Learn who Researches for Article One

• Ddenim
• Glen Kotapish
• Kepler
• Chun Ming (Eric) Wong
• David Manuta
• Yossi Shain
• Stacey Anderson-Redick

Ddenim

Article One was fortunate to catch up with ddenim, one of our successful Researchers, all the way from Africa! Ddenim joined Article One soon after we launched back in November of 2008 and since then he has been an active contributor to many of our Studies. We asked ddenim some questions with the goal of uncovering what makes for a successful Article One Researcher.

Q. How did you first learn about Article One?

Ddenim: I joined a few weeks after AOP started. I found information on AOP when I was doing some medical-related patent research for myself. When I was a medical university student, around 1998, one of my first publications was about search engines. At that time there was no Google yet. Some Yahoo, Altavista and Mamma (mamma= mother of all search engines, as was said on that web resource at that time).

Q. Where do you live?

Ddenim: I completed my studies in Eastern Europe. Now I’m in Northern Africa.

Q. What are you doing in Africa?

Ddenim: I'm a physician - doctor in medicine and specialist. There are many ill people here in Africa, so my interests are in Medicine and IT. I think I got the IT interest from my grandfather. He was lead engineer of coal mines, and he taught me to draw schemas and other things. I’m also in Africa to gain some other skills.

Q. That's wonderful. I can imagine you are very busy.

Ddenim: Hmm... Yes, I am but I can always find time for AOP work because I like it.

Q. What is your education background?

Ddenim: I received a Doctorate in medicine, and I am also a specialist. When I was a student I spent a lot of time In the Bio physics division of the University because the unit was full of IT devices.

Q. Which Article One Study have you most enjoyed researching so far?

Ddenim: One of my first AOP studies was the 'virtual worlds Study'. I remember when I was a student, our teacher asked us to study command prompt computer interaction (not just GUI for windows which is easier), and it was about Linux. To make it funny and interesting to learn Linux commands, he asked us to register in MUD (text based role playing games). The AOP world study was related to that, and I was unhappy with claims of worlds.com because I know how it started. So, I began contributing and worked hard for that study. I was 100% sure that 'we' would find a solution for that study, and sure enough AOP won. Unfortunately, it was another guy who found the solution (laughter).

Q. How do you choose which studies you participate in?

Ddenim: First, I check for myself and if I don't understand the question I never begin to work on the Study. I select studies where I feel good and comfortable. Of course, I’ve contributed for most of the healthcare related studies, but also some technology studies. I don't want the AOP review team wasting time. I'm not running for the Advisor Profit sharing points (but the Profit Sharing point system is awesome). I want to win the study.

Q. Which research tools do you frequently use?

Ddenim: I use WIPO open database. All information about patents is free. You don't need many things: A laptop, papers, pen, an internet connection, and friends that work in that field. Expensive software is not needed. You need only Microsoft Word and a Mac or Windows based operating system. If there are many documents or if you need to combine/explain (which will add to your profit sharing points), you may need to archive them before sending. For this, I recommend Winrar software.

Q. Which language(s) do you speak?

Ddenim: I know 5 languages: Russian, Ukrainian, French, English, and Arabic. So Ukraine not only has the Klithsko Brothers [Ukranian Boxing Champions], but also a good AOP advisor (laughter).

Q. Wow, that’s impressive. Do you conduct Research in all of these languages?

Ddenim: Not all of them, maybe 2 or 3. I would say English, Russian and French. Even though knowing 5 languages helps me, the patents and research are generally in English.

Q. Do you have special access to any particular databases, which you leverage for your research?

Ddenim: All medical information can be found on medical publishers web servers like Elsevier, Blackwell, Science Direct, etc. But all of that information is registered in search engines like Google. So today it's not very important to search in different databases, only one. Though, some articles may only be viewed if you subscribe to specific journals.

Q. You won one of the AOP studies right? Which study?

Ddenim: Yes. I want to say I'm not the only winner of the study. I won it with another advisor. It was Study WYE 814 about Hormonal Contraception

Q. In which database and language did you find the winning prior art?

Ddenim: I review much health related literature and I found some information that was relevant. I found the winning prior art via standard web search. Today search engines search all the globe, i.e. Google, Yahoo, etc. The winning prior art I found was in English. I also submitted a Bulgarian study about drugs for contraception with English abstract, but it was not the winning prior art.

Q. What will you do with the reward money?

Ddenim: I think I'll buy some gifts for family and friends, and work harder for the next Studies. I also won bonus money with my profit sharing points which was good!

Q. What do you think about Article One’s profit sharing program?

Ddenim: I trust AOP, and I trust in the power of other people. So if we keep working that way, we will win more studies.

Q. What advice would you give to a new Advisor researching his/her first Article One Study?

Ddenim: When working on patent research, I've found that the bad guys (patent trolls or just not ideal inventors) use a combination of hard phrases to understand and change terminology. So, to find the light in the tunnel one needs to understand the question well. In reality an invention should be easily understood by public.

Q. What would you say to somebody who was considering becoming an Article One Advisor?

Ddenim: I want to say that more professionals in all fields must join AOP. AOP is not only for patent attorneys/holders. If you like your work, if you monitor news, and if you like to know how things work from the interior, join AOP! About beginning in AOP:

1. Register
2. Read forum
3. Take a laptop + some papers and pens
4. Work!

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Glen Kotapish (clause8)

Researcher Glen Kotapish (clause8) brings a great deal of professional experience to Article One. Glen has his own patent research business in which he and others are contracted for their patent research skills. Fortunately for Article One, Glen is still able to make time to do research for our Studies. Glen was gracious enough to talk with us about his background and his experience with Article One.

Q. How did you first learn about Article One?

Glen: I first learned about Article One from Andy Gibbs the founder of Patent Café. Also, members in my inventors group talked about it. [Glen is the President of the Inventors Network of the Capital Area]

Q. Where do you live?

Glen: I live just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. I am very active in the Inventors Network of the Capital Area, which has been around since 1993. We are a nonprofit group, focusing on inventor education. The Inventors Network also focuses on IP protection, prototyping, investments, products and sales.

Q. What, if any, background do you have in patent research or research in general?

Glen: I have been in patent research for a number of years. Back in 2003, I started working with local patent search firms in the Washington, DC area. As a contractor, I developed my own clients. I started my own business called Planetpatent.com and I now have about 3 or 4 other contractors as well.

Q. What is your education background?

Glen: I have a Bachelors of Science in Aeronautical Science from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.

Q. Which study so far have you most enjoyed researching?

Glen: I found the Study related to the iPhone or iPod touch screen interesting [Study APPL 949]. I think any Study dealing with software and less hardware is challenging and more interesting. Also, I am interested in any patent search where the patent in question is only citing US patents and US published patent applications. It makes me wonder if only US patents and published US patent applications were searched at the patent application stage for the in question invention. Or maybe that the US documents cited are merely the US representatives of a larger patent family that includes foreign patents and foreign patent applications.

Q. What is your primary language?

Glen: My first language is English, but I have studied Arabic and Spanish on a formal basis. I also speak Nepalese on a basic conversational level.

Q. Which research tools do you frequently use?

Glen: For my research I use Google Patents, Thomson Delphion, a variety of semantic search engines, Espacenet, and the USPTO website database. I have enjoyed using Patent Cafés patent search product as a testing consultant and also as a paying user for a time but I do not use it anymore. I’ve also enjoyed testing and using LexisNexis’ TotalPatent semantic patent search engine. I’ve found strengths and weaknesses with each tool and database, but some of the recent enhancements companies have added are exciting.

Q. You won one of the AOP Studies right? Which study?

Glen: Yes, I won a reward for the Study related to cell phone technology [Study EMER 911].

Q. What was the process that led you to the winning prior art?

Glen: I approached this Study the same way I approached others. In any search, I look at it in a novelty sense and then get narrower and more specific with the claims. The exact process depends on technology and what results I see initially. Traditional classification searching is important. I usually start with broad searches and then narrow them, but not always. I’ve found that semantic searching is very nice and effective. This is a somewhat new tool and I really like it. Looking at the overall context of an invention is also an important part of the search process. This helps in identifying key terms and concepts that need to be kept in mind when looking for the right needle in a stack of needles.

Q. Where did you find the prior art which won the study?

Glen: I submitted a lot of relevant research but I am not sure which one was selected as invalidating prior art. Also, there were multiple winners for the study so I’m not sure which piece of the puzzle my research contributed.

Q. Have you made any good contacts through Article One? Perhaps through our forum?

Glen: I have looked at the Community Forum a bit. I would like to contribute more ideas there and see what others put.

Q. What do you think about Article One’s profit sharing program?

Glen: It is helpful that even though researchers are not necessarily winning the studies, they are still gaining and making money by submitting research.

Q. What advice would you give to a new Advisor researching his/her first Article One Study?

Glen: Pick up Patent Searching Made Easy by David Hitchcock. The book is not comprehensive but it is a great starter textbook. It will teach researchers the basics of where to look for prior art and useful techniques. The book also has templates in it for researchers to use. One of the biggest challenges for new researchers is knowing when they have exhausted certain avenues and knowing how to judge results.

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Kepler

Advisor Kepler recently won Study ETRI 029 which is related to technology used in a CDMA system. Kepler was kind enough to share his thoughts about Article One and his recipe for success!

I recently came across a skeptic of the AOP crowd sourcing "contest" model. I think a healthy level of skepticism for any contest is worthwhile. But I can tell you with certainty that AOP's crowd sourcing model applied to patent validity Studies is a real contest and pays real money to real study winners. When AOP conducts a validity Study it's using the knowledge of the crowd and applying an economic incentive to motivate this crowd of researchers. And the model works! I know because I've won a Study. My recipe is quite simple. Monitor the AOP Studies through the AOP weekly emails or the website and look carefully for a Study where you have some relevant knowledge and background. When you find a Study matching your interest and skill set, invest some time and read the patent. If you think you know the area then jump in and conduct a few quick searches to see if this is a rich area for prior art mining. Personally I use my college online library which is free to alumni, and I also use search tools like Google Scholar, and Google Patents. I'm always interested in finding other search databases that are free, so if you have any please post.

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Chun Ming (Eric) Wong (ericwong)

Researcher Chun Ming (Eric( Wong joined the Article One community after reading about us in various news websites. Eric is an entrepreneur with a special interest in novel technology and companies. He says that he was originally attracted by the relatively large reward that Article One offers to our advisors for each patent study. However, Eric ultimately ended up becoming an Article One Advisor to test his research skills and to learn more about patents and the process of discovering prior art.

Eric is no stranger to research; he has a PhD and has also completed a course in commercializing research. For the last Article One Patent Study that Eric researched, his preferred search engine was Google. Eric selected keywords which he thought were appropriate and searched for information about these keywords.

Eric loves innovation but despises companies who try to block true innovation using patents. Because of this, Eric is looking forward to seeing how Article One Partners can make an impact regarding patent research and change the patent validity field in the future.

To all of the potential advisors out there, Eric says, "Article One is a great starting place for budding patent attorneys to sharpen their skills and earn some extra cash."

All of us at Article One Partners welcome Eric to our community and wish him all the best in his future research!

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David Manuta (airedale)

Researcher David Manuta brings a wealth of experience to Article One. David is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Chemistry for SUNY at Binghamton University in New York, and he has a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Currently, David is President of Manuta Chemical Consulting, Inc. - MC², though in the past he has worked as an expert consultant, researcher, investigator and teacher. David’s profession occasionally involves the examination of patents relevant to an assignment, either in expert witness/litigation support or as a consultant.

After discovering Article One through one of our affiliate organizations, Nine Sigma, David first conducted research on a Speech Processing Patent Study. David says he immediately realized that previous patent examinations, that may have missed prior art, are potentially costly to consumers. He thinks that general patent research skills are going to be increasingly important, so the opportunity to work on prior art assignments is a useful tool to gain this expertise.

David's technology research interests and background are especially useful when he is conducting research for Article One Studies. When researching, David tries to carve out several hours where he expects to have few interruptions. He says, the intent is to understand why the prior art is important and to do exhaustive searches in order to uncover prior art of value. In regards to Article One, David says, “As an independent consultant, I know the importance of engaging in activities that provide both income potential and the possibility of learning something of value… Win-win propositions are ultimately the best kind.”

The win-win proposition that David speaks of is exactly what we are striving for at Article One. All of us at Article One are thrilled to have David as one of our successful Researchers. We wish David and all of you success in your research!

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Yossi (Joseph) Shain (yshain)

Researcher Yossi Shain lives in Israel and has been involved in the semiconductor industry for the past fifteen years. For the bulk of that time, he was involved in R&D commercializing parallel processing arrays based on content addressable memory, for video and 3D graphics. In his current capacity as IPR manager of Neonode Technologies, Yossi works with Soquel Group, who referred him to Article One. Yossi has authored several patents, including novel methods for addition and subtraction using content addressable memory cells.

Yossi is a liberal-arts enthusiast (and amateur tennis player), who arrived at engineering in the course of his work. He attended the School of Visual Arts, Juilliard, and City University of New York, before he began drafting patent applications for a patent attorney in 1996. Two years into that job, he was asked by an inventor to join his semiconductor start-up as a technical writer. As he became proficient in the company's technology, Yossi began giving technology seminars to engineers at large multinational corporations and was invited several times to guest lecture in the Tel Aviv University MSEE program. Yossi then joined Neomagic and became a software engineer and in-house guru for porting algorithms to the company's unique hardware, eventually managing a team that developed a 3D graphics library for the company's processor. Two years ago Yossi began working for Neonode, a small mobile phone start-up in Stockholm, Sweden, where he is IPR manager.

When conducting research for Article One Studies, Yossi’s familiarity with the technology landscape directs his search. He is very involved in mobile handset hardware, from SoC chips to touch screens. Yossi says, “Article One had a great idea to apply a social network model to harness the wealth of experience and knowledge out there and I am happy to be a part of this. Actually, it's the first social network scheme that I have seen successfully applied to deriving tangible results in any field. I am confident this model has exciting potential in many fields and look forward to watching how it develops across different industries.”

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Stacey Anderson-Redick (EagleEye)

Article One is proud to recognize Stacey Anderson-Redick. Stacey became an Article One Researcher after she read about our research platform in an online news article. With a Bachelor of Science and extensive experience in computer networks, Stacey is a valuable member of the Article One community.

Stacey was a network administrator/technician for a private school, and also held a similar position for a medical genetics department. The 8 years Stacey spent doing medical research proves helpful when she conducts research for the AOP healthcare Studies. Additionally, Stacey wrote a book titled Windows System Policy Editor and co-authored a number of papers.

While conducting research for Article One, Stacey makes a logical chain of research possibilities and follows them through. She often begins with learning the basics of the patent involved, sometimes using Wiki, and then moves on to reviewing similar patents, followed by journal articles.

When asked what brought her to Article One, Stacey says, "The joy of doing research with the possibility of a monetary reward (being paid for doing what I love) is what brings me back. It is meaningful work, in many ways."

Regarding Article One, Stacey says, " AOP is a place that respects your expertise and your own unique vision to better the patent system. The fact that their respect can have a dollar value helps immensely too.” In the future, Stacey sees Article One as “a place I can be connected to for years to come. A place I feel valued, and a place I can someday toast as being responsible for my new car!"

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