period, instead requiring "absolute novelty". An invention is not novel if there is a previously existing or disclosed device or process that includes all of the elements of the claimed invention. Identifying such "prior art" by the patent examiner is accomplished by a search of literature (technical journals, published patent applications and issued patents, etc.) that predate the filing date of the particular patent application.

Inventive step and non-obviousness

prior art Even if an applicant's claim for an invention is novel (i.e. not taught by a single prior art reference), a patent can still be denied to the applicant if the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to someone else skilled in the technical field of the invention. The purpose of forbidding patents on obvious technologies is to prevent a person from obtaining exclusive rights to what is effectively already in the possession of the public, even if documentation of the exact form of the applicant's embodiment happens to be lacking. Accordingly, obviousness asks the question whether all previously known technology related to the invention would teach a "person having ordinary skill in the art", e.g. someone who does the type of things relating to the technical field of the invention, how to make the invention. Many patent applications in the United States, Europe and Japan are initially rejected as being obvious. The standard of obviousness and its application are more subjective and controversial than that of novelty. If the requirements are set very high, virtually nothing is patentable. Similarly if the requirements are very low, all kinds of trivial inventions can receive patents. Generally, the patent laws make it difficult for patent examiners to employ hindsight reasoning in rejecting a claim as obvious, by requiring some teaching that would motivate a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the technology found in the prior to arrive at the claimed invention. In the United States, objective evidence or secondary considerations of non-obviousness can overcome a proper obviousness rejection. Such secondary considerations can include unexpected results, commercial success, long-felt need, failure of others, copying by others, licensing, and skepticism of experts. As a practical matter, during examination the patent examiner will attempt to locate two or more references that when combined show all of the features of the claimed invention and indicate that one of ordinary skill would make that combination. The threshold for the obviousness or inventive step standard can be particularly ambiguous in genus-species situations. For example, if an inventor finds two species of a particular genus, e.g. two particular chemical compositions out of 10,000 in the broader genus, should the inventor be entitled to a patent on the entire genus? Further, if someone has discovered the genus already, but not isolated any of the species, are the species obvious in light of the genus? Under US law, the species may still be patentable if they produce results that are unexpectedly different from those of other previously known members of the genus. For example, suppose a software inventor unveils the quicksort sorting algorithm to the world but only discloses it using integers (this is the species). Can someone else then obtain a patent on an "improved" quicksort suitable for use on any partially ordered set (this is the genus)? Under US law, this is not a question of obviousness since a claim to the genus lacks novelty as the species is known. Finally, in spite of all precautions, some patents still give a general impression of triviality. An example is given by the "combover" patent (, filed December 1975), which has also been awarded the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize in engineering for its apparently unintentional ridiculousness.

Term of patent

As TRIPS agreement declares, the maximum term of an issued patent is 20 years from earliest claimed filing date. In the United States, for applications filed after to June 8, 1995, the patent term is 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date (see also: Term of patent in the United States). Also, in several countries there are multiple types of patents, and the 20 year term frequently only applies to utility patents and not design, petit, or other kinds of less heavily examined patents. For example, the term of a U.S. design patent, which covers the ornamental shape of objects, lasts 14 years from its issue date.

Example

If the better mousetrap patent is filed on January 1, 1996 and is issued or granted on January 1, 2000, it will lapse twenty years from filing: January 1, 2016. However, if the inventor comes up with a second improvement and claims priority to her first patent when filing the second patent on January 1, 1998, that second patent, after grant, would lapse 20 years from the earliest claimed priority: January 1, 2016.

Miscellaneous

While a patent grants an exclusive right on the invention claimed, many national laws provide for special rules on granting compulsory license to requesting third parties when the invention is not put into practice within a specified amount of time or is put into practice in a manner that is deemed to be insufficient for the needs of the country. The licensee must pay reasonable compensation, to be fixed by an independent tribunal if not agreed. In practice, obtaining a compulsory license is not easy. Secrecy provisions are also present in many national laws in case the invention for which a patent is filed is deemed to have military interest. A patent might also be seized by the State under grounds of public utility. This is akin to the state's power of eminent domain. Again, as for compulsory licensing, an obligation to pay reasonable compensation, to be fixed by an independent tribunal if not agreed, is invariably provided. For example, during the 2001 anthrax attacks, it was rumoured that the US had considered seizing the patent on the Cipro antibiotic from the Bayer Corporation. However, the anthrax attacks did not continue and the patent was not seized. The World Trade Organization Agreement 1994 imposes restrictions on both compulsory licensing and seizure (TRIPs Agreement, article 31).

History of patents

Bayer Corporation Although there is evidence suggesting that something like patents was used among some ancient Greek cities, patents in the modern sense originated in Italy. The first patent law was a Venetian Statute of 1474 in which the Republic of Venice issued a decree by which new and inventive devices, once they had been put into practice, had to be communicated to the Republic in order to obtain legal protection against potential infringers. England followed with the Statute of Monopolies in 1623 under King James I. Prior to this time, the crown would issue letters patent providing any person with a "monopoly" to produce particular goods or provide particular services. The first of them was granted by Henry VI in 1449 to a Flemish man a 20 year monopoly on the manufacture of stained glass. This was the start of a long tradition by the English Crown of the granting of "letters patent" (meaning 'open letter', as opposed to a letter under seal) which granted "monopolies" to favoured persons (or people who were prepared to pay for them). This became increasingly open to abuse as the Crown granted patents in respect of all sorts of known goods (salt, for example). This power, which was to raise money for the crown, was widely abused, and court began to limit the circumstances in which they could be granted. After public outcry, James I was forced to revoke all existing monopolies and declare that they were only to be used for 'projects of new invention'. This was incorporated into the Statute of Monopolies in which Parliament restricted the crown's power explicitly so that the King could only issue letters patents to the inventors or introducers of original inventions for a fixed number of years. In the reign of Queen Anne the rules were changed again so that a written description of the article was given. Section 6 of the Statute refers to "manner[s] of new manufacture... [by] inventors", and this section remains the foundation for patent law in New Zealand and Australia. The Statute of Monopolies was later developed by the courts to produce modern patent law; this innovation was soon adopted by other countries. The Patent Commission of the U.S. was created in 1790. Its first three members were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. On July 31, 1790 inventor Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont became the first person to be issued a patent in the United States. His patented invention was an improvement in the "making of Pot Ash by a new apparatus & process". The earliest patent law required that a working model of each invention be produced in miniature. The Patent Law was revised for the first time in 1793. It adopted a simple registration system where a patent would be granted for a $30 fee. The Patent Board was replaced by a clerk in the Department of State. James Madison, Secretary of State, created a separate Patent Office within the State Department and he appointed Dr. William Thornton as its first superintendent in May 1802. On May 5th, 1809 Mary Dixon Kies became the first woman to be awarded a U.S. patent. Later, in 1810, the Patent Office moved from the Department of State to Blodgetts Hotel. In the same year, they opened the patent model storage to the general public. The first 10,000 patents issued by the USPTO from July 1790 to July 1836 were destroyed in a fire in December 1836. About 2800 of them were later recovered, but the majority of them are still missing. The recovered patents are now called X-Patents because their patent numbers end with an "X."

Patent models

One of the most interesting early features of the U.S. patent system was the requirement of patent models. A patent model was a scratch-built miniature model no larger than 12" by 12" that showed how the patent works. Since most early inventors were ordinary people without technological or legal training, it was difficult for them to submit formal patent applications, due to the required small-scale models. However, to some degree, it was beneficial for these amateur inventors to submit a model. This is because their inventions might not be fully comprehended otherwise. Patent models were required since 1790. The Congress of the U.S. abolished the legal requirement for them in 1870. The U.S. Patent Office kept this requirement until 1880. However, some inventors still willingly submitted models at the turn of the 20th century. A working model, or other physical exhibit, may be required by the U.S. patent office if deemed necessary. This is not done very often. A working model may be requested in the case of applications for patent for alleged perpetual motion devices (Source: USPTO web site).

External links

- [http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/patents.html LegalMatch] Patent Legal Resource
- [http://www.ipfrontline.com/ IPFrontline™] PatentCafe's Intellectual Property & Technology Magazine
- [http://www.inventorfraud.com/ National Inventor Fraud Center] - Information about the invention process and invention marketing companies.
- [http://www.patentlawportal.com Patent Law Portal] - Patent Law News, Articles and Resouces
- [http://www.ipnewsflash.com IP Newsflash recent case law and developments regarding patents]

Patent Office Web sites and other regional info

- [http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/ IP Australia] incorporates the Patent, Designs and Trade Marks offices
- [http://www.uspto.gov U.S. Patent and Trademark Office]
- [http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/ Canadian Intellectual Property Office]
- [http://patents1.ic.gc.ca/ Canadian Patents Database]
- [http://www.jpo.go.jp/ Japan Patent Office]
- [http://www.kipo.go.kr/kpo/ Korean Intellectual Property Office]
- European Patent Office
- [http://gb.espacenet.com/ European Network of Patent Databases]
- [http://www.patent.gov.uk/ UK Patent Office]
- [http://www.nkpal.com/ipr/ NKPAL's IPRs Division] - IPRs information and Patent filing in India.
- [http://www.wipo.int/ World Intellectual Property Organisation]
- [http://www.info-brevetti.org/ Innovation and patent information in Italy]

Patent organizations

- [http://www.pubpat.org/index.html The Public Patent Foundation] PUBPAT Represents the Public's Interests Against Wrongly Issued Patents and Unsound Patent Policy
- [http://www.ipo.org Intellectual Property Owners Association]

Patent searches and downloads

- [http://www.GetThePatent.com GetThePatent.com] - Online patent search database offering instantaneous access to complete multi-page USPTO, EPO, WIPO (PCT), British, French, German, Japanese, and Swiss patent documents received via your printer, email, or web browser.
- [http://www.braindex.com/patent_pdf/ Free US and Worldwide Patent PDFs] - Download patents for free.
- [http://www.pat2pdf.org pat2pdf.org] - Free lookup and download of U.S. patents in PDF form
- [http://www.freepatentsonline.com FreePatentsOnline.com] - Free US and international patent searching database, PDF downloading, list of funny patents.
- [http://nip.blogs.com/patent/2004/09/guide_to_downlo.html The Guide to Downloading Copies of Patents from Internet]
- [http://www.ipdiscover.com/ IP-Discover] - Search and retrieve patents from the public databases.
- [http://www.search4ip.com/ search4ip] - Free patent search.
- [http://www.patentmatic.com/ PatentMatic] - Free patent downloads (US, European & others).
- [http://www.IAMcafe.com PatentCafe's International Patent Database with Semantic / Natural Language Search Engine]

Weird and historical patents

- [http://www.patent.freeserve.co.uk/ Patently Absurd British Patents]
- [http://www.library.umaine.edu/patents/historical.htm Information on Historical Patents]
- [http://www.patentlysilly.com Patently Silly]
- [http://ipfunny.blogs.com IP Funny Blog] Category:Intellectual property
- ja:特許 th:สิทธิบัตร

1962

1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). In Chinese Zodiac, the "year" of the Ox ended on February 4, 1962 and the "year" of the Tiger began on February 5, 1962.

Events

January

- January 1 - Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand
- January 3 - Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro
- January 4 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board
- January 5 - The first record by The Beatles is released by Deutsche Grammophon
- January 8 - Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time (National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC)
- January 9 - Trade pact between Cuba and the Soviet Union
- January 10 - Avalanche on Nevado Huascarán in Peru; 4000 deaths
- January 11 - Volcano erupts in the Peruvian Andes and causes an avalanche that buries 3000
- January 12 - Indonesian army confirms that it has began operations in West Irian
- January 13 - Albania allies itself with the People's Republic of China
- January 16 - Military coup in the Dominican Republic
- January 19 - Counter-coup in the Dominican Republic - old government returns except for the new president Rafael Bonnely
- January 22 - The Organization of American States (OAS) suspends Cuba's membership
- January 24 - East German goverment readopts conscription
- January 24 - OAS bomb in French foreign ministry
- January 26 - Mafioso Lucky Luciano dies at the Naples Airport
- January 26 - Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later missed the moon by 22,000 miles
- January 27 - Soviet government changes all place names honoring Molotov, Kaganovich and Georgi Malenkov
- January 30 - Two of the high-wire "Flying Wallendas" are killed when their famous seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit, Michigan

February

- February 2 - For the first time in 400 years Neptune and Pluto align
- February 3 - US announces its trade embargo with Cuba
- February 4 - The Sunday Times becomes the first paper to print a colour supplement
- February 4 - Latin American Gnostic master Samael Aun Weor declares the advent of the New Age of Aquarius
- February 5 - French President Charles De Gaulle calls for allowing Algeria to be an independent nation
- February 7 - The United States Government bans all US-related Cuban imports and exports
- February 9 - Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation opens
- February 10 - February 10 - Captured American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in Berlin
- February 12 - Six members of the Committee of 100 of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament are found guilty of a breach of the Official Secrets Act
- February 14 - First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House
- February 15 - Urho Kekkonen re-elected president of Finland
- February 16/February 17 - Heavy storm flood on Germany's North Sea coast, mainly around Hamburg, more than 300 people die, thousands losing their homes
- February 17 - Flooding in North Sea coasts
- February 20 - Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn orbits the Earth three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes becoming the first American to orbit the Earth
- February 23 - 12 European countries form European Space Agency

March-April

- March 1 - An American Airlines Boeing 707 crashes on takeoff at New York International Airport after its rudder separates from the tail, with loss of all life on board
- March 2 - Military coup in Burma
- March 8-12 - In Geneva, France and Algerian FLN begin negotiations
- March 15 - Katangan prime minister Moise Tshombe begins negotiations to rejoin Congo
- March 19 - Armistice begins in Algeria
- March 18 - France and Algeria sign an agreement in Evian ending the Algerian War. See Évian Accords.
- March 19 - Armistice in Algeria - however, Organisation de l'armée secrète continues its terrorist attacks against Algerians
- March 23 - Scandinavian States of Nordic Council sign Helsinki Convention on Nordic Co-operation
- March 24 - OAS leader Edmond Jouahud arrested in Oran
- March 26 - France shortens the term for military service from 26 months to 18
- April 3 - Nehru elected de facto prime minister of India
- April 4 - James Hanratty is hanged in Bedford Gaol for A6 murder - many believe he was innocent
- April 6 - Belgium reforms diplomatic relations with Congo
- April 7 - Author Milovan Djilas arrested in Yugoslavia
- April 8 - In France, the Évian Accords are adopted in a referendum with a majority of 90%.
- April 10 - In Los Angeles, the first game is played at Dodger Stadium.
- April 13 - OAS leader Edmond Jouhaud sentenced to death in France
- April 14 - Cuban military tribunal convicts 1179 Bay of Pigs attackers
- April 18 - Commonweath Immigration Bill in the United Kingdom removes free immigration from the citizens of member states of the British Commonwealth
- April 20 - OAS leader Raoul Salan arrested in Algiers
- April 26 - The Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon

May-June

- May 2 - OAS bomb explodes in Algeria - this and other attacks kill 110 and injure 147
- May 31 - Adolf Eichmann hanged in Israel
- May 5 - 12 East Germans escape via a tunnel under the Berlin Wall
- May 14 - Juan Carlos marries the Greek Princess Sophia in Athens
- May 14 - Milovan Djilas, former vice-president of Yugoslavia, is given further sentence for publishing Conversations with Stalin
- May 23 - Drilling for new Montreal, Quebec subway commences
- May 23 - Founder of the French terrorist Organisation de l'armée secrète, Raoul Salan, is sentenced to life imprisonment in France
-

Jack Bresenham

See also

External links

Computer science

History of computer science

Evolutionary

Academic discipline

Careers

Demographics

Sub-disciplines of computer science

Algorithms

Data structures

Listing of sub-disciplines

Major fields of importance for computer science

See also

External links

1987

Events

January

February-May

June-September

October

November-December

Environmental change

Unknown dates

Births

Deaths

Fiction

Nobel Prizes

Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

Templeton Prize

Right Livelihood Award

Patent

Economic rationale and criticisms

Legal implementation

Example

Governing laws

Patent prosecution

Patentable subject matter

Novelty

Inventive step and non-obviousness

Term of patent

Example

Miscellaneous

History of patents

Patent models

See also

Legal concepts

Special types of patents and patent applications

Organizations and patent offices

Treaties, conventions and other legal texts and frameworks

Other

External links

Patent Office Web sites and other regional info

Patent organizations

Patent searches and downloads

Weird and historical patents

1962

Events

January

February

March-April

May-June