Nanotechnology Patents: Will Small-Scale Science Pose Big Challenges for Applicants and the Patent Office?

The term "nanotechnology" generally refers to the fabrication and manipulation of materials and devices on the scale of about 1-100 nanometers, and has become one of the key technology buzzwords for 2004. The passage of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, Pub. L. No. 108-153, which authorized $3.7 billion in federal funding from 2005 through 2008 for the support of nanotechnology research and development, has fueled the fervor over nanotechnology. This substantial funding came as the scientific community and industries as diverse as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and petrochemicals were increasingly discovering that, when reduced to nanoscale size, ordinary bits of matter often manifest radically different physical properties. <i>See</i> Joseph Brean, <i>The Next Big (Little) Thing,</i> National Post (Feb. 6, 2004).

16 minute read July 06, 2004 at 01:52 PM
By
Iona Niven Kaiser
Nanotechnology Patents: Will Small-Scale Science Pose Big Challenges for Applicants and the Patent Office?

The term “nanotechnology” generally refers to the fabrication and manipulation of materials and devices on the scale of about 1-100 nanometers, and has become one of the key technology buzzwords for 2004.

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