Patent potential : Cellulosic ethanol

2008-01-01

P
ATENTPOTENTIAL:CELLULOSICETHANOL

JEREMYLAWSON*
LEGERROBICRICHARD,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS
Thisisthesecondoftwoarticlesonpatentaspectsoftwoexcitingandemerging
biofuelfeedstocks:celluloseandalgae.Thefirstdealtwithalgae-basedbiofuel
production,whereasherewefocusoncelluloseforproducingethanol.
Thescientificandeconomicdevelopmentofcellulosicethanolmayprofoundly
dependonthepatentrightssurroundingimportanttechnologiesintheindustry.
Thegeneralconceptofusingcelluloseasanabundantalbeitstubbornprimary
materialforproducingethanolhasbeenknownfordecades.Distilleries,forinstance,
haveusedvariousmethodsforbreakingdownsomeformsofcellulosetoferment
theresultingsugarsanddistiloutthealcohol.Nevertheless,innovationsincellulosic
ethanolareneededtoincreaseyields.Suchinnovationscouldoccurinseveral
categoriestoconstitutepatentableinventions:improvedprocesses,newenzymes
forbreakingobstinatechemicalbonds,separationtechniquesofligninfromhemi-
cellulose,andevengeneticallyengineeredfeedstocksthatoverproducedesired
enzymesorotherwisefacilitatetreatment.
Variouscompaniesareinvolvedinresearchingthebottlenecksplaguingcellulosic
ethanolproduction.
NovozymesandGenencorInternational,twoR&Djugernaughtsinthefieldsof
enzymesandmicroorganisms,notsurprisinglyrelyonpatentingtoprotecttheir
innovations.Novozymesreportedlyhasoverathousandactivepatentfamilies,
includingpatentsdrawntoenzymesforuseinbioethanolproductionsuchas
amylases,cellulasesandxylanases.
Novozymeshasalsoshownitselfnottobeshyaboutenforcingitspatentrightsin
thebiofuelindustry,asitbroughtsuitagainstGenencorInternational(sinceacquired
byDanisco),forinfringingitsU.S.patentNo.6,867,031entitled“Amylasevariants.”
Novozymes’patentwasfoundtobeinfringedbyGenencor’sSpezyme®Ethyl
productandpunitivedamagestotalling8MMUSDwereawarded.Novozymeand

©CIPS,2008.*OfLEGERROBICRICHARD,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmoflawyers,andpatentandtrade-marks
agents.TobepublishedintheJuly2008issueofBiofuelsCanadaMagazine.Publication063.004.

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GenencorInternationaleventuallysettledthecaseforabout15MMUSDandboth
continuetopursuepatentapplicationsgearedtoenzymaticcellulosicethanol
production.
Toprotecttheirresearchandoperationsatmanydifferentlevels,IogenCorpof
Ottawa,Ontario,hasfiledforpatentsforenhancedexpressionofproteinsin
geneticallymodified(GM)fungi,GMmicrobesforbetterproductionofparticular
enzymes,upstreampre-treatmentprocessesforfeedstocksanddownstream
methodsofprocessinglignocellulosicfeedstocktoproduceethanol.
Asisthecaseforalgae-inventions,itseemsthatpatentinginthefieldofcellulosic
ethanolisbeingpursuedbyplayersofallkinds.FromenergygiantslikeLockheed
MartinEnergySystemsanditsaffiliates,tostart-upslikeEnerkem,toseveral
individualinventors,patentrightsseemstobedistributedthroughouttheindustry.
Othercompaniesthathavefiledforpatentsforcellulose-relatedbiofueltechnologies
includeRenessen,Zeachem,Prokaria,WasteEnergyIntegratedSystems,Calgene,
NovoNordisk,BioenergyInternational,Bio-industries,ControlledEnvironmental
SystemsCorp,SolvayEnzymes,andParsons&Whittemore.
Nottobeoutdone,manyResearchInstitutes,UniversitiesandDepartmentsofState
(especiallytheUnitedStatesDepartmentofEnergy)alsoholdpatentsor
applicationsinthefield.
Inaddition,thedistilleryindustryisonethathaslongbeeninterestedinvalorizing
starchyslurriesviasaccharificationandethanolproduction.CompanieslikeNational
DistillersandChemicalCorpthatholdsaccharificationpatentsmayhaveastrategic
positionintheadjacentethanolbiofuelindustry.
Cellulosicethanolhasbeenexperiencingaperiodofintenseinnovationand
patenting.Theracetoinnovateandgrabmarketshareisundoubtedlyon,and
patentinghasbeenandwillcontinuetobeanintegralpartoftheequation.

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