Household

Patent Grabber^TM 5.5 for Mac OS X and Windows (released February 2009)

Patent Grabber^TM 4.6 for Mac Classic (released May 2007)

New for Version 5.5 (free upgrade for licensed users of Ver. 5.x):

Added the ability to download patents and published patent applications from many countries. Just select "International" from the dropdown menu in Patent Grabber's new, simpler downloading interface. Fixed Patent Grabber's ability to download PCT, EP-A and EP-B patent documents on Windows. Fixed the ability to download EP-B patents on Mac OS X.

Many thanks to Bill, my Leopard 10.5.2 beta tester, for his help, and to the numerous purchasers of Patent Grabber for their suggestions!

Patent Downloading:

Patent Grabber makes it easy to download U.S. patents and published applications, European patents and published applications, PCT published applications, and patent documents from many other countries and patent-issuing organizations for free from public patent archives:

Download multiple patents or applications with a single click
Optionally download the patent or application text (if made available by the USPTO or EPO)
Ver. 5.5 combines all patent pages into a single PDF on Mac OS X (Tiger or later) and Windows (2000 and later)

Windows requires two free helper applications (see Quick Start or full instructions for details)

The Mac Classic version downloads the pages of each patent into their own folder (international document downloading not implemented yet)

Download every page or just the pages of selected sections (e.g., just the first page and claims)
Download the INPADOC international legal status information for any number of patents or applications with a single click (example)
Mac OS X Ver. 5.x can print muliple selected patents and applications with a single click

U.S. and PCT Searching:

Three search interfaces:

Quick - allows more search terms than the USPTO's "Quick" search (which allows only two), and is more robust (allows multiple AND and OR connectors)
Advanced - the search aids (see below) make it easy to construct a complex search
Issuance or Publication - makes it easy to search for multiple classes, companies or other search terms in patents or published applications that were issued or published on a date or within a date range

Helpful search aids:

Choose search field codes from a dropdown list. The list automatically adjusts depending upon whether you choose a U.S. patent, U.S. publication or PCT publication search.
Custom "Date Interface" guides you through the process of entering dates and date ranges in the proper USPTO or WIPO format
Dropdown list of countries assists finding the correct two-letter code when you choose a search field that requires the entry of a Country Code

Each individual search result can be viewed in three ways:

Full text
Abstract and bibliographic information (faster than full text)
INPADOC Patent Family (patents and applications in the U.S. and many other countries that are in some way related to a patent or application)

Each can be saved or printed. The saved list of patent family information will be in tab-delimited format for easy importation into a spreadsheet or word processing table.

Save all of your search results in any of four different ways:

Titles: a tab-delimited list of the patent/application numbers and the titles that can be opened by a spreadsheet program (e.g., MS Excel)
Sortable List: a tab-delimited list of bibliographic information that can be opened by a spreadsheet program. This makes it easy to sort by assignee, inventor, or International Patent Classification
Abstract Report: an HTML file that can be opened by a web browser or MS Word that contains the abstract of each patent/application along with bibliographic information
Claim Report: a text file that contains the patent/application number, issue/publication date, title, assignee, and all of the claims of each patent or application

Requirements, Licenses and Download Links:

Patent Grabber 5.5 for Mac requires a PowerPC or Intel Mac (runs natively as a "universal binary" application). OS X Tiger (OS 10.4.x) or Leopard (OS 10.5.x) are required.

Patent Grabber 5.5 for Windows requires a PC running Windows 2000 or later, plus the free PDFTK.exe and C42PDF.exe helper applications. See Quick Start or full instructions for details.

Patent Grabber 4.6 requires a PowerPC Mac with System 8.6 or higher.

Patent Grabber is initially in a free Evaluation Mode (limited to downloading the first five pages of multiple patents or a single INPADOC legal status summary).

License Fees:

Patent Grabber 5.5: $25 ($10 to upgrade from Versions 1 through 4; free upgrade from any previous Version 5.x)
Patent Grabber 4.6: $20 (free upgrade from any previous version)

Licenses may be purchased online from a link on the Blazing Dawn home page.

Download Patent Grabber 5.5 for Mac OS X or Windows
Download Patent Grabber 4.6 for Mac Classic

ChecksQuick^TM 3.1 (released January 2005)

New for Version 3.1: Additional preferences for setting the date format and translating the numerical amount into words. For center-feeding printers, users can now make large adjustments to the left or right to compensate for how some of these printers print in Landscape orientation.

Have lots of checks to write out? Stop getting writter's cramp! Write out all of your checks with just a few mouse clicks using checks that you tear out of your checkbook!

Enter the names, amounts and account numbers for all of your recurring bills into ChecksQuick just once. When it is time to pay some bills, just select the ones you need, put the checks into your printer, and click "Print." ChecksQuick keeps a running total of the number of checks that you will need, and the total amount that you are paying.

The only thing that you will need to adjust from month-to-month is the amount for your variable bills, such as gas, electric and telephone. However, you only need to adjust the numerical amount. ChecksQuick automatically translates the numerical amount into words! ChecksQuick also automatically fills in the current date on all checks, unless you choose to use a custom date. You can also import a scan of your signature, so that all of your checks come out already signed. No more accidently sending out an unsigned check!

If you are a contractor with a large crew to pay, ChecksQuick can also be used to write out your crew's paychecks!

Export and import features are available to registered users to create or use tab-delimited text files in conjunction with spreadsheets or accounting programs. Has a field for entering expense categories.

ChecksQuick 3.1 requires a PowerPC Mac with System 9.x.x or OS X, or a PC with Windows 95 or higher. Also requires a printer that can feed paper the size of your checks (see instructions for more info).

Shareware: $15. May be registered worldwide through the Kagi payment service

Download ChecksQuick 3.1 for Mac Classic, Mac OS X or Windows (initially in free limited evaluation mode)

WINDOWS is a trademark of Microsoft Corp., STUFFIT is a registered trademark of Allume Systems (formerly Aladdin Systems), ACROBAT is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incoroprated, HYPERCARD is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.). PATENTSCOPE is a registered trademark of the World Intellectual Property Organization.