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Unocal vs. Valero: Patent Infringement on Cleaner Burning Gasoline

Unocal vs. Valero: Patent Infringement on Cleaner Burning Gasoline. Adriana Winfield UC Berkeley, Chemical Engineer November 3, 2008 IEOR 190G. Unocal’s Background. Founded in 1890 in Santa Paula, California Independent petroleum company until 2005 Merged with Chevron Corporation.

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Unocal vs. Valero: Patent Infringement on Cleaner Burning Gasoline

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  1. Unocal vs. Valero: Patent Infringement on Cleaner Burning Gasoline Adriana Winfield UC Berkeley, Chemical Engineer November 3, 2008 IEOR 190G

  2. Unocal’s Background • Founded in 1890 in Santa Paula, California • Independent petroleum company until 2005 • Merged with Chevron Corporation

  3. Valero’s Background • Founded in 1980s in San Antonio, Texas • 3.3 million barrels of oil per day • Largest refinery in North America

  4. vs. • In 2002, Unocal sued Valero for patent infringement on patents ‘393 and ‘126 • Patents discuss cleaner-burning gasoline • A loss for Valero would cost them 17.25 cents for every gallon refined allegedly using Unocal's patented process

  5. Refinery

  6. Patent 5,288,393 Unleaded: [lead] < 0.05gram lead/gallon CnH2n+2

  7. Patent 5,288,393

  8. Patent 5,288,393

  9. Patent 5,288,393 Fuel Injection System

  10. Patent 5,288,393 Decreasing 50% D-86 distillation point => decrease in hydrocarbons and CO emissions Decreasing Reid Vapor Pressure => decrease in NOx emissions 10% D-86 Distillation point decrease => decrease in NOx emissions Olefin decrease => decrease in NOx emissions

  11. Patent ‘393: Specifications • Describes benefits and methods of varying gasoline characteristics. • 1) relationships among fuel characteristics and CO, NOx, and HC emissions, • 2) characteristics most important for emissions • 3) specific desirable ranges for RVP, T10, T50,olefins, paraffins, and aromatics • Patent ‘126 made it covers every single gallon of California summer CARB, a state agency, gasoline

  12. Valero’s Response • “We believe the patents are invalid because we believe that Unocal violated anti-competitive laws,” - Bill Greehey, chairman of the board and CEO of Valero.

  13. Who wins? • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner on Dec. 18 rejected Unocal's claim to patent rights for its "393" gasoline • Patent office found that Unocal did not invent anything new or novel because the '393' compositions were so close to prior compositions • The Federal Trade Commission charges Unocal with “patent ambush” and illegal anticompetitive conduct.

  14. Thank You! Thank you for listening. Are there any questions?

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