Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1940 [PAGE 154]

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1938]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

151

APPROPRIATION TO FACULTY COMMITTEE ON PATENTS (23) A recommendation that an additional assignment of $1,000 be made from the General Reserve Fund to the Faculty Committee on Patents for the current fiscal year to cover the costs of applications for patents for discoveries by members of the staff.

On motion of Mr. Karraker, this appropriation was made as recommended, by the following vote: Aye, Mr. Adams, Mrs. Freeman, Mr. Karraker, Mr. Mayer, Mr. Moschel, Mrs. Plumb, Mr. Pogue; no, none; absent, Mr. Cleary, Mr. Horner, Dr. Meyer, Mr. Wieland. At this point, Mr. Cleary took his place with the Board, and requested to be recorded as voting in favor of Mr. Pogue's motion with respect to Mr. Zuppke.

TYKOCINER PHOTOELECTRIC CELL (24) Pursuant to authorization of the Board of Trustees on September 27, 1937 (Minutes, page 496), applications were filed for a patent on a new photoelectric cell discovered by the late Professor Jakob Kunz and Professor Joseph T. Tykociner in cooperation with Mr. Lloyd Garner. Two or three claims have been allowed and others are in prospect. The University's patent attorneys have advised that in view of the attitude of the Patent Office a division of the patent applications is necessary. This will require three, possibly four, applications, in which event the probability that more claims will be approved by the Patent Office will be greatly increased. The expense of filing each application for lawyers' fees will be approximately $50, and the regular filing fee in the United States Patent Office is $25. The cost of prosecuting each divisional application cannot be determined in advance. In any event, there is a minimum of $300 for attorneys' fees and Patent Office fees involved, without considering any additional costs due to conflicts in the Patent Office. The time for filing foreign patent applications (Great Britain and Canada) will expire about the first of next year. A decision will have to be reached shortly, therefore, whether foreign protection should be sought. Patent counsel estimates that the cost of patent protection in England, if no division should be required, would probably not exceed $200. In Canada, without division the cost would probably be about $125, excluding any amendments which might be necessary. The estimate for England includes possible amendments. This cell is reputed to be at least fifty times more sensitive than cells now commonly used and the limits of sensitivity have not been reached. The commercial value of the discovery is undoubtedly substantial, but the extent thereof cannot be estimated. T h e Faculty Committee on Patents has recommended that Professor Tykociner be authorized to file divisional applications and also that foreign patent protection be sought as described above. I concur in this recommendation.

On motion of Mr. Pogue, these applications were authorized as recommended.

RELEASE OF PATENT RIGHTS T O DR. L. F. AUDR1ETH (25) In the course of his research into certain kinds of salts and their chemical action, Dr. L. F . Audrieth has found that the reaction between ethanolamine and tristearin is catalyzed by the addition of ethanolamine salts; and that the addition of various cyclohexylamine salts also accelerates the aminolysis of these esters. H e has chosen to call the related acids onium salts. After careful consideration of these discoveries the Faculty Committee on Patents recommends that they be released to Doctor Audrieth for patenting if he so wishes. The Board on a previous occasion released discoveries in this field to Doctor Audrieth.

On motion of Mr. Karraker, these discoveries were released as recommended.