Patent problems

In the original 1992 chapter a number of patenting problems were identified from the point of view of an applied biological scientist involved in the commercialisation of biotechnological products and processes (see Table 12.4). This chapter also includes views from a European Patent Attorney specialising in patenting biotechnological... 

Patent problems on what are new polymers of a conventional monomer must follow the chemical problems of characterization and description of these polymers. 

Terms for Types of Searches. The uninitiated are often baffled needlessly by the "patent search, which they imagine is a search confined to the investigation of printed patents. A so-called "patent search is something of a misnomer. It is actually a search made to solve some patent problems, and involves searching journals, books, and other documents as well as patents themselves. 

In addition, many of the basic tools and techniques used in biotechnology are outlined and described briefly. Some projections on the probabilities or possibilities of success, both short-term and long-term, as well as patent problems and some views on environmental and health concerns are also discussed. 

The chemical pool in soeening Ubraties must be enriched. As companies concentrate on similar targets, with sCTeening libraries acquired from the same commercial vendors or prepared in-house with automated synthesis from common building blocks, the novelty and patent problem iUCTeases. Compound novelty is a neglected issue that deserves urgent attention. 

For information on how to locate patents, please refer to the patents section in Chapter 2 of this book. In the computing sector, software has always been a patent problem child. The rather unique Web site listed below helps to sort out how to research software prior art. 

B. E. R. Lippincott, The Limitations and Advantages of Infrared Spectroscopy in Patent Problems, J. Patent Office Soc. 45, 380 (1963). 

The most widely used PES seems to be Udel . This PES, based on bisphenol-A, was originally commercialized by Union Carbide around 1965. In 1977, Union Carbide also marketed a PES based on 4,4 -dihydroxybophenyl under the name Radel . Its production was taken over by AmocoCorp. in 1990. A similar PES was also commercialized by 3 M Corp. in 1967 under the trademark Astrel , but because of patent problems its production was abandoned in the late 1970 s, and the production rights were sold to Carborundum Corp. ICI had at first commercialized a PES named Victrex 2000P which had the structure outlined in the first line of Formula 6.5. Later a PES containing biphenyl units was commercialized under the name Victrex 720 P in competition to Radel . A patent war with Carborundum Corp. was solved in favor of ICI. Afterwards, Carborundum took a license of ICI and on the basis of the production rights purchased from 3 M continued the production of Astrel [102, 103]. 

The required resolution for the powder coating thickness measurement problem is about 5 microns. Therefore a processing time unit of 0.08 ps (12.5 MHz) seemed to be ok (compare line 2 in table 1). First results based on real measurement are documented in Fig. 7. and are very promising result. Today corresponding patent is pending [7]. 

While the principal value of the book is for the professional chemist or student of chemistry, it should also be of value to many people not especially educated as chemists. Workers in the natural sciences—physicists, mineralogists, biologists, pharmacists, engineers, patent attorneys, and librarians—are often called upon to solve problems dealing with the properties of chemical products or materials of construction. Eor such needs this compilation supplies helpful information and will serve not only as an economical substitute for the costly accumulation of a large library of monographs on specialized subjects, but also as a means of conserving the time required to search for... 

Catalyst recovery is a major operational problem because rhodium is a cosdy noble metal and every trace must be recovered for an economic process. Several methods have been patented (44—46). The catalyst is often reactivated by heating in the presence of an alcohol. In another technique, water is added to the homogeneous catalyst solution so that the rhodium compounds precipitate. Another way to separate rhodium involves a two-phase Hquid such as the immiscible mixture of octane or cyclohexane and aliphatic alcohols having 4—8 carbon atoms. In a typical instance, the carbonylation reactor is operated so the desired products and other low boiling materials are flash-distilled. The reacting mixture itself may be boiled, or a sidestream can be distilled, returning the heavy ends to the reactor. In either case, the heavier materials tend to accumulate. A part of these materials is separated, then concentrated to leave only the heaviest residues, and treated with the immiscible Hquid pair. The rhodium precipitates and is taken up in anhydride for recycling. 

Even ia 1960 a catalytic route was considered the answer to the pollution problem and the by-product sulfate, but nearly ten years elapsed before a process was developed that could be used commercially. Some of the eadier attempts iacluded hydrolysis of acrylonitrile on a sulfonic acid ion-exchange resia (69). Manganese dioxide showed some catalytic activity (70), and copper ions present ia two different valence states were described as catalyticaHy active (71), but copper metal by itself was not active. A variety of catalysts, such as Umshibara or I Jllmann copper and nickel, were used for the hydrolysis of aromatic nitriles, but aUphatic nitriles did not react usiag these catalysts (72). Beginning ia 1971 a series of patents were issued to The Dow Chemical Company (73) describiag the use of copper metal catalysis. Full-scale production was achieved the same year. A solution of acrylonitrile ia water was passed over a fixed bed of copper catalyst at 85°C, which produced a solution of acrylamide ia water with very high conversions and selectivities to acrylamide. 

This article provides a basic, step-by-step approach to problem solving in the practice and management of patents and trade secrets. The significance of aggressive patent and trade secret protection to the economic well-being of a business or organization should not be underestimated. Without patents and trade secrets, the marketplace is reduced to competition on the basis of price, which may be very difficult. 

To complement the discussion of problems and prior pubHcation in the background of the invention, N, the inventor may generally provide a summary of the invention disclosed in the instant patent. The summary of the invention, O, should provide an explanation of the invention in the broadest and simplest terms and should also discuss how the invention disclosed in the patent solves problems remaining in prior work in this area of technology. 

The initial research effort may prove to be a broad spectmm of apphcations or solutions to the original problem that in turn provide any number of inventions. When efforts move toward reducing the invention to practice and refining the invention so that it proves to be commercially marketable, certain apphcations may prove to be unfeasible or commercially impractical. As a result, only one apphcation, eg, the creation of a given pattern on the surface of the automobile tire, may ultimately prove commercially marketable. However, ah the solutions which are developed and considered over the research and development process may comprise inventions that are worthy of disclosure and claiming in a patent. An apphcation which is not commercially viable today may become viable within the seventeen-year lifetime of a patent. 

Has explanation in detail of how the prior patents and Hterature have been improved and what specific problems were solved been provided ... 

In response to the first office action, the appHcant may file a series of amendments (step 6) and should provide substantial reasoning and analysis to explain the reasons that the pubHcation(s) cited by the examiner do(es) not disclose the invention as it has been claimed. The patent appHcant s response should also comply with the examiner s request for correcting formal problems in the appHcation. 

The Notice of Errors. The first mechanism for correction of errors is called a "Notice of Errors." This document may be filed by the patentee after issuance of the patent with the U.S. PTO and references the patent number, issue date, and the errors contained in the patent. The purpose of a Notice of Errors is to clarify the examination history of the patent and such notice dispositively corrects any misspellings, or typographical errors or omissions. One example of a problem which may be clarified by a Notice of Errors is an omitted chemical bond in a compound used in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. In short, the error is obvious and easily corrected. 

The Notice of Errors should resolve those problems which are evident on the face of the patent but which also may be, by their nature, obvious and correctable problems to someone reading only the patent. The Notice of Errors does not result in a further pubHcation by the U.S. PTO, but rather it is instead placed into the examination history of the issued patent and thus is available to anyone who may wish to read this examination history. The Notice of Errors is appropriate for correcting simple matters which do not affect the claim scope or the vaHdity of the patent. 

A reissue may be ordered to correct any minor or major mistake which occurred during prosecution of a patent, but the mistake must be one that makes the patent partially or whoUy inoperable. Inoperable essentially means that the patent caimot be enforced. For instance, a reissue proceeding can be used to correct inventorship or even broaden claims if the patent is less than two years old. However, such a request to broaden claims in the context of reissue may not be undertaken to recover subject matter canceled during examination. Further, a reissue proceeding may be undertaken to correct formal problems or address newly discovered prior art which affects the scope of the claims. The nature of a reissue proceeding directs that this mechanism should be used only when the vaUdity of the patent is in question owing to the error or problem in question. 

Most new patent cases of interest are pubHshed by at least one of the U.S., European, or Japanese patent offices, and WIPO (PCT). Japan presents problems for those not able to read Japanese, but the U.S. Official Ga tte (with representative claims) and PCT Ga tte (with English-language abstracts) can be in one s hands within a week of patent pubHcation. Similar timing is available for the European Patent Office bulletin which contains trilingual tides and the on-line EPAT file and various CD-ROM products. A highly effective alerting program can be developed from a combination of these methods. 

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