The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "U.S. Trademark Office" ...
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Brian Ross Investigates: Conduct Unbecoming
"In a year-long series of stories for World News and Nightline, ABC News' chief investigative correspondent and his team reported on a pattern of unbecoming and unethical behavior in offficial Washington that culminated in the revelation's of Congreeman Mark Foley's sexually-explicit internet messages with high school students who served as Congressional pages." Stories in the series also examine some of the consequences from the lack of an ethics code for the Supreme Court and a probe of unethical behavior of a retired U.S. General.
Tags: broadcast; financial disclosure forms; lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Congressman Tom Delay; Congressman Mark Foley; instant messaging; Congressional Pages; House Ethics Committee; Kyle "Dusty" Foggo; CIA; Air Force; Department of Defense Inspector General's Office; Federal Election Commission; Political Money Line; Federalist Sociey; legal ethics; Supreme Court; Congress; Pentagon; influence peddling; FBI; IRS; Brent Wilkes; Taxpayers for Common Sense; Keith Ashdown; Porter Goss; Thunderbirds; General T. Michael Mosely; Senator Tom Coburn; General Hal Hornburg; Project on Government Oversight; Danielle Brian; U.S. Trademark Office; General John Jumper; Blue Angels; midterm elections; access; Campaign Legal Center; Gerry Hebert; pay to play; House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children; sexually explicit messages; sexual exploitation; graphic language; solicitation; Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert; Internet sex; FBI investigation; Congressman Tom Reynolds
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Who owns my disease
Mother Jones reports on an unprecedented effort of a family to deal with their children's congenital defect by patenting the gene for the disease. "The Terrys have gained something no other family or patient group now has: a way to make sure that the genetics revolution benefits those with the most at stake," the magazine reveals. The story examines a recent pattern of genetic patents impeding new science developments, and looks at the efforts of various nonprofit groups to run their own scientific programs, funding researchers directly.
Tags: Human Genome Project; genetics; cancer; Canavan disease; Human Genome Sciences; PXE International; Alzheimer; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
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A Hot Stock's Dirty Secret
Fortune looks at the failure of Rambus, a technology design company to utilize completely its position as a holder of computer technology patents. The story follows the growth of Rambus from a tiny company, in 1992, to corporation demanding royalties on technology that represents 80% of the $32 billion market for chips, in 1999. The article describes how Rambus has been laid low, after a jury found out it has plotted to gather patents on standardized technology instead of disclosing them. "Rambus' problems have come not from the passing of an economic bubble but from its embrace of two age-old sins: duplicity and greed," Fortune reports.
Tags: technology; programmable latency; mode registers; low-voltage swing; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Siemens; DRAM technology; microprocessors; Joint Electron Device Engineering Council
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Gene Blues
Washington Monthly examines whether the Patent Office is "prepared to deal with the genomic revolution." The report looks at the administrative procedure by which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) examines the overwhelming flow of applications for patents on genes. The story describes how "examiners initially reject most submissions but subsequently accept about half after the applicant makes suggested revisions." It also reveals that from all the 30,000 humane genes in the genome, "about 1,000 have already been claimed, and an estimated 10,000-20,000 applications are pending..." The author draws the conclusion that PTO - although tightening its rules in a way - "has not yet tackled the ... issue of how companies use patents," thus potentially allowing corporate interests to harm public interest in the future.
Tags: law; pharmaceuticals; health care; Celera; Alzheimer's disease; diagnostic tests; research; government funding
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The Big Gene Profit Machine
ABA Journal examines how biotechnology law and patents on genes can change the cost of health care in the future. The story reveals that "about patent 1,000 applications involving human or animal DNA have been filed, and about 200 patents have been issued during the past five or so years." The report looks at the possible implications - both positive and negative for the public - of corporate interests involved in biotech research.
Tags: human genome; U.S. Patent and Trademark office; attorneys; laws; research; cloning; health; ethics; intellectual property; pharmaceuticals; insurance