Stories about: USPTO

Microsoft last week applied for a patent that spells out a "pay-as-you-go" concept where users would be charged for both the software they run and the computing horsepower they use.

The US National Security Agency has patented a technique for figuring out whether someone is tampering with network communication.

Interest in modular data centers is growing, fueled by high-profile endorsements from Microsoft and Google. But the model raises new management concerns, and efficiency claims may be exaggerated.

G.ho.st, a startup that offers a hosted operating system, has accused Microsoft of violating a company trademark with its prominent use of the phrase "no walls" in its recently unveiled US$300 million Windows marketing and advertising campaign.

Google, which has been building out its data center inventory for the past few years, is literally floating its latest idea for the location of such facilities at the US Patent Office.

DATAllegro, a data warehousing appliance vendor that is being acquired by Microsoft, was accused Tuesday of using now-patented database technology that was developed by a San Diego-based startup where DATAllegro's founder and top executive briefly served as CEO.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has done an about face on Dell's effort to claim a trademark on "cloud computing," and is reconsidering its earlier action.

Dell may be trying to grab control of a term that could define technology infrastructure for years to come.

Dell will make entertainment more of a focus for all its consumer products, but declined to confirm a report that it will take another swing at the digital music player market.

Oklahoma State University's Technology Business Assessment Group recently announced it will fund research on an approach to information protection called data shuffling. The project is led by Professor Rathindra Sarathy of OSU's Department of Management Science and Information Systems, who explains to us just what data shuffling is and why it could be coming to your network soon.

US Senate negotiators are getting closer to hammering out disagreements that are holding up a patent system overhaul, but President George Bush's administration still has concerns about the bill, an administration official said.