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I.G. Farben and Exxon, re-visited

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

In an earlier post on IPBiz [
Standard Oil and I.G. Farben: patents and antitrust ], the interrelationship of I.G. Farben and Standard Oil of New Jersey [now ExxonMobil] was discussed.

GoogleBooks has an excerpt from Antitrust and the formation of the postwar world by Wyatt C. Wells, which has text of relevance to the patent and licensing issues presented by the deal related to buna rubber.

Keep in mind, as became evident in the discussion of the CIPRO/anthrax business of a few years ago, the US government can practice, without permission, the claims of patents. The relevant statute goes back to World War I, and was in effect during World War II. Since the relevant information about synthetic rubber was in a patent, it was known. Much of what was discussed in the Truman committee was political grandstanding, rather than a substantive issue. The patents, at all relevant times, were known, and the right to use them existed.

***Separately

Baku: City that Oil Built

Full post as published by IPBiz on August 09, 2009 (boomark / email).