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By Bloomberg

The Boeing Co., the maker of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft, has patented a system that will make it easier for passengers to return to their seats.

Patent 8,896,456 covers what the Chicago-based aviation company calls a seat location system.

According to the patent, the invention is comprised of a method and apparatus for indicating a seat in the passenger cabin of an aircraft. Boeing said that when passengers get up from their seats -- typically to use the restroom or to talk to another passenger -- they often have trouble finding their assigned seat when they wish to sit down again. “The embarrassment of appearing to be lost may occur when seats are difficult to find and may be embarrassing for the passenger,” the company added.

The invented technology includes an indicator that is activated when the passenger leaves his seat. Boeing envisions a variety of potential indicators, including an incandescent light, a light emitting diode, a light projector, a display screen, a digital sign, electronic paper, electronic ink or “other suitable types of devices.”

Boeing said this system, while planned for an aircraft cabin, could also be employed on a bus and train, or in auditoriums and stadiums.

The aviation company applied for the patent in March 2013, with the assistance of Yee & Associates LLC of Dallas, Texas.

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Trademark

Kalashnikov Seeks to Register ‘AK-47’ Mark For Christmas Goods

Kalashnikov Concern JCC, the Siberia-based Russian weapons maker, has applied to register the term “AK-47” as a trademark, New Delhi Television Ltd. reported.

The application covers a class of merchandise that includes games and toys, gymnastic and sporting articles, and Christmas tree decorations, according to NDTV.

Kalashnikov’s AK-47 is one of the world’s most recognizable weapons, with worldwide sales of more than 100 million rifles, NDTV reported.

Russia’s intellectual-property rights court has rejected a demand by Kalashnikov Concern to suspend a trademark showing the image of a rifle with AK-47 used by M.T. Kalashnikov, a company owned by relatives of the late Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the rifle, according to NDTV.

Chanel Settles Trademark Dispute With Indiana Beauty Salon

Chanel Inc., the New York-based cosmetics firm, prevailed in a trademark dispute with an Indiana-based beauty salon owned by a woman whose first name is Chanel.

The cosmetics firm filed the trademark-infringement suit Aug. 29 in federal court in Hammond, Indiana, complaining of infringement of its marks and alleging that the public was confused by the name under which the salon operated.

According to a Dec. 16 court filing, Chanel’s Salon LLC of Merrillville, Indiana, has agreed to halt the use of the Chanel trademarks and from seeking to register any trademark that uses part of the Chanel marks.

Under terms of a consent judgment, Chanel’s Salon and Chanel’s Cosmetology salon can no longer use those names on brick-and-mortar locations or in social media or any advertising or promotional material.

The agreement specifies that salon owner Chanel Jones is not barred from using her personal name “solely in a personal, non-commercial capacity.”

No financial terms were mentioned in the agreement.

The case is Chanel Inc., v. Chanel’s Salon LLC, 2:14- cv-00304, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana (Hammond).

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Trade Secrets/Industrial Espionage

Access to Apple’s new iPhones Highly Sought by Accessory Makers

Apple Inc.’s secrecy about the two new iPhones the Cupertino, California-based company released in September left makers of add-on accessories scrambling to create cases and other items in time for the bonanza in sales that occurs at Christmas, according to the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper.

The newspaper reported that accessory makers had a difficult choice between waiting until the phones went on sale to create case designs, or resorting to some form of industrial espionage.

Leaked prototypes of the phones were worth “thousands of pounds” to accessory makers, the Guardian reported.

Although Foxconn Technology Group, the Chinese manufacturer of Apple’s new phones, tried to control unauthorized access to the prototypes, some invariably got out, with videos posted before Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook revealed the new phones in September.