Daily Archives: August 22, 2021

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

As this fiscal year wraps up, many agencies are planning their response to compliance reporting requirements. Meeting these requirements -- particularly in advance of an audit -- can be incredibly time-consuming. While the Defense Department has made managing risk easier through Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), its still dependent upon IT staff to help ensure their systems are continuously secure and compliant -- throughout the year, not just at a point in time.

Government IT systems are complex, budgets are limited and threats are constantly evolving. Ensuring that those systems have the right security controls, processes and documentation in place to demonstrate compliance with security standards can be challenging, but the effort is highly manageable, especially with automation. Lets consider how government IT professionals can use automation to take the time and guesswork out of compliance.

The problem with STIGs

A STIG is a set of security hardening standards and maintenance processes for networks, systems and platforms all DOD IT assets must comply with. There are hundreds of possible STIGs -- each with thousands of rules that must be followed -- and the number only continues to rise as new systems, versions and updates come online.

Monitoring server and network configurations against these compliance policies can be cumbersome. Even with the best change-control processes, it requires an army of people to manage and track all the configuration changes happening within the IT infrastructure. If a system has a particular STIG applied to it and happens to deviate from that control, how would system and network administrators know?

This is particularly problematic because these changes are happening all the time. A system or device can deviate from a STIGs expected baseline configuration for any number of reasons -- such as a system update or when a patch is applied to a vulnerability. Sometimes the deviation is deliberate. For example, an application may not run properly without introducing permission or authorization settings that deviate from the STIG. In each of these instances, administrators must create an exception to the STIG. They must also explain and document the exception in preparation for an audit -- a painstaking process.

These manual, time-consuming compliance tasks can take weeks and cost a significant amount of taxpayer money to implement across applications, servers and networks.

How automation can help ease compliance

Automation is critical to lessening the compliance burden on IT pros and allows them to focus on other priorities.

Applications, systems and devices are constantly in flux, and staying on top of any configuration drift is challenging. This isnt just a compliance issue. Any configuration changes in the IT infrastructure can lead to security breaches, outages and slowdowns.

However, with automation, administrators dont have to monitor each system in a cache of thousands of IT assets for potential configuration changes. Instead, the moment a configuration starts to drift from baseline security tools, monitoring tools detect the change and proactively notify administrators in near-real-time. IT teams also have visibility into who has changed the configurations, what changed and the related performance impact.

With this insight, they can troubleshoot faster, eliminate vulnerabilities, improve security, build in exceptions and demonstrate compliance far more effectively and efficiently than manual processes will allow.

Automation can also remediate the tedious task of compliance reporting. Administrators can quickly produce FISMA and STIG reports from their configuration templates and easily generate audit documentation and reports -- work that would otherwise take weeks to complete.

Compliance automation can help break down the barriers between security and operations teams. System and network administrators must know their systems are configured in accordance with security policy, but they often lack access to the right tools. However, with the ability to monitor server and device configurations against compliance requirements, they can quickly identify and fix issues without burdening their peers in the security operations center.

Stepping up to automated compliance

Mitigating security risks is one of the most important tasks IT and network administrators undertake. Its also one of the most complex, time consuming and costly -- particularly as it relates to compliance. This is where automation can really shine -- helping the entire federal IT team achieve compliance and deliver compliance reporting while lightening their load.

About the Author

Brandon Shopp is VP of product strategy with SolarWinds.

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How automation takes the time and guesswork out of security compliance - GCN.com

The Transform Technology Summits start October 13th with Low-Code/No Code: Enabling Enterprise Agility. Register now!

The number one reason knowledge workers regardless of role use automation is to save time, according to a new survey by Zapier. Marketers save the most time due to automation tools, an average of 25 hours saved each week, followed by IT professionals at 20 hours, customer service representatives at 16 hours and HR professionals at eight hours. The amount of time saved translates into each roles loyalty toward automation.

For example, marketers (86%), IT professionals (88%), and customer service representatives (79%) are also the most likely to say that theyll implement automation software in their next role. Most surprisingly, nearly 30% of knowledge workers say they received a raise or promotion as a result of using automation software. Additionally, knowledge workers say using automation tools improved their morale (35%), competence (34%), and confidence (32%) at work. Employees who dont have to stress about tedious tasks, inaccurate data, and miscommunication can help create a happier and more confident workforce.

How you use automation and how it benefits you depends a lot on your role. Accountants found that reduced errors (33%) was the primary benefit of automation. Given the detail-oriented nature of this role that makes sense. IT professionals said that receiving a promotion (36%) was the primary benefit. IT professionals are expected to help streamline other peoples work, so it makes sense that automation could help them get a promotion. Sales and customer service representatives cited increased confidence (35%) as one of the primary benefits. These high-pressure and often micro-managed roles are benefitting from the confidence automation can provide.

More than half of knowledge workers use automation tools every day. Marketers are leading in automation usage, which means there is considerable opportunity for other roles to catch up.

Read the full report by Zapier.

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Zapier: 60% of knowledge workers use automation to save time - VentureBeat

UiPath came seemingly out of nowhere in the last several years, going public last year in a successful IPO during which it raised more than $527 million. It raised $2 billion in private money prior to that with its final private valuation coming in at an amazing $35 billion. UiPath CEO Daniel Dines will be joining us on a panel to discuss automation at TC Sessions: SaaS on October 27th.

The company has been able to capture all this investor attention doing something called robotic process automation (RPA), which provides a way to automate a series of highly mundane tasks. It has become quite popular, especially to help bring a level of automation to legacy systems that might not be able to handle more modern approaches to automation involving artificial intelligence and machine learning. In 2019 Gartner found that RPA was the fastest growing category in enterprise software.

In point of fact, UiPath didnt actually come out of nowhere. It was founded in 2005 as a consulting company and transitioned to software over the years. The company took its first VC funding, a modest $1.5 million seed round, in 2015, according to Crunchbase data.

As RPA found its market, the startup began to take off, raising gobs of money, including a $568 million round in April 2019 and $750 million in its final private raise in February 2021.

Dines will be appearing on a panel discussing the role of automation in the enterprise. Certainly, the pandemic drove home the need for increased automation as masses of office workers moved to work from home, a trend that is likely to continue even after the pandemic slows.

As the RPA market leader, he is uniquely positioned to discuss how this software and other similar types will evolve in the coming years and how it could combine with related trends like no-code and process mapping. Dines will be joined on the panel by investor Laela Sturdy from CapitalG and ServiceNows Dave Wright, where they will discuss the state of the automation market, why its so hot and where the next opportunities could be.

In addition to our discussion with Dines, the conference will also include Databricks Ali Ghodsi, Salesforces Kathy Baxter and Puppets Abby Kearns, as well as investors Casey Aylward and Sarah Guo, among others. We hope youll join us. Its going to be a stimulating day.

Buy your pass now to save up to $100. We cant wait to see you in October!

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TC Sessions: SaaS 2021? Contact our sponsorship sales team byfilling out this form.

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UiPath CEO Daniel Dines is coming to TC Sessions: SaaS to talk RPA and automation - TechCrunch

DUBLIN, Aug. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Industrial Control & Factory Automation Market by Solution (SCADA, PLC, DCS, MES, Industrial Safety, PAM), Component (Industrial Robots, Industrial 3D Printing, Process Analyzer, Machine Vision, HMI), Industry, Region - Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The industrial control & factory automation market size is expected to grow from USD 133.1 billion in 2021 to USD 197.8 billion by 2026; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2021 to 2026

The key factors driving the growth of the market include adoption of emerging technologies such as IoT and AI in industrial environments, emergence of connected enterprises and requirement of mass manufacturing of products, government initiatives to promote industrial automation, emphasis on industrial automation and optimum utilization of resources, and fiscal policies formulated by regional financial institutions to keep manufacturing facilities floating amidst COVID-19 crisis.

Market for industrial sensors to account for largest market share in component during the forecast period

The industrial sensors segment is expected to hold the largest share of the industrial control & factory automation market. The growth of the industrial sensors segment is driven by the growing adoption of Industry 4.0 and IIoT, and the growing wireless sensors market.

Predictive maintenance is expected to offer lucrative opportunities to the players in the industrial sensors market in the coming years. Predictive maintenance is enabled by 3 major solution enhancements over a traditional maintenance schedule: capturing sensor data, facilitating data communications, and making predictions. As sensors are an important part of predictive maintenance solutions, the demand for industrial sensors is expected to increase significantly in the coming years.

PAM solution to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

The PAM segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The growth of this segment can be attributed to the increasing deployment of PAM solutions in process and discrete industries to build a comprehensive data repository related to different equipment installed in these plants, right from their uptime performance to their life cycle cost assessment.

Oil & gas process industry to account for largest market share during the forecast period

Industrial control & factory automation solutions can enable the oil & gas industry to monitor the facilities remotely and gain insights into daily inventory and equipment conditions. Remote monitoring can compensate for the shortage of skilled workforce for collecting equipment data. It also reduces the risk to the lives of employees and improves the overall safety and efficiency of industrial workers.

Medical devices discrete industry to grow at highest CAGR during the forecast period

In the medical devices industry, industrial control & factory automation solutions help improve manufacturing processes, planning, technology assessment, third-party services, and remote support. Industrial control & factory automation technologies also help reduce recalls and wastes and increase the profitability of the companies engaged in the manufacturing of medical devices due to precision in manufacturing.

APAC is expected to capture largest market size during the forecast period

The APAC industrial control & factory automation is projected to capture the largest market size, driven by the increasing adoption of automation technologies across industrial sectors in China and India. Factory automation is increasing in China, due to high labor wages and the presence of a large number of automotive manufacturing plants. Growing population, rising standards of living, and developing economies have led to the rising demand for energy.

It is estimated that APAC could drive approximately 65% of the global energy demand by 2035, with China and India collectively expected to fulfill 40% of the demand. Oil and gas companies in North America and Europe have started investing in APAC to fulfill the growing energy demand. The increasing energy demand would lead to the development of the energy sector, including oil & gas and power industries. This, in turn, would generate demand for automation products in the APAC region.

Major players operating in the industrial control & factory automation market include ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Endress+Hauser AG (Switzerland), Emerson Electric Co. (US), General Electric (US), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (US), Schneider Electric SE (France), Siemens AG (Germany), Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (Japan), Honeywell International Inc. (US), and Yokogawa Electric Corp. (Japan).

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Restraints

Opportunities

Challenges

Case Studies

Technology Analysis

Company Profiles

Key Players

Other Players

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/o75mta

Media Contact:

Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [emailprotected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

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Global Industrial Control & Factory Automation Market Report 2021: Market is Expected to Reach $197.8 Billion by 2026 - Opportunities in the...

What You Should Know:

78 percent of health systems are currently using or are in the process of implementing automation in their revenue cycle operations, according to recent survey results from AKASA, a South San Francisco-based revenue cycle management automation company. The key findings signal automation in healthcare is no longer an emerging trend but is mission-critical for driving efficiency and cost-effectiveness in revenue cycle operations.

According to the survey, health systems (versus hospitals) are statistically more likely to be currently using or implementing automation tools in their revenue cycle operations. Survey results also show that as the size of the organization increases so does their use of automation tools with the largest healthcare providers, those with $1B $10B net patient revenues, most actively using or implementing these tools.

COVID-19 Impact on Revenue Cycle

COVID-19 has placed many healthcare organizations under intense cash-flow pressure and created volatile claim volumes and workloads for revenue cycle teams. These dynamics are driving more revenue cycle leaders to look to automation to provide flexibility and resiliency in their operations while minimizing their organizations cost to collect. The survey also found that 37% of organizations currently not using automation plan to do so this year or sometime in 2022.

Increase Focus of Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Commissioned by AKASA, the survey fielded responses from nearly 400 chief financial officers and revenue cycle leaders at hospitals and health systems across the United States through the Healthcare Financial Management Associations (HFMA) Pulse Survey program between May 27, 2021 and June 28, 2021.

Results demonstrate that the increasing focus on digital transformation efforts in healthcare has driven the adoption of automation to help manage claims, billing and reimbursement processes. The majority of health systems and hospitals, (more than 66 percent) say they are now using or implementing automation in their revenue cycle operations.

The findings underscore that automation serves as a backbone for healthcare financial leaders looking to streamline complex staff workflows, said Malinka Walaliyadde, co-founder and CEO of AKASA. The opportunity going forward for provider organizations is to expand their ambitions and scope for automation. Instead of identifying dozens of small, discrete use-cases and never getting past the first few due to high setup and maintenance costs, leaders should consider solutions that can be deployed rapidly with minimal disruption. The goal is foundational, end-to-end automation for entire functions, driving giant leaps in efficiency.

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Provider Adoption of Automated Revenue Cycle Operations On The Rise - HIT Consultant

Advertisers need to come together with media, measurement and ad-tech companies to support the growth in advanced TV. Their partnerships will lead to greater automation and better outcomes that drive more investment in advertising as linear TV and digital video converge.

Kevin Lemberg, head of partnerships for advertising solutions at Comcast Technology Solutions

There has to be some sort of unification and some sort of common language and goals between the partners within a solution or technology that were offering out to the industry, he said. Partnerships are going to be very important to round out the technology offering and the solutions for the industry in order for us to move forward.

Jen Soch, executive director of specialty channels at WPPs GroupM

Were really seeing an idea where we can be with addressable and CTV part of the main video recommendation that goes into what were doing with a client, and look at it more holistically. she said. I do see a lot more interest in bringing it [addressable and CTV] very much to the forefront and being a bigger part of their overall play.

Kelly Abcarian, executive vice president of measurement and impact at NBCUniversal

Interoperability across linear and digital without losing the value of premium content along the way is going to be so critical, she said. If we lose and swing the pendulum too far to audiences only, imagine content being cheapened over the coming years and basically creating a society that the value is placed on audiences alone.I look forward to working with the industry on how, as we try to equivalize and become more interoperable, we dont lose the value of premium content.

Kristine Bayles, vice president of advanced advertising sales at AMC Networks

Addressable TV enables us to get the insights into communication and driving deeper understanding in the industry, she said. We all know TV is important, but CTV and VOD is just as importantViewership is truly fragmented now, and its not that less people are consuming, theyre just consuming differently. We need to understand this, and move forward with converged impressions.

Mark Marshall, president of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal

Our goal on that [automated workflows] is to work with our partners on the agency side be able to get rid of about 30% of the manual work that we do, he said. How do we find different APIs [application programming interfaces] and different ways to interact, and take out some of the manual elements to allow us to move faster and hopefully improve margins for clients.

Nicole Whitesel, executive vice president of advanced TV and client success at Publicis Media

We need systems that collaborate tools that talk to each other, data that can break down those walls, IDs that can understand each other, she said. Better sharing of that data enables us to have conversations with our clients about outcomes, and outcomes that deliver change to their business, and outcomes that change the way they decide media mix.

Vicky Fox, chief planning officer at OMD UK

Weve moved from a place where people were quite wedded to a linear schedule, she said. Self-scheduling is going to be the norm for everybody. Anybody who switches on the TV and either looks at their connected TV menu or their EPG [electronic programming guide] can see how much has changed, because some of the linear schedules may take second place.

Richard Nunn, vice president and general manager of advertiser solutions at Comcast Technology Solutions

Through automation and understanding what has worked and what hasnt in more real time across channel that in principle, should mean a greater ROI across what is a fragmented channel base, he said. Theyll drive that solution a lot more efficiently because of technology.

You are watching Whats Next For Advertisers? Key Changes That Will Drive The Industry Forward, a Beet.TV leadership series presented by Comcast Technology Solutions. For more videos, please visit this page. For Comcast Technology Solutions paper on these topics, please visit this link.

Editors Note: Special thanks to Jon Watts who collaborated and reported for this series.

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Partnerships, Automation Underpin Future of Advanced TV: Execs from Comcast Technology Solutions, , GroupM, NBCUniversal, AMC, Publicis, OMD Beet.TV...

Samsung has announced SmartThings Edge, which isnt necessarily a new product, but a backend for all of your interconnected SmartThings gizmos and gadgets.

Its technically a new hub architecture, and Samsung says it should make all of your home automations even faster and easier.

The biggest takeaway from this announcement is that you wont see anything different on your app or directly with your devices. But going forward, your SmartThings Hub will be handling automation processing on device, instead of relying not he cloud for that processing power.

Theres some big advantages to this, including less latency and more reliability. Even if your internet is getting a little spotty, your automations should still work without a hitch, and theyll be quicker than they were before. You can also fully run your automations while offline, in case youre in a complete internet outage or maybe you just specifically dont have internet at your home.

Additionally, developers can now build device drivers with Lua as part of moving away from the old SmartThings platform, which should speed things up for other devices that youre trying to automate. Win/win all around.

Read more: SmartThings

Born in southern Alabama, Jared spends his working time selling phones and his spare time writing about them. The Android enthusiasm started with the original Motorola Droid, but the tech enthusiasm currently covers just about everything. He likes PC gaming, Lenovo's Moto Z line, and a good productivity app.

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SmartThings Edge will automatically make your home automations even faster by ditching the cloud - TalkAndroid

There was a time not too long ago when home automation was for cartoon space families and spy movies. But, with advances in technology, now anyone with a smartphone can automate their home, benefiting from scheduled and voice-activated lights, security systems, climate control, and more.

With so many smart-home products available, however, getting started with home automation can seem overwhelming. If youre new to home automation, this guide will get you acclimated and pointed in the right direction.

Related: The Best Smart Switch for Your Smart Home

The first step to home automation is choosing the best smart-home system, also known as an ecosystem, for your situation. Home automation newbies have lots of choices.

Generally speaking, the ecosystem that is best for you starts with a digital assistant or smartphone. Alexa and Google Assistant are favorites among Android users, while Siri from Apple is the clear choice for iOS users. From there, users can choose devices that are compatible with their Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, or other ecosystems. Some devices, like Philips Hue, utilize a smart hub to control devices, but more on that in a bit.

Beyond the devices compatibility, many home automation devices require a hub or bridge to unlock their full potential. The hub acts as the link between the users phone or digital assistant and the smart devices. Rather than using Wi-Fi to communicate between the devices, the hubs utilize radio signals.

In most cases, you dont need a hub to set up home automation. The appropriate app and ecosystem compatibility are usually enough. However, hubs can actually improve security. With fewer signals sent back and forth via Wi-Fi, there are fewer opportunities for tech-savvy thieves to steal the identifying information they might need to link to the Wi-Fi or access cameras.

When it comes to setting up home automation, new users might find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of devices they can automate: lighting, security systems, door locks, thermostats, sprinkler systems, window blinds, and more. For non-smart enabled devices, smart plugs can control on-off appliances like fans, some window air conditioners, holiday lights, and even coffee pots. Users can even replace standard light switches with smart switches.

When choosing these devices, check that theyll work with your chosen ecosystem. Some devices are compatible with Alexa and Google Home but not with Apple HomeKit. No device is genuinely universal.

Related: 6 Things to Know Before Switching to a Smart Thermostat

Smart-home devices tend to be much more expensive than standard home devices and equipment, so be ready for some sticker shock. A standard light bulb costs about $3, while a high-quality smart bulb could cost more than four times that price.

The following ranges provide a bit more background on the cost of automating a home with the best smart-home devices:

In almost any product category, there are less expensive options that work just as well as the big names. With home automation, however, thats typically not the case.

High-quality brands offer user-friendly apps, and theyre less likely to lose W-Fi connectivity or stop responding with the hub. The big-name brands like Philips, Apple, Amazon, Google, Nest, Belkin, Wemo, Arlo, iRobot, Ring, Sylvania, and August are the most trustworthy and least likely to cause frustration.

Apple HomeKit is an obvious choice for iPhone, iPad, and MacBook users, but the products are typically a little more expensive than Google Home or Amazon products. However, all three brands do a good job of updating and remaining relevant rather than outdated.

The Philips system is one of the more expensive lighting and smart home ecosystems, but its a well-oiled machine and usually worth the investment. For security, Ring and Arlo products are typically at the top of the heap.

Related: The Best Smart Switch for Your Smart Home

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A Beginner's Guide to Home Automation and the Best Smart Home Gear - BobVila.com

In the latest development relating to patent eligibility of content-based identifier patents, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed decisions finding patent claims ineligible under 35 U.S.C. 101. PersonalWeb Techs. LLC v. Google LLC, YouTube, LLC, Case No. 20-1543 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 12, 2021) (Prost, J.) (consolidating PersonalWeb Techs. LLC v. Facebook, Inc., Case No. 20-1553, and PersonalWeb Techs. LLC, Level 3 Commcns. LLC v. EMC Corp., VMWare, Inc., Case No. 20-1554).

PersonalWeb sued technology companies in the Eastern District of Texas in 2011 over three of its patents. The patents were directed to data-processing systems that assign each data item a substantially unique content-based identifier, generated by hash algorithm, which changes when the content changes and is used to perform data-management functions. Several defendants successfully motioned for transfer to the Northern District of California, where their companies were headquartered and/or their employees responsible for the development of the accused products were based. After claim construction in Texas, the cases were transferred and stayed pending several inter partes reviews before the US Patent Trial & Appeal Board (Board). Previous decisions before the Federal Circuit affirmed the Boards findings that using hash-based identifiers for data management was disclosed in the prior art; that content-based identifiers in performing file-management functions, such as backing up files, were also known and that many claims of the asserted patents had other unpatentable aspects. After the stay was lifted, the California court granted the defendants motion for judgment on the pleadings that the remaining asserted claims were patent ineligible under 35 U.S.C. 101. PersonalWeb appealed.

To assess patent eligibility, the Federal Circuit applied the two-step Mayo/Alice framework. Under step one (determining whether the claims at issue are directed to a patent-ineligible concept, such as an abstract idea), the Court considered the focus of the claimed advance over the prior art and found that the claims were directed to an abstract idea. PersonalWeb contended that its claims were directed to a substantially unique, algorithm-derived, content-based identifier for all data items in a networked computer, which allows a computer within a network containing diverse computing and storage systems to locate and distribute data without knowing either the file system of any device within the network or the conventional name of any data item. However, the Court adopted the district courts view, which was that the patents were directed to (1) using a content-based identifier generated from a hash or message digest function, (2) comparing that content-based identifier against something else, [that is,] another content-based identifier or a request for data; and (3) providing access to, denying access to, or deleting data. Given the focus in Mayo/Alice step one of whether the claims of the asserted patents fall within the excluded category of abstract ideas, and citing to parallel examples from precedent cases, the Court concluded that the claims were directed to the use of an algorithm-generated content-based identifier to perform the claimed data-management functions, which include controlling access to data items, retrieving and delivering copies of data items and marking copies of data items for deletion.

The Federal Circuit found that these functions were merely mental processes that can be performed in the human mind or using a pencil and paper, and that the claims focus were mere automation of manual processes using generic computers. As the Court explained, the step one inquiry looks to the claims character as a whole, rather than evaluating each claim limitation in a vacuum. In that regard, the Court found that the claims were merely a combination of the individual abstract-idea processes. PersonalWeb attempted to argue that similar to the circumstances in DDR Holdings, the claims offered a solution necessarily rooted in computer technology in order to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks, but the Court regarded the asserted efficiency improvements as no different as a library using content-based identifiers to purge duplicate books.

As for Mayo/Alice step two (considering the elements of each claim individually and as an ordered combination to determine whether the additional elements transform the nature of the claim into a patent-eligible application), the Federal Circuit did not find any such transformation. PersonalWeb argued that the claims applied inventive use of cryptographic hashes in a way that was not conventional nor routine prior to the patents. However, as noted, such use of hashes had already been found to be neither novel nor nonobvious, and the Court found that using content-dependent cryptographic hashes in place of conventional names failed to supply something more, much less significantly more, than the abstract idea itself.

In a non-precedential companion opinion released the same day, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district courts claim construction of unauthorized or unlicensed to mean not compliant with a valid license, and construed authorization to mean a valid license. In Re: PersonalWeb Techs. LLC, Case Nos. 20-1566, -1568, -1569 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 12, 2021) (Lourie, J.) In its appeal, PersonalWeb argued that the claim construction failed to give meaning to all of the words in the claim by ignoring the disjunctive or and reading unauthorized out of the claim. The Federal Circuit agreed with the district court that unauthorized or unlicensed should be treated as a single concept relating to the claimed purpose of controlling access to licensed content. The Court cited to the following: The patent abstract and specification, which treated these terms interchangeably; a Supreme Court of the United States ruling that or can be used to connect synonyms in the context of statutory construction and the Federal Circuits previous recognition that tenets of statutory construction can apply equally in interpreting patent claims. The Court found that the intrinsic evidence did not support any other type of authorization and refused to prioritize what it called unclear portions of the prosecution history from the patent family over the clarity with which authorized and licensed were used interchangeably in the written description. In light of the Courts precedent in Phillips v AWH Corp., the Court also found that the prosecution history represents an ongoing negotiation between the PTO and the applicant, rather than the final product of that negotiation, it often lacks the clarity of the specification and thus is less useful for claim construction purposes.

Practice Note: In drafting the claims and specification, take care to describe technological advancements in a manner that avoids allegations of mere automation. When reciting [A] or [B] in the claims, applicants should consider whether such terms are intended to be interchangeable and should use such terms throughout the specification and claims with intention.

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Without More, Mere Automation is AbstractNot Construing Interchangeable Terms Doesnt Give Them the Cold Shoulder - JD Supra

The delta variant is draining the global economy and destroying consumer confidence.

Democrats are struggling to get their infrastructure bill through.

And recovery stocks are suffering as a result.

But today, we look beyond the bad news and explore the opportunities waiting on the other side.

In this edition ofYour Money Matters, Ted and Clint show why automation and robotics in America are primed for major growth, why investors should get positioned now for the profits ahead and two ways to invest in the coming productivity boom.

In an interview with Barrons, Ed Yardeni calls this decade the Roaring 2020s and believes annual productivity growth could double from 2% to 4%.

But its not just about technology

You have an aging society, falling birth rates, resistance to immigration and a labor force growth of less than 1%.

So, are businesses willing to increase wages to keep workers or will machines replace the need for labor?

Ted and Clint predict the latter and show you charts to prove how bright the future is in automation and robotics.

Watch todays installment of Your Money Matters to also discover:

Click here to watch this weeks video or click on the image below:

(Click here to view video.)

Good investing,

Angela JirauPublisher, The Bauman Letter

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Previous Profit From the Coming Surge in Robotics and Automation - Banyan Hill Publishing