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LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS ON

BIOFUELS IN INDIA CONTENTS

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 2

2. Categorisation of Biofuels ............................................................................................................. 2

3. Current Global Market Scenario ................................................................................................... 3

4. Current Indian Market Scenario.................................................................................................... 6

5. Current Technologies Under Research ......................................................................................... 7

6. SWOT Analysis of Biofuels in India ................................................................................................ 8

7. Patent Landscape of Biofuels In India ........................................................................................... 9

8. Analysis on Biofuel Patents In India .............................................................................................. 9

8.1. Analysis on patent trend for biofuels In developed countries………………………….……..….…… 10

8.2. Analysis on patent trend for biofuels In developing countries……………………………..…….…… 10

8.3. Analysis on patent filing trend for biofuels In India ………………………………………………………….11

8.4. Analysis on nature of Invention for biofuels In India ……………………………….……...….…………. 12

8.5. Analysis on patent trend for Biofuel Products In India ………………………………….………….….….12

8.6. Analysis patent trend on source used for biofuel products ……………………………………….…… 13

8.7. Analysis on major Assignees in area of biofuels …………………………………………………..………… 13

8.8. Table depicting number of assignees ……………………………………………………….……………...……. 14

8.9. Analysis on key technologies in area of biofuels ……………………………………………….…………... 15

8.10. Analysis on technology distribution for producing biofuels……………….………………….….….. 16

9. Table 3 of exemplary Indian patent applications for Biofuel………………..……………………………..……17

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INTRODUCTION

Biofuels have attracted increasing interest over the last few decades. As biofuels are made from

locally grown renewable sources, they have been proposed as an alternative to expensive fossil

fuels. Moreover, they appear to provide a single solution to three of the most important challenges

of modern life, which includes:

i) worries over energy security;

ii) an interest in economic development, both in the developed world and developing countries,

including the creation or sustaining of jobs in agriculture; and

iii) a need to mitigate climate change and achieve lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

These challenges and the attempts of policy makers and other stakeholders to address them have

contributed to a rapid adoption of biofuel technologies.

At present, biofuels are once again at the centre stage of the debate on energy, partially in

response to circumstances similar to those that occurred more than 30 years ago, namely high and

volatile oil prices and oil supply instability. In addition, a strong global consensus nowadays

advocates for reductions in GHG emissions as a crucial step to combat rising global temperatures.

Governments seeking to curb emissions are now promoting biofuels because of their potentially

cleaner emissions profile as compared to fossil fuels

CATEGORISATION OF BIOFUELS

Biofuels can be categorized based on

1. Source

(i) Food Crops : Biofuels produced from food crops like corn

(ii) Non-food Crops: Biofuels produced from trees or grasses

(iii) Microbes: Biofuels produced from microbes like fungi or algae

2. State

(i) Solid

(ii) Liquid

(iii) Gas

3. Generation:

(i) First generation: produced from food crops and animal fats.

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(ii) Second generation: produced from waste biomass.

(iii) Third generation: produced from algae or fungi

(iv) Fourth generation: concentrates not only on fuel production but also on carbon capture and

storage

4. Application

(i) Transport: Fuel in vehicles

(ii) Industry: For heating

(iii) Agriculture: Fuel in tractors

CURRENT GLOBAL MARKET SCENARIO

Development of commercial bioenergy production has increased in recent years as Biofuels are the

only form of renewable energy that can be used in transportation sector.

USA has been the world’s leading producer and consumer of biofuels since 2007. Then comes South

America and Europe, with slightly lower consumption levels, but with a strong predominance of

biodiesel in Europe and ethanol in Brazil. China has also quickly established itself as Asia’s leading

producer of biofuels, having introduced programs at the beginning of the 2000s.

Figure 1: Major Biofuel Producers by Region

Source: http://biofuel.org.uk/major-producers-by-region.html

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A report from “Biofuels Markets and Technologies” estimates steady growth through 2016 but rapid

production increases between 2017 and 2021 as a result of higher oil prices, emerging mandates,

new feedstock availability, and advanced technologies. Total global biofuel production is projected

to reach 65.7 billion gallons per year (BGPY) by 2021, and ethanol is expected to maintain its

dominance over the industry, with nearly 50 BGPY compared to biodiesel’s 16.2 BGPY.

Figure2: Biofuels demand in World Market

The global market for Biofuels is expected to reach about 59.2 billion gallons by 2020 from 27.4

Billion gallons in 2010, registering a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8% during the

analysis period, 2010-2020. Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing region in terms of both

Ethanol and Biodiesel consumption with CAGRs of 16.5% and 11% respectively during the period

2010-2020.

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Figure 3: Market Development of Biofuel (Institute of ecological economic research)

Biofuels currently offered in the market are essentially “first-generation” technology products. Their

growth is limited by the availability of agricultural resources, and constrained by the sustainability

criteria imposed by current and future legislation (GHG emissions in the main). Nevertheless, these

markets should continue to grow at least until 2015-2020, whilst we await the emergence of second-

generation biofuels that use “non-food” resources. Use of ligno-cellulosic biomass should relieve the

pressure on food usage in competition with previous sectors, deliver more effective environmental

benefits and therefore result in more sustainable sectors, at the same time as increasing the

proportion of biofuels used for transport applications.

In the case of the first- and second-generation biofuels in which the IP landscape is already crowded,

end products may no longer be patentable. As a result, for first- and second-generation biofuels, a

company's patent focus should be directed to upstream products and processes. These upstream

products and processes include biomass feedstock, reagents and methods used to convert the

primary biomass into simple sugars, as well as the microorganisms and the processes used to

convert the simple sugars into useful bioethanol.

Transgenic energy crops generated as third-generation biofuels may well be patentable. Similarly,

fourth-generation biofuels may give rise to additional patenting opportunities. Production of fourth

generation biofuel sis based on non-fermentative methods that may be novel. In addition, the end

products of fourth-generation biofuels may include novel chemical compositions that would be

patentable. Thus, in view of the many diversified available approaches for producing biofuels, there

exists a potentially vast IP landscape for biofuels.

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According to the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, 62 countries now have biofuels friendly policies in

place that have driven global demand to over 1 million barrels per day.

Biofuels policies are no longer limited to the United States and Brazil, but have spread to countries

that are looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on crude imports.

One of the latest countries to enact a biofuels mandate is India. Currently the country's mandate is

set at 5% Ethanol content and is scheduled to increase to 10% as soon as production capacity is in

place. India has ultimately set a goal of 20% for all biofuels content by 2017.

CURRENT INDIAN MARKET SCENARIO

India’s biofuel production accounts for only 1% of the global production. This includes 380 million

litres of fuel ethanol and 45 million litres of biodiesel. During the financial year 2010, India registered

the highest change in bio-fuel production from the previous year. With the addition of 0.151 million

tonnes of oil equivalent, India registered an 85% increase in production over its 2009 production.

Present estimates indicate India’s bio-fuel demand at 0.5 billion gallons in 2013 which will grow to

6.8 billion gallons by 2022. According to India’s Planning Commission, the demand for diesel in India

is five times higher than petrol. But while the ethanol industry is mature, the biodiesel industry is in

its infancy. According to IEA market report 2009, in 2008 there was production of biofuel which

consists of 1.08 b. litre of ethanol and 0.24 b. litre of biodiesel.

In India, Biofuel development centers mainly on the cultivation and processing of Jatropha

plant seeds which are very rich in oil (40%). Jatropha oil has been used in India for several decades as

biodiesel for the diesel fuel requirements of remote rural and forest communities. Jatropha oil can

be used directly after extraction (i.e. without refining) in diesel generators and engines. Jatropha has

the potential to provide economic benefits at the local level since under suitable management it has

the potential to grow in dry marginal non-agricultural lands, thereby allowing villagers and farmers

to leverage non-farm land for income generation. As well, increased Jatropha oil production delivers

economic benefits to India on the macroeconomic or national level as it reduces the nation's fossil

fuel import bill for diesel production (the main transportation fuel used in the country); minimizing

the expenditure of India's foreign-currency reserves for fuel allowing India to increase its growing

foreign currency reserves (which can be better spent on capital expenditures for industrial inputs

and production). Jatropha oil is produced from the seeds of the Jatropha curcas, a plant that can

grow in wastelands across India, and the oil is considered to be an excellent source of bio-diesel.

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India is keen on reducing its dependence on coal and petroleum to meet its increasing energy

demand and encouraging Jatropha cultivation is a crucial component of its energy policy.

Nascent stage of biofuel market and requirement of high wasteland as well as engine

modifications are the major culprit for growth of biofuels technology in India. However, several

private companies such as Tata Chemicals, Indian Oil as well as research institutes like CSIR, DTB,

DST are taking keen interest in biofuel market by exploring extensive research and developments.

Furthermore, the approval of “National Policy of Biofuels” by Govt. of India to ensure a minimum

level of biofuels become available to meet the demand, raised up the production and consumption

of biofuels in India. This biofuel policy envisions meeting close to 20 percent of the domestic diesel

demand from biofuels. This means that 14,00,000 sq. km of land is to be set aside for the cultivation

of fuel-producing plants, up from today's 5,000 sq. km. Of this, the government has already

identified 4,00,000 sq. km for land for Jatropha crop. In India, currently various research and

developments are going on multiple branches in the field of biofuels. Some of the important

technologies are Algal Biofuel, Biodiesel from Jatropha, Molasses and synthetic biofuels such as

Biomethyl furan etc.

Current state of biofuel industry in India presents a challenging picture for Dutch R&D

technology providers to establish themselves profitably. If we look at the steps taken by the

government from a long-term perspective, combined with the growing emphasis on greener and

sustainable technologies, things do look promising.

CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES UNDER RESEARCH

Presently, continuing research is going on various technologies in biofuels. Research is going

on biodiesel fuel into finding more and more appropriate crops to enhance oil yield. Research on

biodiesel fuel at present also focuses on producing reasonably high oil yields. Algal biomass

development, Ethanol-burning internal combustion engine, Enzyme engineering, breakdown of

biomass into constituents for fuel conversion, and the conversion process are the major field of

research and development. Further, Cellulosic biomass forestry and agriculture waste for the

production of ethanol also in research circle. Synthetic biofuel, biorefinery based fuels and algal

biofuel are also a research topic for various organizations.

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Some of the major biofuels’ research areas are:

1) Biofuel

Biodiesel

Bioethanol

Bio-butanol

Bio-hydrogen

2) Feed Stock

Jatropha, TBO

Cellulosic – Agricultural & forestry waste

Algae –Micro & Macro

Biomass

3) Technology

Trans-esterification batch /continuous process

Pre-treatment enzyme modification

Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation

Synthetic biology

SWOT ANALYSIS OF BIOFUELS IN INDIA

Based on the subject matter, the following SWOT matrix was arrived at. It features the Strength,

Weakness, Opportunities and Threat associated with the biofuels of the current disclosure.

Table 1: The following table gives SWOT analysis for Biofuels in India:

STRENGTH WEAKNESS

1. Solution to energy security

2. Lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

3. Renewable energy source

4. Alternate energy

1. Infant stage of market

2. Requirement of wasteland

3. Excessive operational and setup cost

4. Need of engine modification

OPPURTUNITY THREAT

1. Increase in Research and Development

in biofuel field

2. National policy on biofuels

3. Interest from private companies

1. Cost effectiveness

2. High cost raw materials

3. Food security

4. Soil erosion and land degradation

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PATENT LANDSCAPE OF BIOFUELS IN INDIA

METHODOLOGY

A. A background study was performed to understand the area of biofuels and its categories in

various online resources and research journals. Based on the understanding, the following

keywords were identified.

Biofuel Syngas Biodiesel Biomethanol Bioethanol Vegetable oil Biopropanol Cellulosic ethanol Biobutanol Wood diesel Biogas Biohydrogen Algae biofuel Myco biofuel Jatropha

B. A review of the International Patent Classification (IPC) was carried out to identify the patent

classification code related to biofuels.

The identified relevant IPC Codes were:

C10L5/00 C10L1/14 C10L5/40 C02F 3/28 C10L5/48 C02F11/04 C10B53/023 C12M1/107 C10L5/40 C12P5/02 C10L9/00 C12N1/13 C10L1/00 C07C69/00 C10L1/02

C. Various patent and patent applications were extracted from the ORBIT patent database using

the combination of the above identified keywords and IPC Code.

ANALYSIS ON BIOFUEL PATENTS IN INDIA

Data mining through a set of ~1200 patent/application documents related to biofuels generated a

theme map that helped us to visualize the trends and relationships within the patent landscape. The

set was again analysed to dig out relevant patents relating very specifically to product, process and

both. Other patent applications were not considered relevant as they were not directing to our

criteria of landscape preparation. We analyzed within a conceptualized framework the trends in

various applications, and the processes used to generate the various bioenergy products.

To get a general idea on the patenting activity in biofuels globally, an analysis was done on the

patent trends in developed, developing and least developed countries.

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USA, 24436, 37%

UK, 200, 0%

Japan, 25282, 38%

Germany, 4847, 7%

Korea, 3553, 5%

France, 383, 1%

Canada, 5104, 8% Spain, 2360, 4%

Figure 4: Patent Trends of Biofuels in Developed Countries (2008 to 2012)

Patenting activity on biofuels is more in Japan and USA followed by Canada and Germany. The

number of patents granted and published is 25282 in Japan, 24436 in USA, 5104 in Canada and 4847

in Germany.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

Brazil India China Russia South Africa(ZA)

Indonesia(ID)

Mexico (MX) Argentina(AR)

Nu

mb

er o

f P

aten

ts

Figure 5: Patent Trends of Biofuels in Developing Countries (2008 to 2012)

China tops in the patenting activity of biofuel followed by Russia and Brazil. As seen from the figure

5, the other developing countries have also their share in the patents of biofuel.

There is nil or no patenting activity on biofuels in least developed countries.

~ 0%

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Figure 6: Patent Filing Trend of Biofuels in India

Figure 6 elucidates the patenting activity on biofuels in India. There is an increase in the patent

filings from the year of initialisation of the patenting activity on biofuels (1997) to the year 2007.

After 2007, the decrease in patent filing can be attributed to the shift in the focus of the researchers

on the third and fourth generation of biofuels which are narrow domains and are still in progress.

Reason behind the degradation in number of filing is the measurement of innovative activities is a

rather challenging task and a great number of different science and technology indicators have

already been applied to produce biofuel since it was first used in India.

Recent evolution in the biofuels sector has been characterized by a strong price volatility and a

mismatch between demand and supply. Part of the responsibility for the current situation can be

attributed to the confusion created by governmental policies that conflict with one another and a

lack of knowledge of the biofuels production system.

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Figure 7: Nature of protection of biofuels in India

As there is a limited number of products in the area of biofuels, it is explicitily seen from the graph

that there are more process patents than the product patents. It can be inferred that there can be

more patented processes for a single product.

Main input indicator relies on research and development (R&D) expenditure, while the most used

innovation output indicators are based on patent data. Both types of indicators have strong

limitations since not all research efforts translate into the introduction of innovations and not all

innovations are patented.” Clearly, viability of product patent is lesser comparatively.

Figure8: Patent Trend on Biofuel Products in India

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Indepth analysis of patents documents reveals that more patents have been filed on biodiesel

followed by biogas. There are less patents filed on biobutanol since the research on biobutanol is in

nascent stage (*Biofuel in graph is designated as any type of fuel which is not specified individually

and can be any type ofproduct mentioned in the graph).

Figure 9: Patent Trends on Sources used for Biofuel Production

More patents have been filed on the biofuels produced from fatty acids, biomass and organic

wastes. These sources belong to the first and second generation of biofuels and hence there are

more patents. The patenting activity on the third generation fuels has recently started growing

which can be seen from the patents filed on the biofuels produced from algae.

Figure10: Major Assignees in the area of Biofuel

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Centre for Lipid Research (a Council of Scientific & Industrial Research’s (CSIR) research institute) is

recognized nationally and internationally as centre for excellence in the area of lipid research. The

Centre has established a state of art facilities in the areas of vegetable oils and allied Products,

biodiesel, and lubricants in addition to some specialized pilot units during the 11th five year plan.

This facility caters the needs of the vegetable oil and allied product industry on par with the

International Standards.

GreatPoint, a small firm, received a $420 million investment from Wanxiang for a minority stake in

the coal-to-natural-gas firm as part of a bigger deal involving construction in China. Wanxiang is

China's largest maker of auto parts and a major supplier to Ford and General Motors. (There was

some hesitancy including GreatPoint on this list, as Wanxiang is not exactly a VC investor, but

GreatPoint is certainly a VC-funded startup.) (greentechmedia.com)

BASF offers a comprehensive portfolio of catalysts and adsorbents that cover a wide range of

oleochemical processing needs. In addition to existing products, research and development team is

continually designing new technologies for the markets. Hydrogenation of oils, fats, and fatty acids

Production of fatty alcohols and fatty amines, Adsorbent purification of fats and oils, Biorenewable

technologies, Optimal processing of biomass to biodiesel and chemicals. Also BASF provides catalysts

and adsorbents for an array of renewable feedstock processing methodologies.

Table 2: Depicting sample list for Patent Assignees with their Number of Patents filed in India.

ASSIGNEE NO. OF PATENTS FILED

COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH (CSIR) 8

GREATPOINT ENERGY 7

BASF 6

KIRLOSKAR INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES LTD 5

BECON ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES 3

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 3

INDIAN OIL 3

LS9 3

ROHM & HAAS 3

ABELLON BIOENERGY 2

AGENCY FOR SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH (ASTAR) 2

AVESTHAGEN 2

BE JIEMU BACON ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES H & SHIO KEJI BEKON ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

2

IDEMITSU KOSAN 2

INSTITUT FRANÇAIS DU PÉTROLE 2

KSB - KLEIN SCHANZLIN & BECKER 2

NANDAN BIOMATRIX 2

RELIANCE LIFE SCIENCES PRIVATE RELIANCE LIFE SCIENCES PVT

2

RENEWABLE ENERGY ALTERNATIVES 2

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TRANSCARB ENERGY PRIVATE 2

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 2

UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND JOHANNESBUG UNIVERSITY WITWATERSRAND JOHANNESBUR

2

Figure 11: Key Technologies in Biofuel

Fermentation technology has the largest number of patents followed by transesterification and

process optimization.

As observed from the nature of invention based plot (Figure 7), process patent applications are filed

more in number as compared to the product patent applications which can involve any of the

technologies plotted above in Figure 11. Therefore, fermentation and transesterification are used

widely when compared to purification and separation or re-engineering technology.

As purification and separation processes do not yield quality biofuel and are very known processes

for any sort of extraction, therefore, the patents/application related to this process are pretty old

and do not compete with recent technologies such as transesterification, fermentation, chemical

process etc.

Most of the patent documents found are on processes utilising fermentation. In majority of the

applications, fermentation is carried out on biomass, plant, cellulosic material. Transesterification

processes use fatty acids as raw materials and convert them to biofuel, more preferably biodiesel.

Transesterification is the magic trick that brings the physico-chemical properties of the neat oil close

to that of diesel fuel.

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Figure 12: Breakdown of Patent Filings on Biofuel by IPC Code

Classification is fundamentally a technical problem referring to how patent data is allocated and

organized in national and international databases.

Above Plot illustrates that most of the patents fall under “C10L-001/00” IPC classification defined as

“Liquid carbonaceous fuels” followed by “C10L-005/00” defined as “Solid fuels (produced by

solidifying fluid fuels”. Least followed up technologies are “C10L-005/44” (1%) and “C11C-003/10”

(1%). Therefore, based on the observation on technology distribution, most of the filed patent

applications in India categorically fall under the technology covering carbonaceous products and

products containing blended hydrocarbons. Another observation based on the IPC analysis is that

most of the patent filings are for apparatuses used for enzymology, processes utilizing fermentation

and enzyme utilizing step as a major step specified by IPC “C12M” OR “C12P”.

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Table 3: A Few Exemplary Indian Patent Applications filed for Biofuel.

Application Number Title Original Patent Assignee

IN1336/CHE/1998 A PROCESS FOR OBTAINING BIOGAS BY BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF A FERMENTATION MEDIUM IN A FERMENTATION REACTOR

LINDE KCA DRESDEN

IN-198848 A HIGH RATE BIOGAS PROCESS FOR VARIABLE ORGANIC FEEDSTOCK

VENKATARAMANI VASUDEVAN

IN552/CAL/2002 AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION OF BIODEGRADABLE ORGANIC MATERIALS INTO PRODUCT GAS

RAVEN LARRY

IN407/KOL/2005 BHARENDA SHAKTI TAILA BALARAM CHAKRABORTY

IN1701/CHE/2008 TRANSGENIC PLANTS EXPRESSING CELLULASES

AVESTHAGEN

IN5951/CHENP/2010 ENGINEERED CO2 FIXING MICROORGANISMS PRODUCING CARBON-BASED PRODUCTS OF INTEREST

JOULE BIOTECHNOLOGIES JOULE UNLIMITED TECHNOLOGIES

IN2498/MUMNP/2011 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE MAKING OF A FUEL

AUSBIODIESEL COLLINGS BERWYN ORTH BIODIESEL PROPRIETARY LIMITING ROYALTY

IN3246/CHENP/2012 NUCLEIC ACID MOLECULE ENCODING TRITERPENOID SYNTHASE

GENERAL EQUITY BUILDING SOCIETY RYU RYU DOVE DOVE CC WWCC

IN9547/DELNP/2011 CONTINUOUS CULTURE FOR 1,3-PROPANEDIOL PRODUCTION USING HIGH GLYCERINE CONCENTRATION

METABOLIC EXPLORER

IN8243/CHENP/2011 Recombinant bacteria and the uses thereof for producing ethanol

DEINOVE

IN10277/DELNP/2011 FERMENTATIVE PRODUCTION OF ETHANOL FROM GLUCOSE, GALACTOSE AND ARABINOSE EMPLOYING A RECOMBINANT YEAST STRAIN

DSM

IN205/DELNP/2012 HETEROGENOUS ENZYMATIC CATALYST, PREPARATION METHOD, AND USE

UNIVERSITE PIERRE & MARIE CURIE

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DISCLAIMER

The information provided in this sample report is exemplary and based on database and

information sources that are believed to be reliable by the Institute of Intellectual property research

& Development (IIPRD). A complete list of patent documents retrieved is not disclosed herein. IIPRD

disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. The

above sample report is prepared based on the search conducted on the keywords and other

information extracted from the invention disclosure and subjectivity of the researcher and analyst.

Neither IIPRD nor its affiliates nor any of its proprietors, employees (together, "personnel") are

intending to provide legal advice in this matter