Ronald A. Katz
Encyclopedia
Ronald A. Katz is an inventor and president of Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing LP. His invention
s are primarily in the field of automated call center technology. Katz has developed a portfolio of more than 50 US patent
s covering his innovations. His inventions are related to toll free numbers, automated attendant, automated call distribution, voice response unit, computer telephone integration and speech recognition.
As a philanthropist and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
board member, Ronald Katz helped launch UCLA Operation Mend.
Is the son of late musician and comedian Mickey Katz, brother of Academy Award winning actor Joel Grey, and uncle to actress and Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey.
s over the phone using an automated system without the assistance of a live operator". In 1988, Mr. Katz formed a partnership with American Express Company to provide call processing services. That partnership later became First Data Corporation.
Ronald Katz has since founded Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. (RAKTL). RAKTL's primary purpose is to license the Katz patent portfolio to companies using automated call centers. Over 150 companies have taken a license to the patents. RAKTL has thus earned approximately a billion dollars in license fees. Garretson, Rob, "Intellectual Security: Patent Everything You Do, Before Someone Else Does", Security IT Hub, Dec 5, 2005] such as suing accused infringers who refuse to take a license.
An associate professor of patent law at the University of Missouri Law School in Columbia and author of the patent-law blog called Patently-O, said that he generally has no problem with a patent holder suing infringers. Similarly, a patent attorney and the President and Founder of IPWatchdog, Inc. stated that “it is probably better to think of Katz as one of the premiere American inventors who has been able to monetize his inventions by bundling his rights into a portfolio that he licenses to those who are using technologies that cover his innovation.”
run into hundreds of pages. "He has literally thousands of claims, and they differ only in trivial respects. Many are broad and vague, and sorting them out takes a lot of time, causing unncessary frustration. Raus." says an attorney who asked not to be named. Katz denies that his strategy is to overly amend and complicate his patents.
ordered four of the Katz patents to be reexamined
. The Director determined that a "substantial new question of patentability" had been raised. Since then, certain members of the public have also filed requests for reexamination of ten more Katz patents. These requests were based on said members of the public submitting new prior art that could raise "substantial new question of patentability" as to the validity of the patents. In three of the cases, the patent office disagreed and felt that the new prior art was not sufficiently strong to warrant a reexamination. In the other seven cases, the patent office agreed and ordered reexaminations. All reexaminations were still ongoing as of January 2007.
Invention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
s are primarily in the field of automated call center technology. Katz has developed a portfolio of more than 50 US patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s covering his innovations. His inventions are related to toll free numbers, automated attendant, automated call distribution, voice response unit, computer telephone integration and speech recognition.
As a philanthropist and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California....
board member, Ronald Katz helped launch UCLA Operation Mend.
Is the son of late musician and comedian Mickey Katz, brother of Academy Award winning actor Joel Grey, and uncle to actress and Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey.
Inventor and entrepreneur
In 1961, Ronald Katz co-founded Telecredit, Inc. This was the first company to "enable merchants to verify consumer checkCheque
A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...
s over the phone using an automated system without the assistance of a live operator". In 1988, Mr. Katz formed a partnership with American Express Company to provide call processing services. That partnership later became First Data Corporation.
Ronald Katz has since founded Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. (RAKTL). RAKTL's primary purpose is to license the Katz patent portfolio to companies using automated call centers. Over 150 companies have taken a license to the patents. RAKTL has thus earned approximately a billion dollars in license fees. Garretson, Rob, "Intellectual Security: Patent Everything You Do, Before Someone Else Does", Security IT Hub, Dec 5, 2005] such as suing accused infringers who refuse to take a license.
An associate professor of patent law at the University of Missouri Law School in Columbia and author of the patent-law blog called Patently-O, said that he generally has no problem with a patent holder suing infringers. Similarly, a patent attorney and the President and Founder of IPWatchdog, Inc. stated that “it is probably better to think of Katz as one of the premiere American inventors who has been able to monetize his inventions by bundling his rights into a portfolio that he licenses to those who are using technologies that cover his innovation.”
Characteristics
The written description of the invention in Katz's patents usually runs 20 to 40 pages, but the claimsClaim (patent)
Patent claims are the part of a patent or patent application that defines the scope of protection granted by the patent. The claims define, in technical terms, the extent of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application...
run into hundreds of pages. "He has literally thousands of claims, and they differ only in trivial respects. Many are broad and vague, and sorting them out takes a lot of time, causing unncessary frustration. Raus." says an attorney who asked not to be named. Katz denies that his strategy is to overly amend and complicate his patents.
Reexamination
In 2004, the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark OfficeUnited States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
ordered four of the Katz patents to be reexamined
Reexamination
In United States patent law, a reexamination is a process whereby a third party or inventor can have a patent reexamined by a patent examiner to verify that the subject matter it claims is patentable...
. The Director determined that a "substantial new question of patentability" had been raised. Since then, certain members of the public have also filed requests for reexamination of ten more Katz patents. These requests were based on said members of the public submitting new prior art that could raise "substantial new question of patentability" as to the validity of the patents. In three of the cases, the patent office disagreed and felt that the new prior art was not sufficiently strong to warrant a reexamination. In the other seven cases, the patent office agreed and ordered reexaminations. All reexaminations were still ongoing as of January 2007.
Partial list of Katz licensees
- AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
- Bank of AmericaBank of AmericaBank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
- CitibankCitibankCitibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
- Delta Air LinesDelta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
- Hewlett Packard
- Home Shopping NetworkHome Shopping NetworkHome Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
- IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
- MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
- Sears, Roebuck and CompanySears, Roebuck and CompanySears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
- WachoviaWachoviaWachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets...
- Wells FargoWells FargoWells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
- TD AmeritradeTD AmeritradeTD Ameritrade is an American online broker with over 6 million U.S. customers, and many more internationally, that has grown rapidly through acquisition to become the 746th-largest US firm in 2008. TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation is the owner of TD Ameritrade Inc...