Repost from Yahoo! Is there a Patent Attorney in the house?
Scott,
<I read your post #3989 on SI TT board regarding bumper to bumper patent on TMP and fermentation process. I've searched all archives in US patent office and I can't find anything that Thermo Tech has patented.>
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
I posted on 3-10-98 (#2746) about this...
messages.yahoo.com
<<About the TTRIF patents...
<The Company is the holder of a fully paid up, non-expiring world-wide exclusive license (the "License") for the application and development of a thermophilic process relating to the digestion of biodegradable waste called "Thermophilic Aerobic
Digestion Process for Producing Animal Nutrients and other Digested Products" (the "Technology"). The Technology is described in patent numbers U.S. 4292329, U.S. 4512103, CDN. 1208584 and CDN. 1084762 (the "Patents"). The Company was granted the License to use the Technology and the Patents pursuant to an agreement between Thermo Tech Waste and H.A.C.T. Systems Ltd. (HACT) dated 2-23-87, as amended by agreements dated 3-19-90 and 4-14-94 (the "HACT License").>
HACT, which is controlled by Rene, is (or was at 4-30-97) the registered owner of the Patents. According to page 26, Item 13...
<HACT has also agreed to assign to the Company all its patent rights related to the thermophilic digestion technology thereby establishing the Company as the assignee of all patents rather than licensee. Consideration will be established based on the fair value of the assets received. In connection with this transaction the Company has advanced a $1,200,000 refundable deposit to HACT.>
I'm sure some enterprising cybersleuth, who is willing to withstand the rigors of negotiating .gov sites, will check the above US (AND CDN) patent numbers and see if TTRIF (or maybe one of its subs) has been assigned the Patents yet. We've apparently already paid $1.2MM for them.>>
Spurred on by your post and the boolean search link you provided, I decided to try myself. However, just the word "boolean" intimidates me (named for English mathematician Boole) so I tried to search by the US patent numbers 4292329 and 4512103 from the Form 20-F at the following sites:
patents.uspto.gov
patents.ibm.com
Eureka! Patent #4292329 is for "Center-filled chewing gum"! A typo...more on this in a moment!
Patent #4512103 is for "method for producing fungi" and its "maintenance status" is E2 (Expired)!
I can't believe no one else has checked this stuff!
I did an inventor search on the (superior) IBM Patent Server link using the last name Coulthard, a co-inventor of Patent #4512103 and...Zounds! I found Patent #4292328 (one number off from the squirting gum!) which is for "Thermophilic aerobic digestion process for producing animal nutrients and other digested products" and expires September 29, 1998 (seventeen years from issue date. This has now changed, see SI post #4017)
BTW, the IBM site will allow you to read the entire text of the fifteen-page patent...you can't cut or copy it, nor can you print it...but worth the read... just click on "view images" icon at upper left of web page!
Both Patent #'s (4292328 and 4512103) are not assigned to anyone, according to both web sites.
I called IR , faxed IBM patent server info, and posed the assignee question and, at the least, wanted them to know about the "bad" patent # in the 20-F). They made up a contact sheet for Rene to call me back.
At 3:28 PM CDT, Rene and Dan Cummin called me about the patent questions. Apparently, the "chewing gum" patent # bit them in the ass before and the error as resurfaced.
Rene said he was POSITIVE the two patents had been assigned to HACT and didn't understand why the IBM site showed "none" for ASSIGNEES.
All the above should be a moot point soon...Rene also said the new Thermo Master PLANT patent should be granted by April 28th to Rene, Dan Cumming and Bob _________ (couldn't recall last name). Apparently, inventors can't be corporations... inventors have to be individuals. The patents will then be assigned to TTRIF.
BTW, here the link to view the Canadian trademarking of the "Thermo Master" name...
strategis.ic.gc.ca
Finally, I tried to check CDN Patent #'s 1208584 and 1084762, but the following web site database just covers patents issued from 10-1-89 to present...
strategis.ic.gc.ca
Are there any patent lawyers out there in cyberspace willing to do a little gratis patent research to verify what Rene told me?
Why doesn't HACT show as assignees? Can assignment be accomplished with a private (unfiled) document?
Regards,
David Pickering |
