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In July the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued Jay S. Walker, the entrepreneur who founded Stamford-based Priceline.com, three new patents covering his latest set of big ideas.
The patents secure an electronic word puzzle game, a method for securely timestamping documents, and an apparatus for selling periodical subscriptions in a retail environment.
The patents were assigned to Walker Asset Management L.P. also of Stamford.
Brian Ek, a spokesman at Priceline.com, said Walker does not have immediate plans for the patents.
"Usually they are patented with a specific industry in mind but not necessarily with a plan for licensing," said Ek, who noted that Walker has been issued more than 250 patents. A description found on the U.S. Patent &
Trademark Office database says the puzzle game "Incorporates elements of the popular television game Wheel of Fortune and the board game Scrabble, but differs from the prior art In several respects."
The basic scope...