Patent potential : Cellulose-and algae-based biofuels

2008-01-01

PATENTPOTENTIAL:CELLULOSE-ANDALGAE-BASEDBIOFUELS

JEREMYLAWSON*
LEGERROBICRICHARD,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS
Celluloseandalgaeseemtobeonthelipsofalmosteveryoneinthebiofuelindustry.In
fact,thesetwosourcematerialsareoftenspokenofinasinglebreathbecausetheyoffer
thegreatestpromisefornext-generationproductionofethanolandbiodiesel.
Thefatesofethanolderivedfromcelluloseandbiodieselderivedfromoil-generatingalgae
maynotonlydependontechnologybreakthroughsandvalidation,butalsoonthepatent
rightssurroundingthesewidely-toutedalternativefuels.
Patentsconferalimitedmonopoly(inagiventerritoryfor20yearsfromfiling)fornoveland
inventivetechnicaladvances.
Inthisfirstoftwocolumns,Iwillprovideanoverarchinglookatthepatentpotential
surroundingalgae-basedbiofuels.
Thegeneralconceptofusingfast-growingalgaetoproduceoilsthatcan,inturn,be
transformedintomethylesterbiodieselisnotnewinitself.Open-pondsand
photobioreactorshavebeenusedinthepastforcultivatingalgaewiththeviewofharvesting
theoilsproduced.Improvementscouldoccurinseveralcategoriestoconstitutepatentable
inventions:improvedprocesses,microalgaestrains,bioreactors,andextractiontechniques.
Followinga2002SupremeCourtofCanadadecision,“higherlifeforms”arenotpatentable
subjectmatterinCanada.TheCanadianIntellectualPropertyOffice(“CIPO”)hasalso
recentlyannounceditsviewonthedistinctionbetweenhigherandlowerlifeforms.The
CIPOconsiderslowerlifeformsasunicellularorganismsandhigherlifeformsas
multicellularorganisms.Consequently,unicellularformsofmicroalgaecanbepatentedper
se,whereastheCIPOcurrentlywouldnotacceptclaimstomulticellularalgaesuchasa
newvarietyofseaweed.
Inthefieldofalgae-basedbiofuels,GreenfuelTechnologiesCorpisabovethecurvefroma
recentpatentfilingstandpoint.Theirinternationalpatentapplicationsaredrawnto
inventionssuchasphotobioreactorsthatmitigatepollutioninfluegases,preconditioned
photosyntheticorganisms,algae-basedbiomassproductionandoilextractiontechniques.

©CIPS,2008.*OfLEGERROBICRICHARD,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmoflawyers,andpatentandtrade-marks
agents.CondensedversionpublishedintheJune/July2008issueofBiofuelsCanadaMagazine.
Publication063.003.

2
OryxeEnergyInternationalhasaplethoraofpatentsparticularlyrelatedtotheextractionof
carotenoidsandchlorophyllfromplantoilssuchasalgaeforbiofueladditiveformulations.
MartekBiosciencesCorp,principallyadeveloperofnutritionalproducts,haspatented
variousphotobioreactorsformicroalgaedesignedasfarbackasthe1980s.
Variousothercompanieshavefiledforpatentsforalgae-relatedbiofueltechnologies,
includingCargill,YedaR&D,BiodieselIndustries,AlgalTechnologies,DesertEnergy
Research,Aquasearch,Bionavitas,OmegaTechandAlgaeFarms.
AlsostrikingisthenumberofResearchInstitutesandUniversitiesthathavetakenthe
patentingrouteinthisfield.
Whereasmuchofthealgaepatentingrelatestooilproductionandseparation,some
companieshaveobtainedpatentsrelatedtoethanolproductionusingcertaintypesofalgae.
Itseemsthatvariousplayersintheneutriceutical,wastewaterremediation,agricultureand
aquacultureindustriesholdpatentsthatrelatetotechnologiesthatareusedintheirown
operationsbutcouldalsobeapplicableinbiofuelproduction.Suchcompaniescouldtryto
enterthebiofuelsmarketthemselvesbornbythesailsoftheirpatentedtechnology,or
licensetheirpatentsandknow-howtobiofuelproducers.
Indeed,patent-savvydecisionsmaynotonlyenableacompanytoexclusivelymake,use
andsellapatentedproductbutalsoallowthemtolicenseouttheirproprietarytechnologyto
generateadditionalrevenuestreams.Companiesinthealgae-basedbiofuelindustryshould
assesstheirpatentstrategyasthescienceandeconomicsofalgaecontinuetoevolve.

3
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ROBIC,ungrouped’avocatsetd’agentsdebrevetsetdemarquesdecommerce
vouédepuis1892àlaprotectionetàlavalorisationdelapropriétéintellectuelle
danstouslesdomaines:brevets,dessinsindustrielsetmodèlesutilitaires;marques
decommerce,marquesdecertificationetappellationsd’origine;droitsd’auteur,
propriétélittéraireetartistique,droitsvoisinsetdel’artisteinterprète;informatique,
logicielsetcircuitsintégrés;biotechnologies,pharmaceutiquesetobtentions
végétales;secretsdecommerce,know-howetconcurrence;licences,franchiseset
transfertsdetechnologies;commerceélectronique,distributionetdroitdesaffaires;
marquage,publicitéetétiquetage;poursuite,litigeetarbitrage;vérificationdiligente
etaudit.ROBIC,agroupoflawyersandofpatentandtrademarkagentsdedicated
since1892totheprotectionandthevalorizationofallfieldsofintellectualproperty:
patents,industrialdesignsandutilitypatents;trademarks,certificationmarksand
indicationsoforigin;copyrightandentertainmentlaw,artistsandperformers,
neighbouringrights;computer,softwareandintegratedcircuits;biotechnologies,
pharmaceuticalsandplantbreeders;tradesecrets,know-how,competitionandanti-
trust;licensing,franchisingandtechnologytransfers;e-commerce,distributionand
businesslaw;marketing,publicityandlabelling;prosecutionlitigationandarbitration;
duediligence.
COPYRIGHTER
IDEASLIVEHERE
ILATOUTDEMÊMEFALLUL’INVENTER!
LAMAÎTRISEDESINTANGIBLES
LEGERROBICRICHARD
NOSFENÊTRESGRANDESOUVERTESSURLEMONDEDESAFFAIRES
PATENTER
R
ROBIC
ROBIC+DROIT+AFFAIRES+SCIENCES+ARTS
ROBIC++++
ROBIC+LAW+BUSINESS+SCIENCE+ART
THETRADEMARKERGROUP
TRADEMARKER
VOSIDÉESÀLAPORTÉEDUMONDE,DESAFFAIRESÀLAGRANDEURDE
LAPLANÈTE
YOURBUSINESSISTHEWORLDOFIDEAS;OURBUSINESSBRINGSYOUR
IDEASTOTHEWORLD