With cold fusion technology about to become a reality, I thought it would be a good idea to see exactly who holds patents on it. So I’ve put together a brief rundown of known patent applicants and holders. This list is far from complete because there are probably other patents and applications that we are unaware of.
What the world needs, Mr. Fusion from the movie classic Back to the Future.
• Andrea Rossi received an Italian cold fusion patent on his e-cat Low Energy Nuclear Reaction device on April 6, 2011. As far as I know this is the only cold fusion patent Dr. Rossi holds, but he has apparently applied for patents in other countries. He has also signed at least two licensing agreements for his technology one of which he has already broken off.
• Francesco Piantelli the University of Bologna Physicist whose research with Sergio Focardi led to Rossi’s e-cat has reportedly applied for three Italian patents of his own. Piantelli has formed his own company Nichenergy to commercialize a cold fusion process and is reportedly looking for investors. Piantelli reportedly tried to patent a cold fusion process as early as 1995.
• Robert Godes of Brillouin Energy Corporation based in the United States was turned down for a patent on his cold fusion device. Like the e-cat, Brillouin’s device is a boiler that produces steam created by cold fusion. Godes applied for intellectual property rights but not a patent on his device as early as 1995.
• Defkalion Green Technologies has apparently applied for a patent in Greece. Its’ Hyperion heating system and electric generator was supposed to be powered by Rossi’s e-cat. Rossi has cancelled his licensing agreement with Defkalion and is planning to sue the company. Defkalion is apparently planning to go ahead with Hyperion manufacturing. Its officials claim to have tested cold fusion technology in Greece. It is unclear if Defkalion is using cold fusion and if so what process they are using.
• This website lists a series of other patents for Cold Fusion. Since none of these has led to a working cold fusion device they can probably be safely ignored. It is unclear if these patents are legally binding because patent law is different in different countries.
As it stands now, Andrea Rossi seems to be the only one who has a patent on a working cold fusion process. Brillouin has a process but does not seem to have a patent. Something to remember is that patents are not necessary for commercialization and mass manufacturing.
Henry Ford did not have a patent on the car, it didn't stop him
Henry Ford did not have a patent on the automobile and Steve Jobs did not invent the personal computer. That did not stop them from successfully commercializing those devices.
Contrary to popular belief, Steve Jobs did not invent the personal computer
If anybody out there knows about any other cold fusion patents or companies or individuals working on Cold Fusion please let us know. This story is much bigger than is widely believed.
I know of other patients, but confidentiality prohibits me from making them explicit here. One source is BlackLight Power and Dr Randell Mills, who’ve been aggressively patenting, and no doubt hope to score big on lawsuits if not with the first “cold fusion” device. Whoever rushes to market and grabs a big market share can expect to be fighting in court for years if not decades. Nevertheless, it is obviously still necessary to engineer and market first, because the public doubt is too great yet, which affects not only investment but also licensing. Hopefully by the end of the year most people will agree that LENR Ni-H is for real and a gigantic boon to humanity.
Note people who actually build and sell a working cold fusion device will make far more than anybody who wants to score big with a lawsuit. Tesla won his lawsuit against Marconi and died broke.
It needs to be stated that the rumor was that any “free energy” device is not patentable in the US. Furthermore, there are sincere doubts that what Rossi, Brillouin, or Defkalion are doing is “cold fusion.” Finally, there is a new clean energy technology (I like to call it a “potato battery”) that would head anyone’s list, but which clearly isn’t “cold fusion:” http://pesn.com/2011/07/23/9501875_Number-1_Breakthrough_Solid_State_Generator/
We are entering a very disruptive period of human history, and we don’t know when we cross invisible lines that could provoke catastrophe. Clearly, getting 1.7 billion calories of clean heat from a gram of nickel is revolutionary, but will mankind be able to enjoy the benefits of this, or will it somehow be stifled? Life could be a paradise, but it seems like the world mankind wants to create is more like a nightmare.
Good point we’d probably use for both good and bad.
Good post Brad, if the replies on “all” the cold fusion forums were on one site there still would be a shortage of posts on cold fusion. What’s up with that? It seems one of the biggest historical events is the cold fusion of today and nobody cares, insane. It’s not novel to observe a demolition derby that has more interested rednecks participating than educated people concerned about our future energy. I appreciate the people who care and wonder why so many don’t. Looks like a hard road for cold fusion.
From experience it seems that products that have high liability end up with a high price tag and most companies cant’t afford that. On a one to ten scale what would you rate a LENR device at for liability going out to jo public at Sears, I don’t think so. Henry Ford made a good product affordable and the other companies claiming the cold fusion today are into a jump on the bandwagon frenzie. Nothing is available today working in product form and “if” anyone had anything that did work it should be out there for everyone.
The industries that could potentially be created from making products operate off of cold fusion after “a product” is reduced to practice seems limitless. Clearly understood nothing is impossible, I do not understand how any patent obtained on a process, product, or method prior to the reduction of practice would be worth more than the paper it was printed on.
Nothing in this LENR field today has been reduced to practice therefore any patents can be overwritten by followers in the art. It appears Rossi broke the possibility viel and others that were working on cold fusion had to jump in even if they have or had no working LENR product. This is to convolute any patents that may issue to Rossi or the others following now today.
Yes, but remember Henry Ford was an uneducated man working as a power plant technology when he perfected the car. It is entirely possible that the Henry Ford of cold fusion is hard at work in some garage somewhere and we haven’t seen him yet. We will someday, Ford did not invent the car he perfected it using technology created by others.
Yeah, that’s the point. Rossi stumbled onto a formula that gave way over unity (until then it just delivered a little over unity, and thus was commercially nonviable). I have spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to get the word out, with little success. Even Rossi said at his first news conference that the time for claims is over, and nobody would believe it until it hit the market. According to Rossi he has built and sold his 1 megawatt E-Cat to the American buyer, and it will be demonstrated and tested publicly in late October. When that occurs everyone will jump on the bandwagon.
True, it is always amazing how many people jump on the bandwagon when something works. For example all the people who buy a stock after it goes up.