achates power
potential light - duty op engine family. source: achates power. click to enlarge .
achates power, inc. was founded in 2004 with the mission to build cleaner, more efficient engines. the
the achates power opposed - piston engine. increased fuel efficiency, cost effective with inherently low emissions. a fundamentally better engine .
achates power building 2. 7l opposed - piston light - duty engine; exceeding cafe 2025, tier 3 targets at lower cost
achates power has realized the potential for impressive efficiency in their development of the opposed piston architecture. we have worked with achates power for a number of years now and applaud their engineers and engineering rigor, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration ,
said dr .
achates power building 2. 7l opposed - piston light - duty engine; exceeding cafe 2025, tier 3 targets at lower cost - green car congress
the history of the achates engine – as told by entrepreneur dr. james lemke
it´s good that achates have cgi in the block to withstand the high pressure .
inside the achates engine, where superb power density comes from the unique design of two opposed pistons firing in the same cylinder and a two - stroke operating cycle .
what tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at power solu ...
with this new contract, achates has six concurrent customers whose contracts encompass five different engine applications: passenger vehicle, light commercial vehicle, heavy commercial vehicle, military and marine / stationary power. achates power' s engine allows oems to achieve the world' s most stringent current and future fuel efficiency and emissions standards, which include epa 2010 ,
, notes ,
three features are critically important for combat vehicles: low heat rejection to coolant, high power density, and high efficiency. the opposed - piston engine architecture – particularly with the advances from achates power – has strengths in all three areas .
power solutions international, inc. questions about work, benefits, interviews and hiring process :
that’s where achates engine technology enters. this “opposed - piston” engine design is from far new – it’s been deployed as widely as by the german aircraft company junkers for a pre - wwii aircraft and for any number of stationary power - generating applications from the 1930s to today. it’s promise is simple: with two pistons in each cylinder making for markedly more power density than a conventional single - piston - per - cylinder engine, johnson told us the achates design can be as much as 30 percent more efficient than an standard diesel engine of similar power. or to make the same power, the achates engine can be just two - thirds the size .
view all power solutions international, inc. jobs in burr ridge, il - burr ridge jobs
achates and the ope. achates power has spent 13 years improving the opposed - piston engine, a historically efficient engine originally developed in the late 1800s. the achates power opposed - piston engine features two pistons per cylinder, working in opposite reciprocating action. the opposed - piston engine does not need cylinder heads, which are a major contributor to heat losses in conventional engines. ports in the cylinder walls replace the complex poppet valves and friction - creating valve trains of conventional engines .
, chief technical officer, cummins inc .
this contract acknowledges the u. s. army recognizes the special value of this engine design in their application and achates power' s ability to optimize it .
achates power, inc. has developed radically improved internal combustion engines that increase fuel efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are lower cost. founded in 2004 with the mission to build cleaner, more efficient engines, the
development and commercialization of trident op engines with fairbanks morse for use in large - scale stationary power applications .
further, achates is planning to meet the 0. 03 g / mile nmog + no x tier 3 fleet average target (the old tier 2 bin 2 level). achates has done several studies with leading aftertreatment manufacturers for a diesel application; results suggested the achates op engine could reduce the diesel engine aftertreatment cost by 30% .
achates power in san diego believes it has a better way: ditch the design that has dominated engine design for the past 130 years in favor of an idea abandoned in the 1940s and see a 30 percent bump in efficiency .
top: incremental technology costs from a 2016 baseline to deliver 2025 cafe compliance for a gasoline engine. bottom: incremental technology costs from a 2016 baseline to deliver 2025 cafe compliance for the opgci engine. source: achates power. click to enlarge .
1 )
to respond to a growing list of customers, achates power has more than 100 employees in two locations: san diego and metro - detroit. in addition to continued research and development, the company has engine development programs underway, including :
johnson is the ceo of achates power, the decade - long developer of an advanced take on an old - school engine design that could be poised to emerge as a high - efficiency dose of reality to a transportation sector – and celebrity - inspired public – that johnson says is smitten with an environmental brass ring most will never reach: battery - electric power for everyday, affordable vehicles .
arpa - e is providing initial funding of $ 9 million to this project over three years; achates power, argonne and delphi expect to spend a total of $ 13 million on the program, including cost share. the $ 9 - million award was “one of the largest single arpa - e awards ever made, ” noted chris atkinson, the arpa - e program manager for the achates project .
arpa - e is providing initial funding of $ 9 million to this project over three years; achates power, argonne and delphi expect to spend a total of $ 13 million on the program, including cost share. the $ 9 - million award was “ one of the largest single arpa - e awards ever made, ” noted chris atkinson, the arpa - e program manager for the achates project .
, president and ceo, achates power .
there is no technical solution to respond to the proposed 2025 cafe regulation that is as cost effective, compatible with our existing vehicles and fuels, ready for production and adaptable to future renewable fuels as our opposed - piston engines .
illustration of the achates cylinder, showing airflow through the ports—intake at bottom, exhaust at top. the shape of the intake ports is critical, has been the focus of much refinement, and will vary from application to application. (the angles in the ports control the swirl, for example .) “those ports, those are essentially our cylinder head, cam timing and valve profiles, all in one, ” says dave johnson, ceo. achates power is not a product development company, johnson notes—it is a technology development company. achates is building the analytical models to figure out how to design the ports for any given applications. achates then exercises the models for a specific customer’s application. click to enlarge .
a comparison between the 2. 7l op engine and a comparable v6 with supercharger shows a part reduction of more than 60% (110 primary components for the achates power inline 3 - cylinder engine vs. 325 primary components for the v6), enabling an approximate 10% cost reduction .
cummins inc. , a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. headquartered in columbus ,
2) according to this presentation, in 2016 achates had the following programs underway: 5 truck, 3 car, us army, fairbanks morse .
the epa’s draft technical assessment report released in 2016 forecast cost increases to integrate fuel saving technology. using this information and a related national academy of sciences report, achates power determined that including the opposed - piston engine in the roadmap to achieve cafe will be at least $ 1, 000 less expensive .
the new achates power 2. 7 - liter ope will deliver nominal power of 270 hp and max torque of 650 n·m (479 lb - ft); the vehicle will achieve 37 mpg—12% above the 33 mpg fully phased - in cafe 2025 requirement for a full - size, light - duty pick - up truck (65 - 70 sq. feet). (that works out to an estimated window - sticker label rating of 28 mpg combined. )
achates power currently has engine programs under development with 12 leading engine manufacturers, including work with cummins on the next - generation combat engine for the us army, an opposed - piston, gasoline compression ignition engine for the us department of energy in partnership with argonne national laboratory and delphi automotive, and fairbanks morse .
, vice president, technology development at achates power .
and in 2018 we will have a demonstration vehicle that proves an internal combustion engine is able to cost effectively meet the cafe standard, does not require the adoption of costly infrastructure upgrades, vehicle modifications or a change in how the driver operates or maintains the vehicle .
, ceo, achates power .
with cummins as our partner on the single cylinder advanced combat engine technology demonstrator program, we have the opportunity to combine cummins' strengths in diesel engine leadership with our strengths in opposed - piston engine technology to deliver a superior engine for combat and tactical vehicles for the u. s. army .
those who believe the achates engine is going to revolutionize the future of transport, would do well to study the design, and the fate, of the commer ts3 .
better peak load management. a 4 - stroke requires high bmep to achieve competitive power and torque density. a high compression ratio and high charge mass causes high cylinder pressure .
achates power currently has engine programs under development with 12 leading engine manufacturers, including work with cummins on the advanced combat engine for the us army, an opposed - piston, gasoline compression ignition engine for the us department of energy’s advanced research projects agency - energy (arpa - e) in partnership with argonne national laboratory and delphi automotive, and fairbanks morse. these customers have a wide range of product specifications: from 50 hp to 5, 000 hp power output, for example, in different types of vehicles, using different fuels .
the achates power opposed - piston, two - stroke engine has inherent efficiency advantages not found in conventional engines. these advantages include a patented combustion system, three - cylinder configuration and compact design, which maximizes thermal efficiency with a long stroke - to - bore ratio, improves scavenging and reduces pumping losses. this animation shows how the engine works as well as explains its fundamental architectural benefits .
stemming from a major project partially funded with a $ 9 - million grant from the advanced research projects agency - energy (arpa - e) to develop an opposed - piston two - stroke gasoline compression ignition engine (opgci) (earlier post), achates power announced it is developing a 2. 7 - liter, 3 - cylinder (i. e. , six - piston) light - duty version of its opposed piston engine (ope) in both diesel - and gasoline - fueled versions. achates will demonstrate the engine in 2018 in a driveable light - duty truck .
achates wants to chuck that out the window in favor of the opposed piston engine. this setup uses two pistons in each cylinder. the ignition of fuel and air creates an explosion that drives the pistons apart, generating power. such engines are simpler, because they don' t use valves or camshafts. they saw some use in locomotives and military vehicles until engineers abandoned them in the 1940s because of the difficulty of making them run cleanly and efficiently. achates thinks it has cracked that problem. we paid a visit to find out how—check out the video above to see what we learned .
achates power has spent 13 years improving the opposed - piston engine, a historically efficient engine originally developed in the late 1800' s. the achates power opposed - piston engine features two pistons per cylinder, working in opposite reciprocating action; the opposed - piston engine does not need cylinder heads, which are a major contributor to heat losses in conventional engines. ports in the cylinder walls replace the complex poppet valves and friction - creating valve trains of conventional engines. the intake ports at one end of the cylinder and exhaust ports at the other are opened by the piston motion and enable efficient uniflow air scavenging. the two - stroke, compression ignition engine has been engineered to achieve superior thermal efficiency by the virtue of its lower heat losses, higher expansion ratio, lean combustion and reduced pumping losses .
using data from an sae paper for atlas data (sae 2013 - 01 - 0282), achates engineers calculated that their opposed piston engine would outperform atlas interms of fuel economy and engine - out emissions .
the new achates power 2. 7 liter opposed - piston engine will make 270hp, 650nm, the vehicle will achieve 37 mpg, above the 33 mpg fully phased - in cafe 2025 requirement for a full - size, light - duty pick - up truck (65 - 70 sq. feet). the demonstration engine will be integrated into a drivable prototype in 2018; development engines will also be available for automakers .
achates is working with delphi automotive (which has been avidly pursuing gasoline compression ignition for some time) and argonne national laboratory on the arpa - e - funded project to develop the opgci engine. (earlier post. )
“achates is working with delphi automotive (which has been avidly pursuing gasoline compression ignition for some time) and argonne national laboratory on the arpa - e - funded project to develop the opgci engine. (earlier post. )
the light - duty engine is a “basic” achates opposed piston 2 - stroke engine, said redon—i. e. , it does not make use of more advanced technology elements under consideration for lowering the fuel consumption of combustion engines .
the hood on your car and yank out the plastic cover beneath it, you' ll see a beautiful bit of mind - boggling engineering: the internal combustion engine. today' s engines harness around 100 explosions of fuel and oxygen each second, generating massive power with minimal emissions .
with the opgci engine, achates also expects a significant cost reduction of the aftertreatment because the engine - out no x and soot are much lower than with diesel. the current best guess is close to gasoline si aftertreatment system cost, said fabien redon, vice president, technology development .
in order to create a technology foundation for the future fighting vehicle, the u. s. army has been focused on the development of a modular and scalable advanced combat engine capable of very low heat rejection, increased fuel economy, excellent durability, and outstanding overall propulsion system power and density .
it’s not just tesla he’s picking on. johnson, who worked in various engineering and executive roles for 25 years at ford motor (f) before spending the last seven years with achates, is convinced no electric vehicle is going to sell in make - a - difference numbers for at least another generation .
most automotive engines, from the single - cylinder, one - horsepower unit carl benz created in 1885 to the 16 - cylinder, 1, 500 - horsepower beast in the bugatti chiron, use a four - stroke reciprocating design. it' s a relatively simple idea: a piston in a cylinder draws in air and adds fuel during the intake stroke. the compression stroke squishes that mixture and introduces a spark, creating an explosion that drives the piston down, generating power during the power stroke. the cylinder then rises during the exhaust stroke, expelling spent gasses. the cycle repeats, thousands of times each minute .
the achates 2. 7 - liter engine to be deployed in the demo truck is a new clean - sheet design incorporating all the latest learnings. engine design will be complete early this year, with first physical prototypes being manufactured by the end of the year. vehicle development will start early in 2018, with initial demonstrations that year .
light - duty diesel op. achates has been considering a light - duty version of it engine for awhile, and, in early work, compared an earlier version of a 2. 7 - liter, 3 - cylinder implementation (similar to the one to be deployed in the demo truck) to the cummins atlas inline - 4 diesel .
for this new chapter of modernizing the army' s combat vehicles. together, their technologies will be used to further refine the opposed - piston engine for lower heat rejection, greater fuel efficiency, increased power density and the ability to operate on various fuels. the end goal is to deliver a product that improves the mobility and performance of combat vehicles .
a very significant factor in meeting emissions requirements is the ability to light off the aftertreatment system as soon as possible. achates has demonstrated the ability to achieve exceptionally high exhaust gas temperatures at idle—much beyond what can be done with equivalent 4 - stroke engines. this enables the earlier light - off of the aftertreatment, therefore resulting in lower emissions over the cycle .
sec. 7 (b) provides a
sense of congress
that recent supreme court decisions have harmed progress of science and the useful arts, the constitutional justification for amending the statute in support of the enumerated article i power of congress to establish the patent system. the amendment is direct in its effects on this jurisprudence in sec. 7 (b) (3) :
the goal of the 30 - month achates arpa - e project is to deliver a three - cylinder, 3. 0 - liter opposed - piston, gasoline compression ignition engine applicable to large passenger vehicles, pick - up trucks, suvs and minivans. it could also be the first of a family of opgci engines spanning 1. 0 to 4. 0l displacements, said redon .
multi - cylinder modular development engine the a48 - 3 - 16 shares most of the power cylinder with the a48 - 1 and in an effort to reduce the development schedule, many components are compatible. similar to the a48 - 1, the a48 - 3 - 16 is designed for a peak cylinder pressure of 200 bar with overload conditions of 220 bar. the block was cast from compacted graphite iron (cgi) .
patent at issue: u. s. patent no. re54, 553, entitled ″mass spectrometer and mass filters thereof. ″ the ′553 patent generally relates to a method for improving the operational characteristics of mass spectrometers, particularly those with quadrupole mass filter arrangements. the ′553 patent purportedly addresses an issue where dielectric material is deposited on the rods thereby reducing the mass resolving power or transmission of the mass spectrometer that in some instances renders the mass spectrometer useless .
don’t take the word of the guy who’s shilling the tesla alternative – numerous studies from private - and government - industry sources consistently agree that internal - combustion engines are going to power the preponderance of transportation vehicles for the foreseeable future. a widely accepted impartial authority, the energy information administration (part of the u. s. dept. of energy), in its annual energy outlook for 2015 projects that in 2035, about 95 percent of light vehicles in this country still will be using an internal - combustion engine .
a detailed thermodynamic analysis was performed to demonstrate the fundamental efficiency advantage of an opposed - piston two - stroke engine over a standard four - stroke engine. three engine configurations were considered: a baseline six - cylinder four - stroke engine, a hypothetical three - cylinder opposed - piston four - stroke engine, and a three - cylinder opposed - piston two - stroke engine. the bore and stroke per piston were held constant for all engine configurations to minimize any potential differences in friction. the closed - cycle performance of the engine configurations were compared using a custom analysis tool that allowed the sources of thermal efficiency differences to be identified and quantified. the simulation results showed that combining the opposed - piston architecture with the two - stroke cycle increased the indicated thermal efficiency through a combination of three effects: reduced heat transfer because the opposed - piston architecture creates a more favorable combustion chamber area / volume ratio, increased ratio of specific heats because of leaner operating conditions made possible by the two - stroke cycle, and decreased combustion duration achievable at the fixed maximum pressure rise rate because of the lower energy release density of the two - stroke engine. when averaged over a representative engine cycle, the opposed - piston two - stroke engine had 10. 4% lower indicated - specific fuel consumption than the four - stroke engine. in a second analysis, the closed - cycle simulation was extended to a engine system model to estimate the pumping work required to achieve the operating conditions needed to reach a specified nox emissions rate. because the opposed - piston two - stroke engine has inherently lower peak in - cylinder temperatures than the four - stroke engine, lower intake pressure was required to meet the nox emissions constraint and as a result lower pumping work was needed. at the simulated condition considered, the opposed - piston two - stroke engine had approximately 9. 0% lower brake - specific fuel consumption than the four - stroke engine .
citation: herold, r. , wahl, m. , regner, g. , lemke, j. et al. ,
thermodynamic benefits of opposed - piston two - stroke engines ,
sae technical paper 2011 - 01 - 2216, 2011, urltoken. download citation
author (s): randy e. herold, michael h. wahl, gerhard regner, james u. lemke, david e. foster
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representatives introduce bill to roll back aia changes in u. s. patent law
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in the 1970' s, the new york tristate area was entertained by (or subjected to) television and radio ads for a discount stereo outlet named crazy eddie' s. under the tag line
our prices are insane ,
the ads involved a number of outrageous scenarios, one of which was
christmas in july
( or august), complete with santa claus in shorts hawking electronic wares .
representatives thomas massie (r - ky, 4th dist .) and marcy kaptur (d - oh, 9th dist .) introduced a bill recently that is reminiscent of christmas in july, at least for pro - patent people. the bill, h. r. 6264, entitled
restoring america' s leadership in innovation act ,
seeks to undo many of the changes in u. s. patent law produced by the leahy - smith america invents act of 2012. while rep. kaptur' s interests (and bona fides) in patent law are unclear, rep. massie' s are not. he holds a degree in electrical engineering from mit and has been awarded two dozen patents. he has also been quoted extensively on patent law; for example, speaking of the proponents of patent
reform ,
on july 5, 2017 :
a lot of those companies want to become automobile manufacturers, or cell phone manufacturers, or they want to write software for operating systems, but they didn' t invent in those areas and they don' t own the patents that have historically been the touchstone of innovation ownership .
they' d love to just come in and start playing in those fields and start using their size and scale as an advantage, and to them, patents look like a hindrance ,
massie explained .
they are here in congress looking to weaken patents and they are not just interested in weakening patents issued in the future, they are looking to weaken all patents .
reform is not about strengthening the patent granting system, but about making it harder for patent owners to assert patents to protect their rights ,
massie said emphatically .
they didn' t read the constitution and come to say they have a better way more in line with what the founding fathers had in mind. they just want all the patents to be public domain today. it is very short sighted to attack the patent system in this way .
the bill has as its avowed purpose
[ t ] o promote the leadership of the united states in global innovation by establishing a robust patent system that restores and protects the right of inventors to own and enforce private property rights in inventions and discoveries, and for other purposes .
it asserts that
[ t ] he leahy - smith america invents act (public law 112–29) enacted on september 16, 2011, and several decisions of the supreme court have harmed the progress of science and the useful arts by eroding the strength and value of the patent system
( sec. 2 (2) ) and that
[ a ] united states patent secures a private property right to an inventor
( sec. 2 (4) ) .
sec. 3, entitled
repeal of first - to - file system under the america invents act ,
restores u. s. patent law to a
first to invent
regime (sec. 3 (b) ), and restores the meaning of
public use
and
on sale in this country
to their pre - aia definitions (sec. 3 (c) ) .
sec. 4 abolishes inter partes (ipr) and post grant review (pgr), and provides a
sense of congress
that (1) ipr and pgr have harmed innovation by subjecting inventors to serial patent challenges; (2) that these procedures have invalidated patents at
an unreasonably high rate
; (3) that patents should not be subjected to
unfair
ptab proceedings but should be adjudicated in court; (4) ipr, pgr, and inter partes reexamination to be repealed but (5) ex parte reexamination will remain (sec. 4 (c) ) .
sec. 5 abolishes the patent trial and appeal board (ptab) as being unnecessary in view of elimination of iprs and pgrs. it reestablishes the board of patent appeals and interferences (bpai) in its stead (sec. 5 (a) ) and the bpai' s duties (sec. 5 (b) ) and also reestablishes appeals to district court (sec. 5 (c) ) .
sec. 6 eliminates fee diversion from the uspto and establishes an
innovation promotion fund
( sec. 6 (a) (5) ), to be funded by any fees collected by the patent and trademark activities of the office to be used to fund the operations of the office. these provisions are to come into force on the first day of the first fiscal year after enactment; the bill also provides for termination of the reserve fund (sec. 6 (b) )
[ u ] pon the payment of all obligated amounts .
sec. 7 (a) relates to changes intended to overcome the effects of the supreme court' s recent § 101 jurisprudence. this section derives from the proposals made by the ipo and aipla and reads as follows :
( a) in general. —whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title .
( b) exception. —a claimed invention is ineligible patent subject matter under subsection (a) if the claimed invention as a whole, as understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art, exists in nature independently of and prior to any human activity, or exists solely in the human mind .
( c) eligibility standard. —the eligibility of a claimed invention under subsections (a) and (b) shall be determined without regard as to the requirements or conditions of sections 102, 103, and 112 of this title, or the claimed invention' s inventive concept .
[ t ] his amendment effectively abrogates alice corp. v. cls bank international, 134 s. ct. 2347 (2014) and its predecessors to ensure that life sciences discoveries, computer software, and similar inventions and discoveries are patentable, and that those patents are enforceable .
sec. 8 (a) restores the prior definitions of the prior art, now enumerated rather than designated by subsection of section 102 .
( b) disclosures in patent applications and patents. —a disclosure shall not be prior art to a claimed invention under this section if before the issuance of a patent—
( 3) the information disclosed and the claimed invention, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, were owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person .
a patent right is a private property right secured to an inventor upon issuance of the patent that shall only be revoked by a court ruling in a judicial proceeding, unless the patent owner consents to an administrative or other procedure .
and sec. 9 (c) asserts a
sense of congress
that
recent jurisprudence of the united states supreme court, including impression products inc. v. lexmark international, inc. , have harmed the progress of science and the useful arts ...
unmentioned but equally disturbing to the concept that a patent is a private property right is the court' s decision in sas institute inc. v. iancu; that decision would have much less relevance if sections 4 and 9 of this bill were enacted into law. but the bill' s specific recitation of lexmark also indicates that this provision is intended to overturn the post - sale restrictions the court imposed on patentees in lexmark, making explicit that the patent property right overcomes the common law principle against restraints on alienating property .
sec. 10 (a) would end
automatic
publication of u. s. patent applications, authorizing publication only upon the request of the patent applicant, and eliminating public disclosure of the file history of any patent application until patent grant .
( 2) automatic publication of patent applications encourages early disclosure of claimed inventions and subjects innovative inventions and discoveries reduced to practice in the united states to theft or appropriation by foreign competitors .
sec. 11 (a) proposes revised language in 35 u. s. c. § 282 that in addition to the statutory presumption of validity of a patent, each claim must be presumed valid
independently of the validity of other claims
and that a dependent claim must be presumed valid even if dependent on an invalid claim .
tolling of patent term during validity challenge. —in an action involving a patent where the validity of the patent has been challenged, the patent term shall be tolled from the time the validity of the patent is challenged to the time of resolution of the validity issue by the court. the patent term shall resume once the validity challenge is resolved. the court may award damages to the patent owner in a case in which another party brought a validity claim against the patent in bad faith .
sec. 12 amends § 283 to include a mandatory permanent injunction upon a finding of infringement, which can be overcome only by a showing by the infringer by clear and convincing evidence that the patentee would not be irreparably harmed. a finding of irreparable harm does not require the patentee to be making or selling a product covered by the patent. this provision effectively abrogates the supreme court' s decision in ebay inc. v. mercexchange, llc, which introduced into the injunction calculus considerations such as whether the patentee was practicing the invention (which in itself was not supported by the express language of the statute) .
sec. 13 restores the best mode requirement of § 112 (a) as a defense in patent infringement litigation .
the bill has been referred to house judiciary committee, where its prospects are, to say the least, very uncertain .
july 10, 2018 -
improving access to global patent data
( u. s. patent and trademark office) - 12: 00 to 1: 00 pm (et )
july 17, 2018 - technology center (tc) 2600 customer partnership meeting (rocky mountain regional office, u. s. patent and trademark office) - 8: 15 am to 3: 00 pm (mt), denver, co
july 17 - 18, 2018 - post - grant pto proceedings conference (american conference institute) - washington, d. c .
the intellectual property owners association (ipo) will offer a one - hour webinar entitled
damages after western geco: impact on patent litigation strategy and client counseling
on july 12, 2018 from 2: 00 to 3: 00 pm (et). buckmaster de wolf of general electric co. ; bart eppenauer of shook, hardy & bacon llp; and blair jacobs of paul hastings llp will focus on the impact of the supreme court' s decision in western geco v. ion on patent litigation strategy, as well as client counseling and discuss the following topics :
• how western geco might impact decisions regarding the location of r & d, manufacturing, and contract signing. • the immediate and long - term effects on litigation strategy for both plaintiffs and defendants. • whether the impact will be limited to § 271 (f) (2) cases or may be broader. • what kind of proof plaintiffs will need to bolster their claims for worldwide damages. • how the question of proximate cause
could limit or preclude damages in particular cases ,
an issue the court explicitly declined to address .
the registration fee for the webinar is $ 135 (government and academic rates are available upon request). those interested in registering for the webinar can do so here .
technology transfer tactics will be offering a webinar entitled
the 2018 bayh dole revisions: practical compliance guidance for technology transfer offices
on july 17, 2018 from 1: 00 to 2: 00 pm (et). charles r. macedo, alan miller and brian amos of amster, rothstein & ebenstein llp will address the following topics :
the registration fee for the webinar is $ 197. those interested in registering for the webinar, can do so here .
settlement agreements between conventional branded and generic drug makers were the source of a long dispute between pharmaceutical companies and the federal trade commission, culminating in the supreme court' s decision in ftc v. actavis in 2013. before that decision, congress implemented a protocol requiring any such
reverse payment
settlement agreements (called
pay - for - delay
by the ftc and those opposed to the practice) to be vetted by the commission, wherein ones deserving of suspicion as being anticompetitive would come to the ftc' s attention (and presumably corrective action) .
no such regime has been put in place for biosimilar drugs, and two senators, charles grassley (r - ia) and claire klobucher (d - mn), think the ftc should commence review of the humira® settlement. part of their angst on the issue is a disparity of biosimilar entry dates between the u. s. (2023) and europe (october 2018). part is their innate inclinations: senators grassley and klobucher have carried the branded company abuse torch for a while (see
the creates act of 2016: senate listens to generics industry
). and of course perhaps the biggest factor is the high cost of humira®, which is and has been the top - selling biologic drug for several years, and the price of which cannot but help to be reduced when biosimilar competitors enter the marketplace. it must be noted in passing, however, that the size of such a reduction is unlikely to be as great as has been the case for conventional generic small molecule drugs. in a fashion predicted by an ftc white paper prepared before enactment of the bpcia (see
no one seems happy with follow - on biologics according to the ftc
), the few biosimilar providers on the market have priced their drugs at only 15% less than the reference product sponsor (sandoz' s zarxio® (filgrastim - sndz) (in competition with amgen' s neupogen®); pfizer' s inflectra® (infliximab - dyyb) (in competition with j & j / janssen' s remicade®), although merck - samsung - bioepsis' s renflexis® (infliximab - abda) (another remicade® competitor) launched at risk (i. e. , while patent litigation was on - going) at a 35% discount). while this is a significant savings in aggregate (say, for example, insurers and the federal government), it is not the windfall for consumers that some (including perhaps these senators) seem to think it will be .
we write to urge the federal trade commission (ftc) to look into whether strategies to hinder or delay generics from entering the market – such as anticompetitive
pay for delay
settlement agreements that have plagued generic pharmaceutical markets for years – may be being utilized for settlements regarding biologic medicines .
as you are aware, the ftc estimates that these pay for delay settlements can cost consumers and taxpayers $ 3. 5 billion in higher drug costs every year. since 2001, the ftc has filed a number of lawsuits to stop these deals, and has worked with congress on legislation to end pay for delay settlements. we would like to continue those efforts to combat these agreements and explore their impact on the biologic market .
biologics play an important role in treating many serious illnesses and are among the fastest growing classes of therapeutic products. as they are more expensive than simple molecule pharmaceuticals, biologics constitute a substantial and increasing proportion of our nation' s healthcare costs. without biosimilar competition, u. s. patients and payers will likely see additional price increases on biologics in the years to come .
for example, abbvie inc.' s (abbvie) humira is a biologic medicine that treats multiple inflammatory diseases and is the world' s top - selling prescription drug with annual sales of $ 16 billion, including more than $ 10 billion in the united states alone .
over the past year, abbvie entered into global settlement agreements of all intellectual property litigation with both amgen inc. (amgen) and samsung bioepsis (samsung) over their biosimilars of humira. under the agreements, amgen and samsung will not launch their products in the united states until 2023, but both companies will be able to launch their biosimilars into the european market in october 2018. this means that while european patients will benefit from biosimilar competition later this year, americans may be without access to humira biosimilars for almost five more years. while such terms in patent settlement agreements may not always be inappropriate, the incentives for parties to delay biosimilar entry are present, and biologic markets could be susceptible to patent settlement abuse .
in light of the importance of biosimilar competition to drive down prices and improve the quality of life for american patients, we urge the ftc to examine global patent settlements relating to biosimilars to ensure they are not in violation of antitrust laws .
thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. we appreciate the ftc' s efforts to ensure that potentially anticompetitive practices do not impede competition in the pharmaceutical market .
last month, the intellectual property owners association (ipo) announced the release of its 35th annual list of the top 300 organizations receiving u. s. patents (see
top 300 organizations granted u. s. patents in 2017
). patent docs readers may recall that the u. s. patent and trademark office stopped releasing its annual list of top patent recipients in 2006 in order to
discourag [ e ] any perception that we believe more is better .
the ipo compiled its list by counting the number of utility patents granted during 2017 that listed an organization or a subsidiary as the owner on the printed patent. the ipo notes that patents that were granted to two or more organizations jointly were attributed to the organization listed first on the patent. the ipo also noted that 318, 829 patents were issued in 2017, which was an increase from the 303, 051 patents that issued in 2016. the top fifteen companies on the ipo top 300 are listed below (click on table to expand) :
toshiba corp. was the only company to fall out of the top 15 in 2017. toshiba corp. , which dropped to 16th in 2017, was replaced in the top 15 by toyota jidosha k. k. , which ranked 20th in 2016 .
as in past years, patent docs used the ipo' s list of top patent holders to compile a list of the top
life sciences
companies and organizations receiving u. s. patents in 2017. each organization' s ipo top 300 ranking for 2017 is indicated in the
2017 ipo rank
column; the ipo top 300 ranking for 2016 (if available) is indicated in the
2016 ipo rank
column; and the change in number of patents from 2016 is indicated in
% change from 2016 .
the life sciences top 54 is listed below (click on table to expand) :
please note that some of the companies and organizations listed above may be involved in work outside the life sciences sector, and therefore, a portion of the patents granted to these companies and organizations may be directed to other than life sciences - related inventions. in addition, our list includes medical device companies .
about the ptab life sciences report: each month we will report on developments at the ptab involving life sciences patents .
ptab petition: ipr2018 - 01224; filed june 08, 2018. view petition
patent at issue: u. s. patent no. 9, 365, 822, entitled ″system and method for sorting cells, ″ describes an improved flow cytometer system particularly adapted to use for sex - selected sperm sorting including enhanced sheath fluid and other strategies which minimize stress on the sperm cells. improved collection systems and techniques for the process are described so that commercial applications of sperm samples as well as the resulting animals may be achieved .
background: u. s. patent no. 5, 135, 759 describes and claims the practice of collecting, processing and using processed bovine sperm to inseminate cows utilizing advances in flow cytometry systems. this allows breeders to preferentially breed one sex of animal. petitioner contends that claim 11 of the ′822 patent differs from the examples in the ′759 patent in a single respect - - it recites that the
sheath
and
collector
fluids
include [ ] a citric acid .
petitioner also contends that adapting the scheme to use citric - acid containing sheath and collection would have been obvious well before 1997. petitioner therefore contends that claim 11 should be cancelled .
related matters: • the ′822 patent is the subject of litigation in the u. s. district court for the district of wisconsin (17 - cv - 00466). • the ′822 patent is also the subject of pending litigation in the u. s. district court for the district of colorado, xy, llc v. trans ova genetics, lc (1: 17 - cv - 00944) .
ptab petition: ipr2018 - 01229; filed june 11, 2018. view petition
patent at issue: u. s. patent no. 8, 753, 645, entitled
conjugation process of bacterial polysaccharides to carrier proteins ,
describes a process of conjugation of bacterial saccharides including streptococcus pneumoniae and haemophilus influenzae saccharides by reductive amination. merck sharp & dohme corp. requested inter partes review of independent claim 1 and dependent claims 2 - 11 of the ′645 patent as anticipated and / or obvious under 35 u. s. c. §§ 102 or 103 .
background: conjugates of bacterial saccharides to proteins are commonly - used components of vaccines. the challenged claims are directed to processes for making conjugates of a particular s. pneumoniae bacterial saccharide, 23f. petitioner noted that the very same 23f
glycoconjugates
were well - known long before the alleged invention of the ′645 patent and featured in pfizer' s commercial prevnar® vaccine. specifically, petitioner notes that persons of ordinary skill in the art used reductive animnation to attach s. pneumoniae bacterial saccharides - - including 23f - - to proteins for decades before the ′645 patent. petitioner further contends that the claimed range of periodate in the ′645 patent does not produce unexpected results when compared to periodate outside of the range .
• petitioner concurrently filed ipr2018 - 01234 against u. s. patent no .
saccharides by reductive amination. petitioner challenges that independent claim 1 and dependent claims 2 - 10 are anticipated and / or obvious under 35 u. s. c. §§ 102 or 103. view petition
• petitioner concurrently filed ipr2018 - 01236 against independent claim 1 and dependent claims 2 - 11 of the ′645 patent as obvious under 35 u. s. c. § 103. view petition
• petitioner concurrently filed ipr2018 - 01237 against independent claim 1 and dependent claims 2 - 10 of the ′839 patent as obvious under 35 u. s. c. § 103. view petition
ptab petition: pgr2018 - 00067; filed june 11, 2018. view petition
patent at issue: u. s. patent no. 9, 758, 784, entitled
interfering rna molecules ,
describes a ribonucleic acid comprising a double stranded structure whereby the double - stranded structure comprises a first strand and a second strand, whereby the first strand comprises a first stretch of contiguous nucleotides and whereby said first stretch is at least partially complementary to a target nucleic acid, and the second strand comprises a second stretch of contiguous nucleotides whereby said second stretch is at least partially identical to a target nucleic acid, and whereby the double stranded structure is blunt ended .
background: petitioners assert that the ′784 patent purports to cover an enormous, potentially unlimited, genus of structurally diverse small interfering rna molecules, and therefore contend that the scope of the ′784 patent claims is far broader than any invention described in or enabled by the patent. petitioners also contend that the' 784 patent claims are so broad that they cover modifications and genetic targets that have yet to be discovered .
ptab petition: ipr2018 - 01219; filed june 14, 2018. view petition
patent at issue: u. s. patent no. 8, 314, 225, entitled ″ heavy chain mutant leading to improved immunoglobulin production, ″ describes methods and nucleic acids useful in the production of immunoglobulins in mammalian cells .
background: petioner requested inter partes review of claims 1 - 5, 10 - 12, and 20 the ′225 patent. petitioner asserts the claims are unpatentable as anticipated and / or rendered obvious by u. s. patent application publication no. 2002 / 0160006, international publication no. wo 2007 / 068429, and u. s. patent application publication no. 2006 / 0292152 .
related matters: • genentech, inc. and city of hope v. sandoz, inc. , no. 17 - 13507 (d. n. j .) • genentech, inc. and city of hope v. pfizer inc. , no. 17 - 1672 (d. del .) • re - examination control no. 90 / 014, 063
ptab petition: ipr2018 - 00173; filed december 4, 2017. view petition
panel: administrative patent judges susan l. c. mitchell, james t. moore, and kristi l. r. sawert
patent at issue: u. s. patent 9, 724, 310, entitled ″transdermal estrogen device and delivery, ″ claims a transdermal drug delivery systems for the transdermal administration of estrogen, comprising a polymer matrix and estrogen. methods of making and using such systems also are described .
background: mylan technologies, inc. requested inter partes review of claims 1–15 of the ′310 patent. noven pharmaceuticals, inc. filed a preliminary response. petitioner failed to show sufficiently for purposes of institution that cited art teaches a transdermal therapeutic system having an estradiolflux within the range recited in claim 1. further, because claims 2, 8, and 10–15 depend from claim 1 and require an estradiol flux within the range of about 0. 0125 to about 0. 05 mg / cm2 / day, petitioner also failed to show sufficiently for purposes of institution that it would prevail in its assertion that the prior art anticipates those claims. applying the precedent of sas inst. , inc. v. iancu, (138 s. ct. 1348, 1355–56 (2018) ), and upon consideration of the information presented in the petition and the preliminary response, the petition was denied and the ipr not instituted.
achates power is an american developer of opposed-piston , two-stroke , compression ignition engines for use in commercial and passenger vehicles . based in san diego , california , the company was founded in 2004 by james lemke . according to achates power , its opposed-piston , two-stroke engine has demonstrated an increase in fuel efficiency and similar engine-out emissions levels when compared to the ford power stroke engine , named one of the leading medium-duty diesel engines . more recently , the company published a technical paper citing a 30 percent fuel economy improvement when its engine was benchmarked against a next-generation diesel engine equipped with advanced technologies . the paper also highlighted the achates power engine 's potential to meet tier 3/lev iii emissions and 2025 cafe . in december 2012 , the company announced that it had been selected as a subcontractor to avl powertrain engineering , inc. to build the next-generation combat engine for the u.s. army . less than a year later , in october 2013 , achates power and fairbanks morse engine signed a joint development and licensing agreement to reduce emissions and fuel consumption of fairbanks morse proprietary and dual-fuel opposed-piston engines . achates power is privately owned and backed by sequoia capital , rockport capital partners , madrone capital partners , triangle peak partners and interwest partners . 
achates power is an american developer of opposed-piston, two-stroke, compression ignition engines for use in commercial and passenger vehicles. based in san diego, california, the company was founded in 2004 by james lemke. according to achates power, its opposed-piston, two-stroke engine has demonstrated an increase in fuel efficiency and similar engine-out emissions levels when compared to the ford power stroke engine, named one of the leading medium-duty diesel engines. more recently, the company published a technical paper citing a 30 percent fuel economy improvement when its engine was benchmarked against a next-generation diesel engine equipped with advanced technologies. the paper also highlighted the achates power engine's potential to meet tier 3/lev iii emissions and 2025 cafe. in december 2012, the company announced that it had been selected as a subcontractor to avl powertrain engineering, inc. to build the next-generation combat engine for the u.s. army. less than a year later, in october 2013, achates power and fairbanks morse engine signed a joint development and licensing agreement to reduce emissions and fuel consumption of fairbanks morse proprietary and dual-fuel opposed-piston engines. achates power is privately owned and backed by sequoia capital, rockport capital partners, madrone capital partners, triangle peak partners and interwest partners.
achates power is an american developer of opposed-piston, two-stroke, compression ignition engines for use in commercial and passenger vehicles. based in san diego, california, the company was founded in 2004 by james lemke. according to achates power, its opposed-piston, two-stroke engine has demonstrated an increase in fuel efficiency and similar engine-out emissions levels when compared to the ford power stroke engine, named one of the leading medium-duty diesel engines. more recently, the company published a technical paper citing a 30 percent fuel economy improvement when its engine was benchmarked against a next-generation diesel engine equipped with advanced technologies. the paper also highlighted the achates power engine's potential to meet tier 3/lev iii emissions and 2025 cafe. in december 2012, the company announced that it had been selected as a subcontractor to avl powertrain engineering, inc. to build the next-generation combat engine for the u.s. army. less than a year later, in october 2013, achates power and fairbanks morse engine signed a joint development and licensing agreement to reduce emissions and fuel consumption of fairbanks morse proprietary and dual-fuel opposed-piston engines. achates power is privately owned and backed by sequoia capital, rockport capital partners, madrone capital partners, triangle peak partners and interwest partners.