PRESS RELEASE #00-63 October 16, 2000 CONTACT: (media inquiries only) Brigid Quinn Maria V. Hernandez 703-305-8341   NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS HOLD PATENTS FOR AWARD WINNING WORK Chemistry winners discovery led to revolutionizing information technology Alan J. Heeger, Alan G. MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa each hold U.S. patents for the work for which they were honored with the 2000 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. There are two main patents that deal with this Nobel prize-winning work. Heeger, MacDiarmid, and Shirakawa are co-inventors on patent #4,222,903 for p-type doping of polyacetylene. Heeger and MacDiarmid are also co-inventors on patent #4,204,216, which is for n-type doping of polyacetylene. The work covered in these patents helped to lay the groundwork for their study of electrical conductivity in plastics. This discovery led to improvements in film, television screens and windows, and one day may lead to thinner computer screens and smaller molecular computers. These patents, as well as all patents issued since the first one in 1790, can be viewed on USPTO's web site, www.uspto.gov. USPTO, a user fee-funded agency of the United States, within the Department of Commerce, administers laws relevant to granting patents and registering trademarks. The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office advises the Secretary of Commerce and other Federal departments and agencies on intellectual property policy matters. Over 6 million patents have been issued since the first patent in 1790 and 2.3 million trademarks have been registered since the first in 1870. Last year USPTO issued 161,000 patents and registered 104,000 trademarks. # # #