Patentability discoveries

Huffman in the X-ray Molecular Structure Center. From 1992 to 1994 he joined the research group of Professor John D. Corbett at Iowa State University where he pursued synthetic solid-state chemistry research exploring structure/property relationships. In 1994 he joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry at North Carolina State University where he is a full professor of Inorganic Chemistry pursuing synthetic, structural and mechanistic investigations in inorganic condensed matter. He has published more than 70 research papers and has several patented discoveries. He received an NSF CAREER award in 1995, was named a Cottrell Scholar of the Research Corporation in 1997, and received a Sigma Xi Research Award in 1999. 

Mitsui Toatsu Chemical, Inc. disclosed a similar process usiag Raney copper (74) shortiy after the discovery at Dow, and BASF came out with a variation of the copper catalyst ia 1974 (75). Siace 1971 several hundred patents have shown modifications and improvements to this technology, both homogeneous and heterogeneous, and reviews of these processes have been pubHshed (76). Nalco Chemical Company has patented a process based essentially on Raney copper catalyst (77) ia both slurry and fixed-bed reactors and produces acrylamide monomer mainly for internal uses. Other producers ia Europe, besides Dow and American Cyanamid, iaclude AUied CoUoids and Stockhausen, who are beheved to use processes similar to the Raney copper technology of Mitsui Toatsu, and all have captive uses. Acrylamide is also produced ia large quantities ia Japan. Mitsui Toatsu and Mitsubishi are the largest producers, and both are beheved to use Raney copper catalysts ia a fixed bed reactor and to sell iato the merchant market. 

The next significant strength improvement followed the 1950 Du Pont (19) discovery of monoamine and quaternary ammonium modifiers, which, when added to the viscose, prolonged the life of the ziac cellulose xanthate gel, and enabled even higher stretch levels to be used. Modifiers have proliferated siace they were first patented and the Hst now iacludes many poly(alkylene oxide) derivatives (20), polyhydroxypolyamines (21—23), and dithiocarbamates (24). 

The use of alkaU metals for anionic polymerization of diene monomers is primarily of historical interest. A patent disclosure issued in 1911 (16) detailed the use of metallic sodium to polymerize isoprene and other dienes. Independentiy and simultaneously, the use of sodium metal to polymerize butadiene, isoprene, and 2,3-dimethyl-l,3-butadiene was described (17). Interest in alkaU metal-initiated polymerization of 1,3-dienes culminated in the discovery (18) at Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. that polymerization of neat isoprene with lithium dispersion produced high i7j -l,4-polyisoprene, similar in stmcture and properties to Hevea natural mbber (see ELASTOLffiRS,SYNTHETic-POLYisoPRENE Rubber, natural). 

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. 

Other concerns which may necessitate a review of a patent after issuance include the discovery of prior art which was not uncovered during the examination of the patent appHcation. A deterrnination should be made as to whether or not the claims in the issued patent are too broad when viewed in light of this prior art. It may also be the case that someone who participated in the examination of the patent appHcation discovered prior patents, Hterature, or activities which they knew of but did not cite to the patent examiner. In such an instance, this prior art must also be reviewed in light of the patent claims to determine whether the claims are too broad. 

Apphcation for discovery and product patents must be made early in the process. Appropriate labels ate designed and the product is submitted to the FDA for approval to begin human testing in the form of an Investigational New Dmg Apphcation (INDA). When such approval is granted, the clinical evaluation is developed as follows. 

Ethylene oxide (qv) was once produced by the chlorohydrin process, but this process was slowly abandoned starting in 1937 when Union Carbide Corp. developed and commercialized the silver-catalyzed air oxidation of ethylene process patented in 1931 (67). Union Carbide Corp. is stiU. the world s largest ethylene oxide producer, but most other manufacturers Hcense either the Shell or Scientific Design process. Shell has the dominant patent position in ethylene oxide catalysts, which is the result of the development of highly effective methods of silver deposition on alumina (29), and the discovery of the importance of estabUshing precise parts per million levels of the higher alkaU metal elements on the catalyst surface (68). The most recent patents describe the addition of trace amounts of rhenium and various Group (VI) elements (69). 

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis The best-known technology for producing hydrocarbons from synthesis gas is the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. This technology was first demonstrated in Germany in 1902 by Sabatier and Senderens when they hydrogenated carbon monoxide (CO) to methane, using a nickel catalyst. In 1926 Fischer and Tropsch were awarded a patent for the discovery of a catalytic technique to convert synthesis gas to liquid hydrocarbons similar to petroleum. 

The high thermal stability of the carbon-fluorine bond has led to considerable interest in fluorine-containing polymers as heat-resistant plastics and rubbers. The first patents, taken out by IG Farben in 1934, related to polychlorotri-fluoroethylene (PCTFE) (Figure 13.1 (a)), these materials being subsequently manufactured in Germany and the United States. PCTFE has been of limited application and it was the discovery of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (Figure... 

The cyclooligomerization of ethylene oxide to yield dioxane as well as compounds we now call crowns predates Pedersen s discovery by more than a decade ". The full utility of these cyclic oligomers was not recognized, however, and the patent reporting these early efforts remains an interesting historical footnote. The promise of utilizing cyclo-oligomerization commercially is so important, however, that attention is called to the method and the existence of the patent. 

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