Erise IP shareholder Marshall Honeyman was recently published by LEDs Magazine on the timely interest in Ultraviolet light C-band (UV-C) LED technologies and how they may complicate the patent process.
Honeyman believes the COVID-19 pandemic will trigger a deluge in the number of patent filings as it relates to this type of technology that can disinfect illuminated surfaces. Because the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) maintains patent applications in secret for 18 months after filing, we won’t know final numbers for some time, Honeyman is basing his prediction on what he’s seen in practice and historical metrics.
He writes that the “leveraging for patent rights relating to UV-C LED-based antimicrobial technologies will happen much in the same way they did in the development of white-light LEDs. Many filings will be made for concepts that are never implemented.”