Thanks to the Re-Issued April 16, 2013 Motion to Reconsider Order of Dismissal of Patent Claims for Failure to Prosecute document posted by The US Court of Federal Claims (reference Case Number 10-540C, CANVS V USA) I am proud to present the Top Ten US Government Programs that are named as potentially Infringing on my patent in CANVS V USA:
Just as a refresher, my patent deals with "sensor fusion", in the context of the devices in question they combine night vision (the green image intensifier imagery that amplifies visible and near infrared light in the scene, like from the scene in Silence of The Lambs) and Thermal or Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) night vision that is actually an image that shows the temperature of the objects in the scene, like in the scene at the precious metals depository heist in the movie Heat when Robert DeNiro's character, Neil McCauley, walks out front and hides in a dark corner and the technician in the SWAT van with Al Pacino's character, Lt. Vincent Hanna, switches to thermal to see McCauley standing in the shadows). Note that other technologies are also included because of the claim language ("enhanced photon based" and "thermal" imaging devices)
Here is a link to a video sequence the Army published that will get you up to speed:
http://vimeo.com/4532787
Number 10: DENVG [The Digital Enhanced Night Vision Goggle] |
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Number 9: FWS [The Fused Multi-Spectral Weapon Sight] |
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Number 8: FFW [The Future Force Warrior Weapon Sight Program] |
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Number 7: DVE [Drivers Viewer Enhancer, Sensor Fused Variant] |
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Number 6: GMS2 [The Gunship Multi-Spectral Sensor System] |
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Number 5: TSS [The AH-1Z Target Sight System] |
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Number 4: Pathfinder [Multi-Platform Sensor Fusion Electro-Optical Payload] |
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Number 3: Arrowhead Upgrade Program [AH-64 Sensor Fusion Electro-Optical Payload Upgrade] |
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Number 2: DUNS [The Dual Band Universal Night Sight] |
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And the Number 1 System is: ENVG [The Enhanced Night Vision Goggle] |
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If you are wondering how much money this involves, I can tell you that ENVG and DUNS alone are already well on their way to $6 Billion worth of expenditures.
The technical and patent law aspects of this case alone should be more than sufficient for CANVS to prevail. If one considers the history as well (including over 170,000 pages of hard copy evidence not counting video and soft copy historical documentation) the story is almost unbelievable (and I lived it). This is not a case of an inventor who was sitting in a room with no windows who got a US Patent and just waited for the Government to infringe, not by a long shot. Just to give you an idea of how many different components of the US Government I have been working with over the years, here is a short list from a document I created for Donald Rumsfeld after 9/11 that only covers the first few years of briefings and demonstrations (keep in mind I have been at this since 1996, and just think of how much rest stop vending machine snacks and airline peanuts I must have consumed!)
U.S. Military, Intelligence, and Law Enforcement Briefings & Demonstrations:
U.S. Army:
- U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Regiment
- Commander Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (COL Waldo Carmona)
- Company A, 1st Battalion 20th Special Forces Group
- Defense Combat Development Air Maneuver Battlespace Battle Laboratory
- Commander U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory
- Warrant Officer Career Center
- Army Institute for Surgical Research Fort Sam Houston
- Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner Fort Campbell Kentucky
- Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate (Brigadier General Jeffery Sorenson, Col. J. Kelly)
- Two Directors of The Communications-Electronics Command (Dr. Rudy Boozer, Dr. Fenner Milton)
- Dismounted Battlespace Battle Laboratory
- Joint Precision Strike Demonstration Office (Mr. Terry L. Jones, Sensors Director SFAE-IEW&S-JP)
- Army Research Office, Washington D.C. (Maj. Lyndon Wrighten)
- Army Material Command HQ (Major General Snyder)
- Picatinny Arsenal (Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System team)
- Aberdeen Proving Grounds (Mrs. Grayson CuQlock-Knopp)
- Army Physical Security (LTC Michael E. Bonheim, Program Manager)
U.S. Marine Corps:
- U.S. Marine Corps War Fighting Laboratory (Mr. Joe Thompson)
- U.S. Marine Corps Night Vision Laboratory
- U.S. Marine Corps System Command
U.S. Navy:
- Naval Research Laboratory
- Program Director Night Vision and Electro-Optics/Optics Naval Special Warfare Development Group
- U.S. Navy Special Warfare Command Headquarters
- U.S. Navy Special Warfare Group One
- U.S. Navy Special Warfare Group Two
- Explosives Safety Officer Night Vision, and Weapons Program Manager U.S. Navy Special Warfare Group One
- Naval Tactical Air Command
- U.S. Navy Sea Systems Command, Landing Craft Air Cushioned Office
- Naval Air Technical Data and Engineering Service Command (NATEC)
- U.S. Navy, Crane Indiana
- U.S. Navy PAX River, Electro-Optics Payload Division
U.S. Air Force:
- Commander U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (COL Bill Berkley)
- Wright Patterson Air Force Night Vision Operations Branch (Mr. Jeff Craig)
- U.S. Air Force Trial Judiciary Eastern Circuit
U.S. Coast Guard:
- U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach
- Opalocka Air Station
Joint Service:
- U.S. Special Operations Command Headquarters
- SOPMOD Working Group
- All Service Combat Identification and Evaluation Team
- Joint Special Operations Night Vision and Electro-Optics Working Group
- Unmanned Ground Vehicles/ Systems Joint Project Office
- JUXOCOE (Joint Unexploded Ordnance Center of Excellence)
- Biometrics Security Office
- LTC Peter S. Janker, Deputy Director, DoD Biometrics for Operations
DARPA
- Dr. Arthur Moorish Acting Director Advanced Technology Office, Currently Acting Deputy Director Tactical Technology Office.
- Dr. William Jeffery Deputy Director Advanced Technology Office.
- LTC John Blitch Program Manager Advanced Technology Office.
- Raymond S. Balcerak Program Manager Microsystems Technology Office.
- Dr. Parney Albright Program Manager Advanced Technology Office.
U.S. Intelligence Agencies:
- Central Intelligence Agency (Executive Director, and Office of Science and Technology)
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (Hostage Rescue Team)
- U.S. Department Of The Treasury (U.S. Customs Service)
- U.S. Department of Energy (Special Technologies Laboratory)
U.S. Law Enforcement:
- Deputy Director U.S. Marshals
- Executive Office of the President of the United States: Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center
- The Drug Enforcement Agency
- Airborne Law Enforcement Association
- The Coral Gables Special Weapons and Tactics Team
- The Metro-Dade County Special Weapons and Tactics Team
- The Miami Marine Patrol Special Weapons and Tactics Team
- St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Special Assistant to the Chief of Police
- President of The National Technical Investigators Association
- Captain Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Tucson Arizona
I will share with you a joke that I told at a briefing a long time ago (somehow it seems appropriate at this point in time). I was asked by a member of the audience, "Just how busy are you really?", I said, "If I told you, someone else would have to kill you...". There was an awkward silence for about three seconds (seemed like a life time as I stood at the podium) and then the entire room busted out in laughter and a standing ovation!
I can hardly wait to bring you up to speed on our other Federal Case, CANVS V SOCOM, that is my case involving CANVS Color Night Vision systems (Goggles and Video Systems) currently in front of the fine folks at this institution: http://www.asbca.mil. In theory we have a court date of 15NOV13 as of now depending on how loud they cry to the Judge about the shutdown and that the dog ate their homework!
If you can't wait check out the famous Green vs CANVS Color Night Vision Cigar Video:
http://www.canvs.com/CANVS-cigar.wmv
I can't tell you how many time I have had a laugh after reading what folks in chat rooms have said, claiming the video is rigged, just goes to show that one of the most dangerous things is that "you don't know what you don't know"! US Special Operations has had CANVS Color Night Vision Goggles in the field for over a decade at this point.
One last parting thought for this entry, it is really a severe condemnation of "The Media" that no one has chosen to run this story yet. I will have to tell you the story of my meetings with the President of CNN, and one of the VP's of FOX News, another time perhaps...
