Patents - Fundamentals of Industrial Chemistry: Pharmaceuticals, Polymers, and Business - page 43

upcoming job interview with them or I just know that they are active in a
research area of interest to me. As another example of a patent search, I
know that McCormick and Company, Inc. makes spices, seasonings, and
condiments. If I do a patent search with McCormick as the assignee, I see
122 patents. Most are issued to McCormick and Company, Inc. but some to
McCormick and Munson Technologies, LLC, a Connecticut firm. If I browse
the 122 patents, I see that many are design patents (designation begins
with “D”). By reading others, I can get some sense of their technology. For
example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,257,738, entitled “Encapsulation Compositions
and Process for Preparing the Same” issued on September 4, 2012. By
reading this and other McCormick patents, you can get some sense of their
technology and research areas. You can also learn a little about the spice and
seasoning business.
Sometimes searching by assignee can still be too broad. For example, Eisai
Co., Ltd. is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Tokyo. However,
they employ more than 2,000 people in the United States. Searching under
Eisai as the assignee shows over 900 patents. If I were interested in what type
of work is performed at their Baltimore, MD facility, I could read the 900 +

patents or I could refine my search to those where the assignee is Eisai and the
inventor state is MD. If I do this, I find 26 patents and come to the conclusion
that they are interested in cancer research at that location.
If you understand everything about patents, you might want to consult
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,967. The patent is for a self-congratulatory apparatus
having a simulated human hand carried on a pivoting arm suspended from
a shoulder-supported member. The hand is manually swingable into and
out of contact with the user's back to give an amusing or an important
pat-on-the-back.
If you get in too much of a celebratory mode, you may need to consult
U.S. Pat. No. 85,659. The invention describes a new and improved antidote
for drunkenness. The medicine is to be taken in doses of two to three table-
spoonfuls three times per day. The list of 11 ingredients includes beef-gall,
eel-skin, codfish, sweet milk, and cows' urine. This may be a case of the cure
is worse than the disease.

QUESTIONS

1. In order to be eligible for a patent, an invention must satisfy three criteria.
What are the three criteria?
2. On January 3, 2012, Madeline, working for the Cheery Chemical
Company, has an idea for a new way to make cumene. Per company
policy, that same day she writes the idea in her notebook, signs and dates