Patent ruling
Gevo Inc. probably didn’t infringe a patent held by Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC, a joint venture of DuPont Co. (DD) and BP Plc (BP/), and is free to sell its renewable-fuel products, a judge said in a pretrial ruling.
Butamax sued Gevo, backed by the oil refiner Total SA (FP) and specialty-chemicals maker Lanxess AG (LXS), in 2011 alleging misuse of technology for genetically engineered microorganisms used to produce biofuels. U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson, in an opinion filed yesterday, denied Butamax’s request for a preliminary injunction to block Gevo’s fuel sales.
“The court finds it unlikely that plaintiff will prevail on its claim of infringement” at trial, Robinson wrote in a 25- page opinion in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. She also said that Gevo “raised a substantial question concerning validity” of two patent claims based on earlier inventions.
Gevo, based in Englewood, Colorado, is involved in several patent lawsuits with Wilmington-based Butamax. Gevo built a biofuels plant in Luverne, Minnesota, to produce renewable additives to be sold to oil refiners that make diesel and jet fuel. The Minnesota plant can also produce ethanol, according to court papers.
Sell Fuels
Based on the ruling, Gevo may sell fuels “in any market, to any customer, in any region,” the company said in a statement today.
Butamax said it plans to appeal.
“This is an early step in a long and complex litigation process,” Butamax Chief Executive Officer Paul Beckwith said in a statement. “We remain highly confident in the ultimate outcome of this case and our other cases against Gevo.”
The case is Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC v. Gevo Inc. (GEVO), 11cv54, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).
Buy Rating
Canaccord Genuity maintains a 'Buy' on Gevo, Inc. price target of $16.00.
Analyst, John Quealy, said, "We expect Gevo’s pioneering technology to successfully ramp into commercial production of cost-effective gateway chemicals, such as isobutanol, over the next 12 months. Volatility will remain elevated."
"Looking forward, remaining litigation likely continues for some time, in our
view (remaining a drag given legal expense). That said, risk is now significantly lowered, as upcoming milestones remain firmly intact. A capital raise also looks more likely in the near term ($150M shelf outstanding) with this hurdle now cleared."
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| Broker |
Here are 10 critical factors you'll want to consider:
1. Not look for Discounts always- Consider starting out with a full-service broker. They are often best for novice investors who may still need to build confidence and knowledge of the markets. As you become a more sophisticated investor, you can graduate into investing more of your money yourself.
2. Availability - Try hitting the company's website at different times throughout the day, especially during peak trading hours. Watch how fast their site loads and check some of the links to ensure there are no technical difficulties.
3. Alternatives - Although we all love the net, we can't always be at our computers. Check to see what other options the firm offers for placing trades. Other alternatives may include touch-tone telephone trades, faxing ordering, or doing it the low-tech way - talking to a broker over the phone. Word to the wise: make sure you take note of the prices for these alternatives; they will often be more expensive than an online trade.
4. Research the broker - What are others saying about the brokerage? Just as you should do your research before buying a stock, you should find out as much as possible about your broker. Gomez.com is a great place to find unbiased evaluations. Some other brokers, see links
5. Price - Remember the saying you get what you pay for. As with anything you buy, the price may be indicative of the quality. Don't open an account with a broker simply because they offer the lowest commission cost. Advertised rates for companies vary between zero and $40 per trade, with the average around $20. There may be fine print in the ad, specifying which services the advertised rate will actually entitle you to. In most cases there will be higher fees for limit orders, options and those trades over the phone with your broker. You might find that the advertised commission rate may not apply to the type of trade you want to execute.
6. Minimum Deposit - See how much of an initial deposit the firm requires for opening your account. Beware of high minimum balances: some companies require as much as $10,000 to start. This might be fine for some investors, but not others compare minimum deposits here
.
7. Product Selection - When choosing a brokerage, most people are probably thinking primarily about buying stocks. Remember there are also many investment alternatives that aren't necessarily offered by every company. This includes CDs, municipal bonds, futures, options and even gold/silver certificates. Many brokerages also offer other financial services, such as checking accounts and credit cards.
8. Customer Service - There is nothing more exasperating than sitting on hold for 20 minutes waiting to get help. Before you open an account, call the company's help desk with a fake question to test how long it takes to get a response.
9. Return on Cash - You are likely to always have some cash in your brokerage account. Some brokerages will offer 3-5% interest on this money, while others won't offer you a thing. Phone or email the brokerage to find out what they offer. In fact, this is a good question to ask while you're testing their customer service!
10. Extras - Be on the lookout for extra goodies offered by brokerages to people thinking of opening an account. Don't base your decision entirely on the $100 in free trades, but do keep this in mind.
With a click of the mouse, from just about anywhere in the world, you can buy and sell stocks using an online broker. The right tools for the trade are key to every successful venture. Finding success in the market begins with choosing the right broker.
Below are some recommendations see links
1. Not look for Discounts always- Consider starting out with a full-service broker. They are often best for novice investors who may still need to build confidence and knowledge of the markets. As you become a more sophisticated investor, you can graduate into investing more of your money yourself.
2. Availability - Try hitting the company's website at different times throughout the day, especially during peak trading hours. Watch how fast their site loads and check some of the links to ensure there are no technical difficulties.
3. Alternatives - Although we all love the net, we can't always be at our computers. Check to see what other options the firm offers for placing trades. Other alternatives may include touch-tone telephone trades, faxing ordering, or doing it the low-tech way - talking to a broker over the phone. Word to the wise: make sure you take note of the prices for these alternatives; they will often be more expensive than an online trade.
4. Research the broker - What are others saying about the brokerage? Just as you should do your research before buying a stock, you should find out as much as possible about your broker. Gomez.com is a great place to find unbiased evaluations. Some other brokers, see links
5. Price - Remember the saying you get what you pay for. As with anything you buy, the price may be indicative of the quality. Don't open an account with a broker simply because they offer the lowest commission cost. Advertised rates for companies vary between zero and $40 per trade, with the average around $20. There may be fine print in the ad, specifying which services the advertised rate will actually entitle you to. In most cases there will be higher fees for limit orders, options and those trades over the phone with your broker. You might find that the advertised commission rate may not apply to the type of trade you want to execute.
6. Minimum Deposit - See how much of an initial deposit the firm requires for opening your account. Beware of high minimum balances: some companies require as much as $10,000 to start. This might be fine for some investors, but not others compare minimum deposits here
.
7. Product Selection - When choosing a brokerage, most people are probably thinking primarily about buying stocks. Remember there are also many investment alternatives that aren't necessarily offered by every company. This includes CDs, municipal bonds, futures, options and even gold/silver certificates. Many brokerages also offer other financial services, such as checking accounts and credit cards.
8. Customer Service - There is nothing more exasperating than sitting on hold for 20 minutes waiting to get help. Before you open an account, call the company's help desk with a fake question to test how long it takes to get a response.
9. Return on Cash - You are likely to always have some cash in your brokerage account. Some brokerages will offer 3-5% interest on this money, while others won't offer you a thing. Phone or email the brokerage to find out what they offer. In fact, this is a good question to ask while you're testing their customer service!
10. Extras - Be on the lookout for extra goodies offered by brokerages to people thinking of opening an account. Don't base your decision entirely on the $100 in free trades, but do keep this in mind.
With a click of the mouse, from just about anywhere in the world, you can buy and sell stocks using an online broker. The right tools for the trade are key to every successful venture. Finding success in the market begins with choosing the right broker.
Below are some recommendations see links
The fifth film in the 'Resident Evil' series is going to hit the screens on September 14. The film 'Resident Evil: Retribution' is written and directed by Paul WS Anderson and stars Milla Jovovich and Sienna Guillory in the lead roles. Here is the trailer of the film.
The VLC app for Android devices is still in beta stage and is easily one of the most awaited Android apps.
Quite like its very popular desktop version, the Android app will also feature as a universal media player.
Here's a list of features that VLC for Android is expected to have:
- Play almost all types of media file formats
- Audio and video media library, with full search
- Support Android from 2.1 (Eclair) up to 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- Support for network streams
- Gestures, headphones control
- Subtitles support, embedded and external, including ASS and DVD subtitles
- Multi audio or subtitles tracks selection
- Multi-core decoding, for Cortex-A7 A9 and A15 chips
- Experimental hardware decoding
The VLC app for iOS devices was taken off after only a couple of months on the Apple App Store in January 2011 because of licensing issues. The GNU General Public License under which VLC is released is incompatible with the Apple App Store terms of service.
The VLC for Android has been under development for over a year now and an unofficial build was posted online in March this year.
New York University graduate student Marko Manriquez developed a hell of a thesis project for the school’s ITP program: A 3-D printer that assembles made-to-order burritos via a custom iPhone app. The project, dubbed Burritobot, is more than just a stunt novelty--it’s a sneak peak at the future of fast food.
Manriquez currently has the Burritobot in prototype mode. An early version of the burrito printer debuted at the ITP Spring Show. According to Manriquez, a variety of inspirations fueled the Burritobot--from Taco Bell, all the way to Hot Pockets:
However, Manriquez’s real genius is in streamlining--and automating--fast food assembly, and creating proof-of-concept for total lunch customization by the end user. The novelty of the Burritobot is besides the point; it also allows the eater to instruct a robot on how to create their meal in minute detail. Various fast food chains have played with the idea of letting users order by touch screen--the best known domestically is the beloved Pennsylvania-area convenience store chain Wawa. The web/iOS interface for Burritobot takes this to the next level by letting diners create their exact meal via proxy.
The ultra-competitive fast food industry is always looking for ways to engage customers, reduce costs, and reduce wait times for food. Burritobot’s technology might become a perfect exemplar of this, to the point where it even removes the human from the equation. As smartphones become integrated even more deeply into everyday life and mobile payment solutions such as Square and Google Wallet gain widespread use, fast food chains will do the next obvious thing and enable ordering via smartphone. If it’s good enough for Seamless or Grubhub, it’s good enough for McDonald’s and Domino’s (who are already there). Prototype systems for hamburgerbots or pizzabots that run safely, efficiently, and quickly with minimal interaction are also completely feasible with the right R&D investment. That’s great news for fast food corporations and their shareholders, but the technology also has deep consequences for America’s service sector as it matures over the next decade. Products don’t develop in vacuums, and corporate labs are working on similar products to Manriquez’s quirky invention--only with a much deeper profit motive.
If you are caught swearing in public, that’s a $20 fine. It was one of a string of fines the town passed on Monday night that also included a $50 fine for littering, a $50 fine for shoveling snow into the street and a $300 fine for smoking marijuana in public.
The ban comes at a time when swearing is at an all-time high: Los Angeles psychotherapist Nancy Irwin told MSNBC that the tough economy has prompted more cursing.
“I’ve been dropping the F-bomb every time I look at the Dow or my 401(k) statement!” April Thomas, a 35-year old freelance writer from Watkinsville, Ga., told MSNBC.
Banning swearing isn’t a new thing — there are also bans in Australia, Russia, Dubai and at least nine U.S. states. There are also other local ordinances against public cursing, including Rockville, Md. And St. Charles, Mo. Oh, and there was that time Goldman Sachs banned cursing in emails. (I guess when you’re doing god’s work, cursing is frowned upon!)
And, they make $20 look like a bargain: In Rockville, it’s a $100 fine and in Dubai, swearing is punishable by six months in jail.
To be clear, the Middleborough ban isn’t intended for the occasional curse word in a private conversation — it was meant more to curb loud public swearing by kids in downtown Middleborough.
Police Chief Bruce D. Gates said “cussing tickets would not be issued to two guys watching a sporting event that went bad or if someone who drops their ice cream drops an ‘F-bomb,’ according to the Patriot Ledger.
Thanks for clearing that up, chief. Just one more question — people drop the F-bomb over ice cream? I get over your 401(k) — but @#$%-ing ICE CREAM?!
Vaccines that don’t spoil have long been a hope of the international health community. Each year, 2.4 million people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. One of the primary reasons isn’t that there aren’t enough vaccines, it’s that they’re not cold enough. Vaccines need to be stored at quite low temperatures, and in many of the more tropical regions where they’re needed most, there isn’t power to keep them cool. Spoilage can account for wasting of 50% of vaccines, and some international nonprofits estimate that more than 10 times our current vaccine storage will be needed in the developing world over the next 15 years.
A new startup has decided to solve the problem in another way: Make vaccines that don’t need cold storage at all. Vaxess has just won the Harvard University President’s Challenge for social entrepreneurship and will receive $70,000 to commercialize new technology that uses silk to stabilize routine vaccines and eliminate the need for refrigeration in transport and delivery.We want it to be sustainably profitable, but it also has a huge potential global health benefit.
The technology involves extracting fibroin, a protein found in silk, to stabilize vaccines at temperatures of up to 113 degrees for up to six months. By transporting and delivering vaccines on a thin filmstrip of silk-derived protein, the need for refrigeration is eliminated, explains Kathryn Kosuda, another co-founder of the company. “The silk forms a matrix around the vaccine, so it’s a structural stabilization. One of the advantages is that it doesn’t change the structure of the vaccine so it doesn’t have to have its regulatory status [updated].”We’re trying to not disrupt the end health care worker at the other end, so administration of the shot would be the same.
Kosuda says that, normally, vaccines at room temperature spoil within a few days. Even stabilized vaccines still need to be kept cool, between 35 to 46 degrees and require refrigeration all along their lifetime of transport and storage. The plan is for Vaxess’s technology to add a last step in the process that wouldn’t change the end product. “At the present time, we’re trying to … not disrupt the end health care worker at the other end, so administration of the shot would be the same,” says Kosuda.
The team is working on the MMR (that’s measles, mumps, and rubella, all live virus vaccines) shot, but they hope to expand it to other vaccines as well. Schrader says the fledgling company is talking to pharmaceutical companies as well as assessing the safety of the technology in rotovirus, hepatitis B, and meningococcus vaccines.
All that extra shelf life could have a big impact. “More people die from vaccine-preventable diseases than HIV/AIDS, or diabetes-related problems around the world,” says Patrick Ho, another Vaxess founder.
The Federal Aviation Authority and NASA are collaborating to effectively regulate commercial and federally backed space flight. The FAA will regulate and license private U.S. companies launching from or reentering U.S. soil, as well as launch sites world-over, if they involve U.S. citizens. "Working together, we will assure clear, consistent standards for the industry," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement announcing the Memorandum of Understanding between the two. The FAA has signed over 200 space flight licenses so far, including a recent approval to Virgin Galactic for rocket-powered test flight of its WhitenNightTwo and SpaceshipTwo. Elon Musk's SpaceX-made Dragon capsule also just completed its first round trip as the first commercial vehicle to launch, dock with the International Space Station, and return to Earth.
Box Goes Global With London Office
Box, a tough player in the market for corporate cloud-storers in the U.S., is reaching across the Atlantic. AllThingsD has heard that the company is opening an office in London and will hire 100 employees in Europe this year, and an official announcement is due today. CEOAaron Levie told D that 40 percent of its 120,000 business and 110,000 individual users are from Europe--in fact, half of Box's traffic comes from outside the U.S. To help with its growth as a whole, Box has recently hired LinkedIn exec Stefan Apitz, the latest of a string of new senior hires.
Spotify Challenges Pandora With Free Radio For iOS
Spotify is challenging Pandora on home turf, finally launching a radio service for free for its iOS users in the U.S. Music on mobile was only available for Spotify's Premium subscribers (who fork over $10 a month), but Spotify's new service is free. AllThingsD picked up on a few characteristics of Spotify's radio service that were a little different from the way Pandora does things: For one, Spotify relies on a social graph (and the tastes of humans) to line up selections similar to a song or theme you picked. Pandora's method, on the other hand, is to use similarities in the musical structure of the song or band at hand.
Google+ API Expanding, Flipboard Integration Coming Soon
Google's Bradley Horowitz, VP of Product Management, has just announced at the LeWeb conference that it has partnered with Flipboard and that Google+ streams will soon be appearing in the app alongside familiar feeds from Facebook and Twitter. Horowitz revealed the news as part of a bigger reveal about Google+'s API, which is opening up properly for the first time, and which could transform how Google+ is used online. Google has faced some criticism until now that its API is restrictive, and while it integrates with other services like Twitter, it's only possible to send data out from G+ not into it--forcing active social networkers to directly login to the site if they want to engage with it. More interlinks are coming, Horowitz says, when it's "good for users and safe." The moves to link G+ to other online properties are an attempt to drive interest in Google's social web.
Fab Buys Llustre, Comes To The UK
Fab, the design-based social commerce site, announced today that it's headed to the UK after snapping up British site Llustre. The acquisition comes just one year after Fab launched, and it's the third company Fab has absorbed, following the acquisition of Fashionstake, which inaugurated its apparel vertical in January, and Casacanda in Germany, which launched the company's European operations in February.
As evidence of how quickly this new social-commerce industry is moving (and perhaps also why it pays to be a copy cat in a desirable geography), Llustre only opened its virtual doors in April. According to Fab, membership and orders on the site have tripled in the past five weeks. Fab is now relaunching Llustre as Fab UK. The company also says its European operations team has grown from 30 to 85 people in the last four months, and its membership there now tops 1 million. The company says it expects Europe to account for 20% of its sales in 2012.
Hearing a petition seeking action against a laughter club in the city, the Bombay High Court has observed that it is not proper to gather outside someone's house and laugh aloud.
The petition, filed by a family, alleged that members of a laughter club called Sheetal Jogging Association gathered at Sheetal Talao in suburban Kurla and laughed loudly causing "mental agony, pain and public nuisance".
Justice S A Bobade and Justice Mrudila Bhatkar, on Monday, asked the police to inform within a week what action they plan to take to restrain the laughter club from becoming a nuisance to the people in the area.
During earlier hearing, the court had directed the senior inspector of Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station to ensure that no such nuisance was caused by the club.
However, additional public prosecutor Aruna Pai said on Monday that she had no instructions on what action had been taken by the concerned police station and sought time to reply in the matter.
The petition said that every morning members assemble at Sheetal Talao at 7 am and sing bhajans and clap loudly.
"This is followed by loud and vigorous spells of laughter. They laugh at the top of their voices, every member encourages others to laugh to their heart's content", the petition, filed by 78-year-old Vinayak Shirsat, his son Shreeram and his daughter-in-law Deepti, submitted.
The petition further said that despite telling the members not to laugh too loudly, they refuse to listen.
The judges thereupon remarked "the police must solve this problem. It is causing unnecessary headache".
The three books in the series by 49-year-old author and mother-of-two EL James -- whose real name is Erika Mitchell -- have held the top three spots on the British paperback book chart for the past six weeks, The Sun reported.
At first, most sales of the series were of the more discreet ebook version.
But as the trilogy's popularity soared, 'Fifty Shades of Grey' has been Britain's best-selling book for the past nine weeks.
The success of the books has been due to "frustrated middle-aged mums", the daily said.
Erika Mitchell is now reportedly four million pounds ($6.3 million) after signing book deals and a Hollywood movie contract.
