This article is also featured on The Blue Jay Hunter

Whatever happens with this team in the next three to five years basically hinges on whether or not Doc is traded this offseason. Burnett pitching in the World Series, perhaps he's developing a little bit of resentment towards the organization that has failed to make the playoffs the past 16 years. Not only would Halladay be looking for a winning team, but he could also very easily find a suitor that would be willing to pay top dollar for him. Regardless of whether the Phillies win the World Series, many teams have seem the impact that adding an ace like Cliff Lee to the pitching staff can do to solidify themselves as a contender. Teams like the Dodgers and Angels will be looking for that added insurance to get them over the hump, and Halladay could be that player who gets them over the edge. We will have to wait and see if that happens under the watch of Alex Anthopoulos or if Doc just walks away via free agency at the end of 2010.Either way, the gears of change are in motion, and things in Toronto are going to look a lot different next year. This article is also featured on The Blue Jay Hunter.

14 /PRNewswire/ IFI Patent Intelligence, a WoltersKluwer Health business, today released an annual compilation of the world'stop-ranked U.S.-patent companies, which suggests America's longstandingdominance of new U.S patents may be slipping. However, the economic downturnthat epitomized 2008 did not slow the overall flow of U.S patent activity, atleast not yet According to IFI's analysis, the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice (USPTO) issued a total of 157,774 utility patents in calendar year2008, up slightly over 2007's total of 157,284.Although IBM still tops the list and is ahead by a relatively wide margin, thescales of patent-quantity supremacy may be shifting away from corporateAmerica in favor of companies overseas, especially to those in Asia.As partof its analysis, IFI looked at 2008 utility patents assigned to companiesseparate from those owned by individuals. It found that American companiescaptured only 49 percent of U.S. holds only four less than half of the top 10 slots, down from five the prior year.

American firms also holdonly 12 positions in the top 35, which collectively generated 26 percent ofall the utility patents granted in 2008. In comparison, Japanese companies hold five of the top 10 slots and 14 of thetop 35. set a newall-time record of 4,186, up 33 percent over last year.Samsung continues tohold the number 2 slot with 3,515, up 29 percent over 2007; followed by Canonat number 3, with 2,114; Microsoft comes in at number 4 with 2,030, up 24percent over last year and 400 percent since 2003; and Intel at number 5. Other notable movers in the top 35 include Broadcom and Cisco, both up 21percent over 2007; Hon Hai of Taiwan, up 63 percent and new to the top 35;Fujifilm, up 31 percent; and LG Philips LCD, up 25 percent."Although data suggest that American companies garnered a minority share ofthe total number of corporate U.S.

patents last year, it's important not toconfuse quantity with quality," said Darlene Slaughter, general manager of IFIPatent Intelligence. "What's clear is that many of the world's largest companies are placing ahigher priority on protecting their intellectual property This trend isoccurring both here in the U.S. and abroad especially in Japan, South Korea,Taiwan, Germany and other countries in Europe," continued Slaughter. "Securingpatents may be even more important in a down economy, since it givespatent-holders an edge over their competitors."It also is worth noting that many of the patents granted in 2008 were appliedfor back in 2005 and 2006, so today's economy probably had little, if any,effect on 2008 approvals. "It will be interesting to report on how the patentpipeline flows two years from now and to see if the down economy leads to moreor less patent activity," added Slaughter.