Sustainable Patenting

Sustainable chemistry – also known as green chemistry – seeks to minimise or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. For example, innovators may develop a sustainable synthetic route to a chemical that is traditionally prepared from petrochemical feedstocks. Intellectual Property (IP) protection is used as a commercial tool by innovators to facilitate a return on their investment. Patents are commonly used within chemical technologies to protect inventions, which may be products or processes. But how is IP protection, such as patents, being used by innovators in the sustainable chemistry space? In this article, Finnegan partner Maeve O'Flynn discusses questions that innovators in the sustainable chemical space should ask when protecting their intellectual property. Read "Sustainable Patenting"