Friday, May 29, 2009

Patent Watch

How green are New England’s patents?

Video Gallery

Map of New England mapping companies

MHT's Galen Moore: Two differing web-based news business models

MHT's Doug Banks: 10 Women to Watch in tech

Related News

Gennari, Aronson form new law firm aimed at growth companies [November 17, 2009]

Foley & Lardner wins $208M NIH IP contract [October 30, 2009]

It's time to bring some sanity to intellectual property [October 7, 2009]

Patents become more granular at tech companies [October 7, 2009]

Industry veterans share their dealings with noncompete agreements [October 7, 2009]

It used to simply be called “ecology;” now everyone seems to be into “green” products and living, “clean” or “alternative” energy, and “environmentalism.” Let’s take a look this month at a few fairly recent patents and published patent applications naming New England inventors where the topic involves, uh, limiting our impact on mother nature.

• MIT patent No 7,494,637 (Feb. 24) discloses a new way to convert biomass into value-added products such as acetylene, ethylene and other hydrocarbons which are valuable as fuels and as chemical feedstocks. The list of inventors include William Peters of Lexington, Jack Howard of Winchester, and Anthony Modestino of Hanson.

• Termites and ants can be problematic for homeowners but, at the same time, pesticides can contaminate soil and water and also kill beneficial insects. James Traniello of Lexington is seeking a patent via published patent application No. 2009/0031611 (Feb. 5) for a more environmentally friendly “tube within in a tube” insect and bait delivery system for insects.

• Various oil formulas have long been used to both heat and cool industrial machines incorporating heat exchangers. These oils, however, are not biodegradable and are deemed environmentally hazardous. Patent No. 7,407,600 (Aug. 5, 2008) proposes the use of the organic compound 1, 3-propanediol as a new heat transfer fluid since it is less toxic. Scot Kudcey of South Easton is named in this Dupont patent.

• The jury is still out on those new compact fluorescent bulbs. Even so, one limitation with these bulbs is that they cannot generally be used in three-way lighting fixtures. Until now. Patent No. 7,458,836 (Dec. 2, 2008) discloses an adapter allowing compact fluorescent bulbs to be used in three-way light fixtures. Albert Adams of Lyndonville, Vt., is the sole inventor.

• Patent No. 7,513,997 (April 7, 2009) discloses a wastewater planter bed that functions as an integrated ecological system for treating wastewater in a closed or zero-discharge system in which all the wastewater is processed into safe and beneficial products with no contamination of the external land or water environment. David Del Porto of Newton is the sole inventor.

• In a similar vein, Ronald Lavigne of Northampton has invented a new “artificial wetlands” system for treating wastewater wherein specially selected plants and growth mediums provide optimum conditions for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria to metabolize wastewater. Thus, chemicals, motor driven pumps and electric power are not required. Instead, sunlight and gravity are the only energy sources needed. Lavigne’s patent, No. 7,510,649, is dated March 31.

• In new constructions, it is possible to install waterless toilets connected to a recycling composter located in the basement. But in existing households and buildings, such gravity-fed systems may not be feasible. New Hampshire residents Irvin Tolles of Manchester and Kevin Bartlett of Weare are seeking a patent via published application No. 2009/0000019 (Jan. 1) for a closed-loop system connected to waterless toilets and configured to evacuate the waste and transport it to a distribution location not accessible by gravity. The system is configured to draw waste from the toilets via vacuum pressure.

• Wind farms in the ocean are objectionable to some. Published patent application No. 2008/0272605 (Nov. 6, 2008) proposes placing numerous windmills on large oil tankers to generate electricity which, in turn, can be used to drive the oil tanker. Is that idea feasible and/or patentable? Time will tell. The listed inventors include Wendell Smith of Enfield, N.H.

Patents by the numbers

Number of patents issued in April 2008, by state and field

Kirk Teska is an adjunct law professor at Suffolk University Law School, and is the managing partner of Iandiorio, Teska & Coleman, an intellectual property law firm in Waltham. His book “Patent Savvy for Managers” is available online and in most major bookstores. He can be reached at kirk@iandorio.com.