Patents and the Energy Industry

2019 Artificial Lift Strategies for

Unconventional Wells Workshop Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City, OK

February 11 - 14, 2019

Patents and the Energy Industry

Peter L. Brewer

Energy IP™ [email protected]

2 2019 Artificial Lift Strategies for Unconventional Wells Workshop

Oklahoma City, OK Feb. 11 - 14, 2019

Where Do Patents Come From?













U.S. Patent No. 10,000,000

Issued June 19, 2018 to Raytheon

Signed by the President

The Patent Cover

7

The Patent Cover

8






Organizational Chart



Patents vs Copyrights

Patents protect ideas

Must file a patent application

Copyrights protect expressions of ideas

Must create a tangible form of expression



Patents vs Trademarks

Patents protect ideas

Must file a patent application

Federal only

Trademarks protect designations of source of goods

Must file a trademark application

Federal or state

Making the invention

Using the invention or

Selling the invention

What Will A Patent Do For Me?

A patent gives its owner the right to prevent others from…

As claimed

Write it Down

Date the Writing

Create drawings or Build a Prototype

Complete an Invention Disclosure Form

Call the legal department?

Write an article?

Hey, I Thought Of Something!

What Can I Patent?

• Gas lift valves

• Tubing heads

• Positive displacement pumps

• Unseating Tool for Downhole Standing

Valve

• Pneumatic pumping systems

• Gas compression systems for gas lift

• Hydraulic jetting systems

• Detecting and Preventing Frac Hits

• Wellbore desanding/cleanout tools

What Can I Patent?

• Inflatable packers

• Reservoir simulation

• Lateral borehole jetting systems

• Sand screens

• Downhole telemetry systems

• Shale oil recovery methods

• Drill bits

• Pipe threads

• Tractors

• Gas traps

Patents and Artificial Lift

17

Patents and Artificial Lift

18

Top Patent Owners

• IBM 8,996

• Samsung 5,810

• Intel 3,726

• Canon 3,664

• Alphabet Inc. 3,065

• General Electric 2,989

Top Patent Owners



Searching For Patents

Patents By Industry

22 2018 Sucker Rod Pumping Workshop Oklahoma City, OK Sept. 11 - 13, 2018

Patents Issued

23

Top Patent Owners (2017)

24

• Halliburton 738

• Schlumberger Technology 680

• ExxonMobil 339

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co. 218

• King Faud University 167

• Chevron 150


25


26

Who Is Not On The List? (Top 300)

• Shell

• Weatherford

• BP

• Equinor (NOC’s)

• Texas A&M / University of Oklahoma / Texas Tech / Oklahoma State

Patent Applications By State (2017)

• Texas 30,028

• California 96,132

• North Dakota 406

• Oklahoma 2,214

• New Mexico 1,130

Who Owns My Invention?

• Me?

• My boss?

• My employer?

• My investors?

What Happens If I Change Jobs?

• What does your employment

agreement say?

• When did you first conceive of

the invention?

• The American Rule

• Did you sign anything?

The Rising Use Of Trade Secrets

• State Trade Secret Statutes

• Defense of Trade Secrets Act

• Proprietary Rights Agreement

• Right to Work States

Trade Secrets vs. Patents

• A trade secret need not be novel

• But it must be kept secret

• And it must provide a competitive advantage

• And it must be identified

• What if I file a patent application on my trade secret?

Where Are We Headed?

How Close is Too Close?

Well Spacing Decisions

Stephen Rassenfoss,

JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor




A Recent Article

https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-

detail/?art=4513

https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=4513





How Long Will This Take?

How Long Will This Take?

What Can I Do With My Patent?

• Manufacture and Use

• Manufacture and Sell

• License

• Sit Back and Wait / Sue

• Show it to my grandchildren

Reasons For Getting A Patent

• Sole Source

• Defensive Publication

• Royalty Stream

• Counter-Claim for Infringement

An inventor is one who contributes substantially to the conception of a new idea

It is not enough to carry out the experiments

It is not enough to be the department head or “the boss”

It is not enough to sit in on the R&D meeting

It is not enough to be the one who writes the paper or markets the idea

More than three inventors??

Naming the Inventors

What Is A Provisional Patent Application?

• Provides a filing date

• Provides a U.S. Serial No.

• Provides an international priority date

• Provides the right to say “Patent Pending”

• Is it less expensive?

• Not substantively examined

• Only in the U.S.

Important Steps For Obtaining a Patent?

• Create engineering drawings

• Describe your invention

• Identify the prior art

• Identify the competitors

• Consider whether there is a market

The Problem of “Public” Disclosures

• Disclosure to a (potential) customer

• Making the SPE presentation

• Testing the prototype

• Selling a product

• What if they sign an NDA?

Filing Foreign Patent Applications

• How do you file?

• Where do you file?

• How long does it take?

• Isn’t that expensive?

Questions



Peter L. Brewer

Energy IP, LLC

[email protected]

(865) 224-8555

mailto:[email protected]



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Patents and the Energy Industry