Review of patents in the cell stress and chaperone field.

Abstract

Perusing patent information serves several purposes. First, it provides information for the industrial community on what inventions have been made in the field and on who owns them. Second, experimental results oftentimes appear in the patent literature as soon as, and occasionally even sooner, than they appear in scientific journals. This is a consequence of international practise under the Patent Cooperation Treaty providing for publication of applications within 18 months from their priority date, i.e. from the date of their first filing anywhere. For this reason, it may be profitable even for the academic scientist to keep an eye on the patent literature. Third, and this should be of interest to both academic and industrial