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5 Patents to Watch

May 2001

A handful of hot new patents that may change the way business and technology get done.

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Features

  • Categorized in 17036

    The TR Patent Scorecard 2001

    Whose patent portfolio is most potent? We rank 150 of the world’s top companies according to the quality and quantity of their patents.
  • Novel “photonic-band-gap materials” promise to light up the pipes of the telecom network. Their breakthrough? They carry signals through air rather than glass.
  • The semiconductor pioneer and cofounder of Intel discusses his law, aliens, the environment and his new foundation to fund far-out research.
  • Categorized in 17037

    Power to the People

    Declare independence from the electrical grid! Microturbines and fuel cells can generate premium juice 24/7.
  • Categorized in 17035

    The Programmable Pill

    Drugs of the near future will be microdevices that search out and destroy germs without the side effects of conventional therapies.
  • Categorized in 17032

    Battle for the Unseen Computer

    Over 99 percent of computers are inconspicuous: embedded in objects from toys to cars. Open-source software dukes it out with proprietary offerings to provide their operating system.

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