Cleantech & Nano Blog Timely insight on emerging legal and business development

Monthly Archives: October 2010

Nanotechnology and Metallocenes, Behind the Scenes.

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in General

A recent press report has discussed how metallocene polymer catalysts have "risen again." How does this connect with nanotechnology? 

The gist is metallocenes were a hot industrial fad 10-20 years ago for providing new commercial plastics which would displace older ones. Large numbers of dollars and yen were at stake. The future seemed bright. Then the hype died down for metallocenes, and commercial progress was slower than expected. Technology hurdles. High costs.  Etc. Patent metrics showed the trends.

Now, however, with steady technical progress, much of it behind the scenes, and patience, metallocenes again have a bright future and are set for sustainable growth.

Monitoring dramatic changes, hype, and new trends is FUN, undoubtedly….and a natural sibling for media. However, "behind the scenes" work, outside the media spotlight, is just as important.

After experience its own form of "hype" 5-10 years ago, nanotech is currently experiencing a large volume of behind-the-scenes activity. Stay tuned.

C&EN’s feature story in the October 18, 2010 issue focused on the rising again of metallocene catalysts.

Breakthrough Material from Nanotechnology: Here’s One

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in General

For those interested in hunting for nanotech breakthroughs, here is one. Media reports are circulating about a recent paper where nanospheres are used to make the stiffest organic material yet made. The materials are based on aromatic dipeptides which self-assemble. The spheres have diameter of 30 nm to 2 microns. The material is said to be stiffer than stainless steel or Kevlar!

Is this nano biotechnology or nanomaterials?

The work comes out of Israel: the Weizman Institute of Science and Tel Aviv University.

See, Adler-Abramovich et al, "Self-Assembled Organic Nanostructures with Metallic-Like Stiffness," Angewandte Chemie, Int. Ed., published September 28, 2010.

Time will tell how quickly commercial applications can be found (and money made). There is defense also.

Patents Coming from Innovation in China: Look Out ?!

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in International IP Issues; Patent

China continues to grow, and the growth is impacting patenting. I was reminded of the importance of these trends during a recent visit from a Taiwanese law firm which also operates in China. In addition, the Economist recently reported on China’s patent efforts (Oct. 16-22 issue, pages 78-79).

One ignores these trends at one’s peril. Companies must shrewdly decide whether to seek to do business and obtain IP in China.

We can also see the coming impact on nanotechnology. The US PTO patent data base now lists 6,464 nanotech 977 class patents. Of these, only about 1 % (71) list an inventor who lists their residential address as China. However, of these 71 patents, roughly a quarter issued this year, and 50 out of 71 issued in the last four years (2007 to present).

According to the Economist:

Anxious to promote domestic innovation, the Chinese government has created an ecosystem of incentives for its people to file patents. However, concern exists that too many of the patents are “worthless” (and/or “junk”).  The world also continues to watch IP damage awards in China, including that a firm from Wuhan has won $7m in a case against a company from Fujian and its Japanese supplier over the use of a process to clean sulfur.

Adding to the intrigue, China and Taiwan signed their first IP agreement on June 29, 2010. The agreement was modest but indicative.

One ignores these trends at one’s peril.

PTO Still Trying to “Kick Start” Green Patent Program ?

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Cleantech; Patent

Media reports this week indicated that the PTO is – again – trying to kick start, this time prolong, its green technology pilot program until December 31, 2011. In addition, the PTO wants as a kick starter to accept applications which were filed before the start of the program. The PTO program features pushing the application to the head of the examination line (which as many who have a practical sense of patenting know is not always desired).

A major downside, however, continues to be limitations on claim sets to twenty total and three independent claims.

The PTO had set up the program to handle 3,000 applications, but the number of filings has been lackluster (only 1,563 at last count, on October 13, 2010).

Law360 reported these developments on October 20, 2010. 

A key debate is and will be the connections between patenting, innovation, and JOBS, whether green or not.

The PTO may want to eliminate the restrictions on the number of claims for a better kick start.

Avoiding Pitfalls of Greenwashing: What Do the FTC’s Revised Green Guides Mean to You?

Posted by Ed LeFevre on Posted in Cleantech

For the first time since 1998, the FTC has revised its Green Guides. Are your  marketing communications at risk? On November 10th, join Foley and David Mallen of the NAD to learn the vital measures needed to safeguard your marketing materials against scrutiny by the FTC on the basis of unfair trade or greenwashing. The market success of your product and services hinges on how you can effectively communicate the differentiators via myriads of marketing vehicles. More than ever, business, legal, and marketing executives need to be aware of the cost of inadvertently making false claims. 

For more information or to register for this complimentary Webinar discussion, visit the program Web page.

The FTC is accepting comments on the revised Green Guides until December 10, 2010.

The Latest Commentary on Bayh-Dole – It Works (Generally)

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Licensing

A new report just issued which, in 129 pages, provides the latest analysis and commentary on university patenting and technology transfer under the Bayh-Dole Act. 

The report is generally positive about the Bayh-Dole Act, now about 30 years old, and confirms that most do not want to return to the pre-1980 era. The report did not get into much specificity with respect to nanotechnology or cleantech, but the report is very important to these fields. The NNI ten year anniversary is here, and NNI strategy for its second decade is crucial.

Ironically, Allen J. Bard (University of Texas) also recently provided a guest editorial to C&EN (October 11, 2010) in which he expressed concern that young people may not want to become university professors if the university pushes them to generate IP and funding through IP. Per Bard, money has become too important at the university, and use of patents to generate funding is part of the problem (and a growing part).

The report, prepared by the National Research Council, can be downloaded at: http://nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13001

Super Glue and a Prize – Harry Coover

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in General

Harry Coover won the National Medal of Technology and Innovation this week for the discovery of cyanoacrylate glues, otherwise known as "superglue". Congratulations! Good to see advanced materials and industrial research receiving recognition. Below is the Wikipedia account summarizing his work. Note the role of serendipity, long term patient research, and ability to adjust the technology to the market need. Programmed Innovation.

———————————————————————————–

Harry Coover (born Harry Wesley Coover, Jr. on March 6, 1919) invented cyanoacrylate glue, commonly known as Super Glue or Eastman 910.

Dr. Harry W. Coover, Jr. is an inventor, an innovator, and an accidental glue guru.

Coover was born in Newark, Delaware and received his Bachelor of Science from Hobart College before earning his Master of Science and Ph. D. from Cornell University. He worked as a chemist for Eastman Kodak from 1944–1973 and as Vice President of the company from 1973-1984. and now resides in Kingsport, Tennessee.

In 1942, while searching for materials to make clear plastic gun sights, Coover and his team at Eastman Kodak first worked with cyanoacrylates, rejecting them as too sticky. Nine years later, Coover was overseeing Kodak chemists investigating heat-resistant polymers for jet canopies when cyanoacrylates were once again tested and proved too sticky. That time around, however, Coover recognized that he had discovered a unique adhesive. In 1958 the adhesive, marketed as Super Glue, was introduced for sale.

While much attention was given to the glue’s capacity to bond solid materials, Coover was also the first to recognize and patent cyanoacrylates as a tissue adhesive. First used in the Vietnam War to temporarily patch the internal organs of injured soldiers until conventional surgery could be performed, tissue adhesives are now used worldwide for a variety of sutureless surgical applications.

Coover holds 460 patents, and Super Glue is just one of his many discoveries. He views "programmed innovation," a management methodology emphasizing research and development, among his most important work. Implemented at Kodak, programmed innovation resulted in the introduction of 320 new products and sales growth from $1.8 billion to $2.5 billion. Coover later formed an international management consulting practice, advising corporate clients around the world on programmed innovation methodology.

Coover received the Southern Chemist Man of the Year Award for his outstanding accomplishments in individual innovation and creativity. He also holds the Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management, the Maurice Holland Award and is a medalist for the Industrial Research Institute. In 2004, Coover was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.
 

Playfulness, Nanotechnology, and the Nobel Prizes

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in General

Nobel Prizes were granted this past week, and the Physics and Chemistry Prizes each touched on nanotechnology and advanced materials. See www.nobelprize.org. 

First, in awarding the Physics Prize, the Nobel committee said, "Playfulness is one of their hallmarks…"  The awardees were Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of the University of Manchester for their work with graphene. Graphene is the latest new "nanomaterial," following past discoveries of materials like fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, and other nanostructures. Graphene is a single sheet (or layer) of carbon atoms which, surprisingly, can be stable and isolated as a single sheet without merging into larger structures. Unusual properties for this material appear to abound, and commercialization prospects have just started. In a quick search of US patent literature, we could not determine any published patent filings from Geim or Novoselov on their graphene work. Clearly, however, one can detect rapidly increasing appearances for "graphene" in the patent literature.

Continue reading this entry

Water Innovation and Hazards: Looking Ahead; Looking Back

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Cleantech; Water

Water innovation is a hot subject these days. It is one strand of the so-called "cleantech" movement. A driving force for water innovation, unfortunately, is environmental hazard (real or potential). For me, several water-related strands from recent days are pulled together below.

Strand 1) the recent Water Innovation Alliance meeting in Chicago;

Strand 2) visiting the Johnstown Flood Museums (in Western Pennsylvania);

Strand 3) updates on Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling, including more and more ads on the subject for the Pennsylvania fall gubernatorial election.

Lets start with an ounce of history. For readers who are not aware, the hazards of water became real on May 31, 1889 in Johnstown Pennsylvania (about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh). On that fateful day, a large, aging, and poorly maintained dam holding back waters to a large lake burst under heavy rain. The lake furiously drained in less than an hour on anyone below. A wall of water flowed down a valley, turning corners, blowing out bridges, for about 15 miles; leveling anything in its path, until finally crashing into Johnstown, killing several thousand people. The horrific events were addressed in David McCullough’s book, The Johnstown Flood. Amazing fact: not a single dollar of liability money was paid due to court action. Today, one can tour both a museum in Johnstown and also a museum located at the broken dam, 15 miles away, which has been preserved. For anybody interested in cleantech and water, it is a compelling story. Clearly, we would say today there were legal problems, ranging from a lack of regulation to a lack of liability.

Continue reading this entry

Nanoelectronics: Meet Printed Electronics

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Electronic Devices; General

Because the NNI is at its ten year mark, much attention is now being focused on where the NNI is going for its next decade (I recently received an email which seemed to beg the reader urgently to send examples of how nanotech funding money has been useful in commerce – for use in a December conference on the subject). The importance of nanotech practical applications – even jobs – is now paramount. Energy and cleantech are important drivers, particularly with the current administration. Bio and medicine will always be important. However, a third arena is electronics. 

Continue reading this entry