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To: tekboy who wrote (26963)	6/28/2000 7:20:00 AM
From: unclewest	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

is the old economy about to learn a few lessons from the new economy? or, will congress overturn the patent process? i like to invest in big monopoly situations, so i have been following this company and story for months. i never had a position in the stock, but have been considering it. UCL has a patent for a cleaner gasoline...the patent was recently upheld to appeals court level....UCL wants to license the patent to others and collect a royalty for their research which developed this patented process. this patented process is essential to meeting "government clean air standards". licensing seems like normal business activity in the computer world. in the political hotbed of high gas prices, the government wants to get involved in the licensing process...wonder who contributed to whose campaign? or failed to contribute? the government has a clean air standard that no one can meet without using UCL's patented process. the courts have upheld the patent. some in the government now want to change the law, set prices, and control the licensing of this companies intellectual property, ultimately to control gas prices. is this outrageous or what? if congress prevails, every intellectual property company in the USA will be in jeopardy. the financial reward motivation for risking $ in research will be gone. unclewest Tuesday June 27, 7:10 pm Eastern Time US lawmakers seek to end monopoly on RFG motor fuel WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. patents for reformulated gasoline would be made more widely available to all refiners in an effort to push down the costs of motor fuel under legislation introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives. Oil companies have complained that Unocal Corp's (NYSE:UCL - news) patent on reformulated gasoline has made the cleaner burning gasoline more expensive in the Midwest, where fuel prices have soared to the highest in the nation. The bill would waive Unocal's monopoly of its patent for reformulated fuel. The legislation allows Attorney General Janet Reno to order licensing of reformulated gasoline patents, by building on her authority under the Clean Air Act to mandate licensing of patents to spur competition to make buildings, hazardous chemicals and engines comply with environmental standards. ``The owners of the patents will receive a reasonable return for their inventions, but they will not be able to deny licenses or charge exorbitant fees for their use,'' the bill's sponsors said. The legislation was jointly sponsored by Democratic Representatives Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, John Baldacci of Maine, Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Tom Barrett of Wisconsin. ``Oil companies would be able to supply more gasoline at a lower price, which would bring down the price of gasoline at the pump,'' the lawmakers said. Unocal has received $91 million in payments for infringement on its patent for reformulated gasoline. The payments followed a jury finding that six major oil companies infringed on the company's five RFG patents in 1996, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The judgment was upheld in March by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals.