Based in San Diego, CA, Insigne is a national law firm that specializes in helping clients obtain exclusive rights to their innovation through patents, trademarks, and copyrights, as well as defending those rights through court and United States Patent and Trademark Office proceedings. In the modern digital era, the rapid evolution of technology has meant a surge in intellectual property protection. According to Statista, there were more than 370,000 United States patents issued in 2019. With the onset of COVID-19 and to keep pace with the daily influx of IP disputes, many court proceedings are being conducted entirely online. However, showing the intricacies of patented inventions on video is challenge. To solve this problem the Firm needed a display solution that could show HD/UHD detail in videoconference settings.
“We had a patent infringe case about a gun part that would be used on a rifle to make it compliant with California law, and it was maybe an inch long,” said Trevor Coddington, Ph.D., co-founder at Insigne. “It wasn’t something that could be fully captured with a demonstration on a web camera.”
Insigne did not have to look far. Also located in San Diego is Insigne’s client HoverCam, a manufacturer of document cameras, digital teaching stations, and software. HoverCam and its founder, Ji Shen, are known in the education market for learning solutions that help teachers present and captivate students in new ways. The company holds 17 patents for its solutions, including the hardware and software technologies integrated into its document cameras.
Insigne had previously used HoverCam’s document cameras in internal meetings and on-premise court proceedings. Now, they found they would be well suited for presenting information in the legal system’s remote videoconferencing format.
HoverCam’s Solo 8Plus is a lightweight and compact document camera with a 13-megapixel sensor that captures clear images and live video in 4K. What sets HoverCam apart is its patented Adaptive Sensor Resolution (ASR) 480x zoom, which features the advantages of an optical zoom system but without the added cost, weight, and complexity. Using HoverCam’s ASR technology, Insigne has zoom range to focus in on the smallest inventions and seamlessly stream the shot via the videoconferencing platform in clear detail for everyone—the judge, jury, and lawyer—on the call to see.
Insigne’s remote court setup includes an all-in-one device videoconferencing hub with speakers and microphone connected to a 60-inch display. The HoverCam document camera is connected to a laptop and powered via a single USB cable. The laptop is logged into the videoconference platform and operates as its own feed.
“While HoverCam and Ji have transformed the playing field in education, the technology is a natural fit in the legal field, which is moving toward more videoconferencing over the internet” Dr. Coddington said. “The document cameras are so easy to use, they’re not a barrier to presenting the information. We can show judges and juries how a part is made, how it works, and how it operates. Those types of things are critical to patent law.”
