Congratulations! Your latest breakthrough has significantly closed the gap between the actual efficiency and the theoretical efficiency of solar cells, or you have discovered how to efficiently and cleanly recover the energy in municipal trash collections, or you have developed a technique to convert waste material into a usable product. Now what? Do you just dedicate the results of your long hours and substantial financial investment to the public? No, no, a thousand therms no! You may be able to protect your invention by keeping it a trade secret or by obtaining a patent on it. You may then be able to exploit your invention, even if you are not using it, by licensing it to someone who does want to use it. We can assist you in deciding how to protect your invention, and in which countries, in order to keep your business objectives at the forefront. We can also assist you in negotiating and drafting a licensing agreement that protects your business interests and requires the licensee to actually use the invention and pay you royalties for that use. We can also advise and represent you prior to, and in, litigation, such as when you are enforcing your patent rights or if, unfortunately, you have been accused of infringing the patent of another.

An energy-related invention typically encompasses multiple technologies, for example, mechanical, electrical, and metallurgical, or chemical, industrial and mechanical. The U.S. Patent Office has recognized the importance of energy-related inventions and recently announced that it will implement a pilot program to accelerate the examination of certain “green” technology patent applications such as environmental quality, more efficient energy utilization and energy conservation, discovery or development of renewable energy resources, and greenhouse gas emission reduction. We have the experience and knowledge necessary to prepare and prosecute patent applications for such inventions including, for example, efficient combustion of biomass, heavy oil recovery, in-situ oil refining, structural insulated (SIPS) panels, low power electronics, reduction or elimination of sleep-mode power in electronics, rechargeable battery systems, high-speed battery recharging systems, electro-voltaic solar technologies, hydrogen refueling stations for hydrogen powered vehicles, management of pipelines used to cool nuclear power plants, economically-viable extraction of stranded natural gas and methane from coal mines, and producing usable energy by the conversion of fly ash into a usable additive for concrete products.

The successful commercial exploitation of a service or a product, whether patentable or not, also involves creating and protecting a word, phrase or logo to become associated with that service or a product. We will work with your marketing department to select an appropriate and protectable trademark, and we will prepare and prosecute the applications necessary to register that trademark in the US and in countries of importance to your business.