Invention, value

Trade secret rights are based on the complete absence of disclosure of the invention to anyone other than the owner. Oftentimes ideas, developments, and advances that are the subject of trade secret protection are those which may not be patentable, for any of a number of reasons. These reasons can include the nature and subject matter of the advance or development, as weU as the commercial value of the advance or development. In any instance, an individual, business, or corporation is weU-advised to consider all possible means of protection when reviewing an advance, development, or invention. 

The resulting discoveries may provide a broad range of solutions or products. For example, invention may result from basic research and development efforts directed toward products which ate essential to basic commercial efforts. Alternatively, invention may result in products or appHcations which add value to basic commercial products that ate already in existence. Inventions may also be used to assist an individual or company in commercial efforts toward developing a defensive posture in any given marketplace. When patented, appHcations may also provide an extended opportunity to Hcense or market the patent without the actual production of a product by the inventor. 

Novelty searches are not necessarily limited to patent information. The anticipation of a purportedly novel idea can occur in journals, books, magazines, etc. Thus, the potential scope for a novelty search is essentially infinite, and one of the challenges to the searcher is to devise an effective strategy whose cost is commensurate with the potential value of the invention. 

Perhaps the single most studied (and joyfully played with) rule - certainly the most famous is the two-dimensional Moore neighborhood binary-valued CA invented by John H. Conway, and popularized extensively by Martin Gardner in his Mathematical Gaines column in Scientific. American in the early 1970 s ([gardnerTO], [gardnerTl], [gardner78]). 

During the 1800s, benzene was of limited commercial value, finding use mainly as a solvent. But after the invention of the internal combustion engine and the automobile, it was found that motors ran better when the fuel contained benzene. This added a new economic incentive to recover all of the benzene possible from the steel industry s coke ovens. However, just prior to World War II, the importance of benzene as a chemical intermediate started to be recognized. These dual incentives (gasoline and chemical intermediate) led to new and improved benzene processes based on petrochemistry rather than coal. 

Several studies have been reported on the application of conformational restraint to the 1,5-diaryl-pyrazole series in an attempt to provide compounds with modified properties. In one approach, a Sanofi-Synthelabo patent application claimed a series of conformationally restrained compounds, exemplified by compound (391). Compounds of the invention were stated to be CBi receptor antagonists with K[ values below 5 x 10 M and selectivity over CB2 receptors of at least 10-fold [274]. 

Its scarcity and imperishable shine have fascinated man since prehistoric times. As soon as money was invented, gold coins had the highest value. This is still true today. 

Those inventions that are valuable for society, which include innovative pharmaceuticals, generate positive externalities, that is, the benefits falls to society at large. The sum of these benefits gives the social benefit or value of the invention. In this way, patents represent the appropriation of part of this social value. Naturally, when businesses decide to undertake a project they do so with their own benefit in mind. Some research, particularly basic research, might not be undertaken in these circumstances, and therefore governments decide to invest to fill the gap that may be left by the patent system. Basic research allows the development of multiple applications and the discovery of scientific principles. The field of genetics is a prime example of this. 

The possibility of producing certain value-added compounds such as surfactants, which can be derived from intermediates produced in petroleum biodesulfurization processes, has been evaluated. HPBS is a molecule with amphiphilic characteristics desirable for surfactant applications [243], Several oxidation reactions, from the 4S pathway are considered before reaching the final product. The compounds of the invention include acyloxybiphenylsulfinates, acyloxybiphenylsulfonates, alkyl sulfinatobiphenyl ethers, and alkyl sulfonatobiphenyl ethers. The invention also provides methods of producing these compounds. 

Further development in the area of alternate value-added products for improving economics included other oxygenated sulfur compounds [246,247], This invention included alkylated 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl) benzenesulfinic acid and 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-benzenesulfonic acid compounds and compositions which consist essentially of 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl) benzenesulfinic acid, 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-benzenesulfonic acid and/or substituted derivatives. The compositions are useful as hydrotropes and are also of use as, or as starting materials for, surfactants, and as starting materials for the synthesis of other useful chemicals such as, polymers and resins, solvents, adhesives, and biocides. 

In the approach followed in this invention [29], a biocatalytic agent converts the sulfur heterocycles into different molecules that do not exhibit the hydrophobic interactions. This is achieved by selectively cleaving carbon-sulfur bonds. The selectivity of the biocatalytic agent employed is limited to the carbon-sulfur bonds and no attack to the carbon-carbon skeleton was reported. Thus, it is expected that the proposed biocatalytic reduction of viscosity would not diminish the fuel value of the treated petroleum liquids. The biocatalyst employed consisted of the strain ATCC No. 53968 (see Section 20 and references therein), in an aqueous culture conventionally prepared by fermentation under aerobic conditions. The fermenting bioreactor is fed with a suitable nutrient medium, which comprises a conventional carbon source (dextrose and glycerol are recommended carbon sources. To confer maximal biocatalytic activity for the desired cleavage of organic C—S bonds, the bacteria was kept in a state of sulfur deprivation. 

The amount of Lewis acid to be used is depicted as an effective amount and a minimum limit of 0.5 mole equivalent with respect to the sulfmated compound concentration was mentioned. A wide variety of Lewis acids was mentioned to be useful for the present invention in the patent document, but only copper (II) compounds were claimed. The way in which the Lewis acid is used (either as a homogeneous or a heterogeneous phase), was reported to be irrelevant. So, it could be employed in solution in the reaction medium or insoluble as powders or on a solid support, such as alumina or a zeolite. The Lewis acid is supposed to be acting as a catalyst in the desulfination process. The temperature and pressure conditions for this reaction are substantially higher than the microbial conditions. The temperature and pressure conditions did not form part of any claim, but the document stipulates values between 50°C and 100°C, and 10 and 15psi, respectively. The quantitative effectiveness or conversion values of this reaction were not given, but it looks like it would diminish the advantages of a biocatalytic process. 

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