Biofuels and patents

BIOFUELSANDPATENTS

JEREMYLAWSON*
LEGER
ROBICRICHARD,LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS
Biofuelsaregatheringsteam.Thetechnologiesthatmakethemaswellasthe
regulationsandeconomicfactorsthatencouragethem,havealsogained
momentum.
TheCanadianbiofuelindustryhasdevelopedinthepastdecadebutitstillhasa
waystogobeforebio-derivedalcohol,hydrogenorbiodieselblendsarecommonly
foundatthepumps.

Itiswidelyagreedthatefficient,competitiveandsustainabletechnologiesarepivotal
forthecontinueddevelopmentandstayingabilityofthebiofueleconomy.Thepatent
protectionofbiofuelsisaveryusefulcompetitiveadvantage,especiallyinthisfield
whereR&Disinfullbloom.
Patentabletypesofbiofueltechnologies
Biofueltechnologyisextremelyrichintermsofthemanydifferenttypesof
inventionsthatmaybeprotectedbyapatent.Forexample,letuscite(i)primary
materialssuchasplantvarietiesthathaveafastergrowingcycle,highersugar,
starchortriglyceridecontent,orbetterpestresistanceand(ii)superiorprocessing
techniquestohelptiptheprofitabilityscalesofbiofuelproduction.Wecouldalso
thinkofnovelfuelcompositionsthatresultinbettermileageorfeweremissions.
Inparallel,economicalanalyticaltechniquesandotherdevicescouldensurean
improvementinqualitycontrolofbiofuels.
Strategiesforbiofuelcompanies
Ontheonehand,companiesinvolvedinproducing,blending,distributingor
researchingbiofuelshouldbeawareofwhatispatentprotectedintheirfieldand
wheredevelopmentisavailable.Ontheotherhand,companiesnottraditionally
engagedinthebiofuelindustryshouldevaluatewhethertheyownanypatentswhich
couldbeusedinthisfield.Patentscoveringtechnologiessuchastransgenic
microbes,catalyststructures,separationtechniques,chemicaladditivesoranalytical




























































©CIPS,2008.
*WithLEGERROBICRICHARD,LLP.amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-
markAgents.PublishedintheFall2008Newsletterofthefirm(Vol.12,No.3).Publication068.095.

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methods,forexample,whichweredevelopedforotherapplications,maybe
profitablyexploitedthroughlicensinginthebiofuelindustry.
Inbourgeoningmarkets,ascompetitioncomesfrommanyfronts,aone-dimensional
R&Dapproachmaynotbethemostsecurewayofprotectingtechnologyor
operations.Giventhemanystepsfromplantoranimaltothepump,protectingone’s
researchandoperationsatmanylevelscanextendthescopeofexclusiverights.
SignificantbiofuelpatentactivityisbeingobservedinCanadaaswellasinforeign
jurisdictionssuchasEuropeandtheUnitedStates.Companiesinthebiofuel
industryshouldassesstheirintellectualpropertystrategyasthescienceand
economicsofbiofuelscontinuetomotoralong.

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