Green Tech IP: Look Before You Leap

By: news@gbb.org

Green Tech IP: Know the Lay of the Land

By: news@gbb.org

Why does green tech, and the IP that protects it, play such an important part in every-day business decisions? Take the following illustration:   Some years ago, I was lead counsel for a well-known government-related entity (“GRE”) in a “paleo” green tech litigation. Responding to societal and regulatory pressures, the GRE was utilizing a simple and effective technique for removing millions of square feet of vinyl asbestos tile from its... Read More

Green Tech IP: Pitfalls and Profits

By: news@gbb.org

When a major manufacturer spent millions to develop a new, environmentally friendly line of products, this was a reflection of modern society’s focus on “green tech”.  Over and above the improved product itself, the green tech embodied in it was also a highly valuable asset.  One of the company’s significant challenges was to guard its investment against appropriation by others, in this case through patenting that green tech.  However, securing a patent... Read More

Apple Solar Powered iPods, Laptops, iPhones on the way?

By: news@gbb.org

Apple has its eye on the sun as a source of energy for iPods. Company employees have applied for a patent relating to powering electronic devices using integrated solar cells, the Patently Apple site has uncovered. Called Power Management Circuitry and Solar Cells, the application dates back to August 2008 and was officially published Thursday. It appears, though, that it's not the first Apple patent application relating to solar-powered gadgets. In October 2006, a more general patent... Read More

Printable Lithium Batteries Coming Soon

By: news@gbb.org

First came printable solar cells, then printable OLED lights, and now, ladies and gentlemen, we have printable lithium batteries.  Japanese researchers have announced they've developed a way to manufacture the batteries with mass-output, roll-to-roll printing technology. The printed battery sheet is very thin (500 μm), flexible (allowing it to be attached to curved surfaces) and designed for use with a flexible solar battery, a combination that could be both a power generator and... Read More

U.S. to Inject $187 Million into Fuel Efficiency

By: news@gbb.org

The Obama administration is announcing on Monday the selection of nine projects totaling $187 million aimed at improving the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks. The funding includes more than $100 million from the $787 billion economic stimulus plan President Barack Obama pushed through Congress last February. An additional 50 percent will come from the private sector, according to the announcement to be made by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu in Columbus, Ind. The Obama administration... Read More

Almost Half of U.S. Consumers Would Choose a Green Cell Phone

By: news@gbb.org

According to the poll of 1,000 American adults carried out by ABI Research, just 7% would be willing to pay a premium to go green, a figure that may cause cell phone companies to think deeply before investing heavily in environmentally friendlier models. Speaking about the findings, industry analyst Michael Morgan said, “These survey results mean that almost half of those surveyed were at least committed in principle to use of a green handset. However the public is largely uninformed... Read More

U.S. Puts Green Tech Patent Applications on the Fast Track

By: news@gbb.org

The federal government wants to help companies bring green technologies to market quickly with a new pilot program designed to put green technology patent applications on a fast track. The U.S. Commerce Department's Patent and Trademark Office announced the pilot program could shave a year from the time it takes to get a patent for certain green technologies, such as those related to environmental quality, energy conservation, renewable energy development and greenhouse gas emissions... Read More

Google.org Unveils Deforestation Monitor

By: news@gbb.org

Google.org demonstrated a new platform that, if implemented in conjunction with a proposed United Nations program, could provide a significant tool to combat climate change. Its new "high-performance satellite imagery-processing engine" can process terabytes of information on thousands of Google servers while giving access to the results online. The platform, which was demonstrated on Thursday at the International Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, would allow anyone using... Read More

LED lights creep toward mainstream in 2010

By: news@gbb.org

The first contact many consumers have with LEDs is when stringing lights on the Christmas tree. But improvements in the energy-efficient lighting technology mean that more people will start screwing in LEDs for general lighting next year. Semiconductor research company iSuppli on Tuesday forecast double-digit sales growth in the next three years for all types of LED lights, which are increasingly used in everything from street lights to flat-screen TVs. Although LEDs are still mostly used... Read More

Coke eyes climate-friendlier vending machines

By: news@gbb.org

Coca-Cola said Thursday that it will eliminate a major greenhouse gas in its new vending machines and coolers, raising the bar for climate-friendly refrigeration in the food and beverage industry. Coke's Chief Executive Muhtar Kent said that the company, which sells everything from soda and juice drinks to water, will replace hydrofluorocarbon, also known as HFC, in its new vending machines and coolers by 2015. While Coke's 10 million vending machines, coolers and other refrigeration... Read More

iPhone app scans bar codes for health, enviro ratings

By: news@gbb.org

Just in time for the crazed holiday shopping season, San Francisco-based GoodGuide releases the first iPhone app that lets you scan bar codes for what the guide calls "impartial" health, environmental, and social responsibility ratings of not only the products you are scanning but their companies, too. As our Webware staff wrote in August, "GoodGuide is the reason we have awards for tech services and products: it's a small and relatively unknown service that demonstrates real... Read More

First Natural Gas-fueled Passenger Flight Completed

By: news@gbb.org

Airlines’ struggles with fuel availability and emissions may be eased if more flights are able to be powered in part by natural gas, which burns cleaner than other fuels. Qatar Airways on Oct. 12 completed a six-hour flight from London to Qatar, running an Airbus A340-800 on a 50/50 kerosene/natural gas blend, reports Reuters. Royal Dutch Shell was involved in the test, which ran the fuel through a Rolls Royce Trent 556 engine. Airbus predicts that by 2030 up to 30 percent of all jet... Read More

Google PowerMeter energy tracker works without smart meter

By: news@gbb.org

Google has connected a home electricity-monitoring device to its Web-based PowerMeter application, part of Google's strategy to seed the market for home energy tools. Google on Monday said that PowerMeter works with TED 5000, a small-screen monitor that provides a real-time read-out of home electricity use. TED, which stands for The Energy Detective, is one of many monitors aimed at giving consumers more detailed information so they can find ways to reduce energy use. In combination with... Read More

EcoATM pays you for used gadgets

By: news@gbb.org

You know that old Motorola Razr that's been sitting in your nightstand for the last year? If you live near Omaha, Neb., you can march up to the EcoATM at the Nebraska Furniture Mart, toss it in, and automatically get an in-store trade-up coupon or gift card. The self-serve e-cycling station electronically inspects phones, assigns them real-time secondary market value, and provides in-store payment--if the handset still has any monetary worth. If not, consumers can choose to assign the device... Read More

3 Green Investments with the Best ROI

By: news@gbb.org

Saving energy makes sense any time, but particularly now, given our short supplies of oil and the pollution and climate change we create when we burn any fossil fuel. Still, you may be among the millions of people who have not yet incorporated energy conservation into your daily routine. Why not? The number-one reason for most people is money — not necessarily real money, but definitely the perception that it will require a lot of money to put energy-saving strategies to work in your... Read More

New Eco-Friendly LCD Monitors Watch You

By: news@gbb.org

Eizo Nanao has announced the inclusion of an "EcoView Sense" feature into its just announced FlexScan monitors, the 20-inch EV2023W and the 23-inch EV2303W. The EcoView feature allows the monitors--using motion detectors--to detect if a person is sitting in front of it. If it senses for 40 seconds that no one is there, it puts the monitor into sleep mode. It then resumes normal operation when the user returns. For example, it won't be fooled by such shenanigans as leaving a... Read More

Defensive Driving Goes Green

By: news@gbb.org

Defensive driving is now offered online through an interactive course that promotes road safety and road conditions, but also protects the environment. The beauty of online education is that it allows an entire lesson plan to be administered without losing any of the standard of education such as textbooks, paper, pens, pencils and more importantly the location of the own classroom. Defensive driving courses online saves the hassle of students attending a traditional class that you can burn... Read More

3rdWhale's iPhone App for Green Shopping

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A free iPhone app from 3rdWhale is bent on making your shopping trips easier and greener. You can search for the greenest businesses near you so that you know just which stores to patronize. Over 20,000 business listings for over 30 major cities in Canada and the US are already hooked in to the app, with more being listed every day. Every business is tagged with 'what makes them green' and has a business description to further explain the company's values. You can rate and review a... Read More

New Xerox Printer Cuts Waste by 90 Percent

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Xerox last week unveiled its new ColorQube 9200 multifunction printer, a machine that uses a combination of innovations to reduce waste by 90 percent, cuts energy use and emissions by 10 percent, all while saving nearly two-thirds the costs of traditional color printing. Using solid ink rather than ink cartridges is one key way the company cuts down on waste; the ColorQube 9200 is also designed to print more than 55,000 pages from a single ink block before needing to be changed. But beyond... Read More

UNH uses garbage to go green

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Colleges are going green all over New England by installing solar arrays to illuminate campus paths to starting grassroot groups to pressure politicians to pass carbon limiting laws. There is even an effort to make students take shorter showers to save on heating hot water. But few are doing as much as the University of New Hampshire. The five million square foot campus is now getting up to 85 percent of its electricity and heat from a nearby landfill’s methane gas. It is the first... Read More

Honeywell Wind Turbine to be Sold at Ace Hardware Stores for $4,500

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Last week, we mentioned that the small wind market is growing like crazy, and if things go as planned, there could be another turbine company to watch.  The Honeywell Wind Turbine from EarthTronics, according to Martin LaMonica of CNET, will be sold in participating Ace Hardware Stores starting this October.  EarthTronics claims the turbine can generate power at wind speeds as low as 2 mph.  With Class 4 winds, the turbine can generate about 2,000 kWh per year, which is roughly... Read More

Eco-Friendly Insulation Made From Mushrooms

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Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre want to line the walls of your home with mushrooms. The young entrepreneurs have created a strong, low-cost biomaterial that could replace the expensive, environmentally harmful Styrofoam and plastics used in wall insulation, as well as in packaging and a host of other products. Wind-turbine blades and auto-body panels aren't out of the realm of possibility, either. "We like to call it low-tech biotech," Bayer says. In the lab, the inventors grow... Read More

Eco Innovation: Green Hotel Key Cards

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More companies are offering green key cards. Here is a list that Green Lodging News compiled. Both usfi | GreenWorks and Pineapple Hospitality offer three varieties of Green Earth Key Cards. The Bio Cards are PVC-based but includes enzymes to help the cards biodegrade completely within 18 months to five years. The Agri Cards are made from plants such as corn and the reNew Key Cards are made from recycled PVC. Sustainable Cards offers two types of key cards: an all-wood card and a hybrid wood... Read More

Energy Star Business Tools: Eco-Friendly Copiers

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There are a lot of reasons why you should choose to buy Energy Star copiers. You not only reduce total energy consumption at the office but you also save on office expenses such as paper, ink, drums among others. Most importantly, you are able to conserve the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emission released by copiers. In 1995, the US Environmental Protection Agency launched the Energy Star copier program. The program was conceptualized to address extreme wastage that copiers... Read More

Sony Ericsson Unveils Two 'eco-friendly' Phones

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Cellphone maker Sony Ericsson unveiled on Thursday two handset models it said are more eco-friendly, adding that the company will push greener features across its product line in the next two years. The new models, C901 GreenHeart and Naite, will be sold in smaller packages and have user manuals that are electronic. The devices use more recycled materials and consume less energy. "Today we are announcing ... a commitment to roll out these innovations across the broader portfolio in 2010... Read More

Toyota, Coda to Bring New Electric-Powered Vehicles to Market

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Toyota will soon begin selling a diesel hybrid lift truck that cuts fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions in half. The Geneo-Hybrid, which Toyota calls the world’s first internal combustion hybrid lift truck, will debut in Japan later this year, but the company hasn’t decided when it will enter the U.S. market. Toyota Industries Corp., the company’s lift truck manufacturing arm, adapted Toyota’s existing hybrid technology used in the ever-popular Prius to match the... Read More

K-Light Solar Powered Lantern

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The K-Light is an eco-friendly, innovative solar-powered lantern.  It is approximately the size and weight of a can of soda, the unique combination of its solar-charging battery and bright, energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs), make the K-Light unlike any other product available today. The small, lightweight and rugged K-Light is perfect for camping trips and other outdoor activities such as boating, hiking, and fishing trips. The K-light can be used for up to 20 hours... Read More