Comparative Example -- Hypothetical Homeland Security Device.

Immediately following the September 11, 2001 attack on the U.S., the Bush administration emphasis was on protecting Americans from other possible follow-up terrorist attacks -- particularly 'something from the air.' In retrospect, we now realize that there is much more to worry about than just sealing our windows and door with plastic and duct tape -- we have to worry even more about maritime cargo coming into our ports, unscreened aviation cargo, and the like!

However, although there continue to be jokes on late-night television about Homeland Security's duct tape campaign, it still represents one security problem needing a solution. So, for the purpose of illustration, we have addressed this particular area as a Homeland Security example. Maybe you don't like duct tape, but let us say you have devised an adjustable frame stretched with an integral "accordion-folded" plastic sheet that can be pre-fitted to cover the inside of a home's windows and/or doors to 'seal' in case of a biological or chemical attack. To illustrate, the frame and covering would probably be patented (not a trade secret) since it could be easily reverse engineered.

But suppose the success of the device lies in a wall-clinging boarder strip feature (to seal all around the edge) that uses electro-static principles (i.e., to replace duct tape). There are various possibilities that come to mind for implementing this feature including a specially formulated substance (like kitchen 'cling wraps' but stronger clinging). Assuming the formulation is not easily reverse engineered, this serves as a perfect example of a candidate for marketing as a trade secret.

Our group is knowledgeable in the international trade laws that govern the treatment of trade secrets and has experience in international marketing of such products. We can help you evaluate existing and future competition, estimate potential and consequences for "reverse engineering" of the product, handle details on trademarks and needs for regulatory approvals and Federal and State licensing. The Federal Department of Homeland Security is already playing an important role in brokering new and better ideas to make America safer.

A product we helped move to the commercial market.

Eight years ago our group, Bartley Technologies Incorporated , began to explore an experimental product that was being developed for the management of fungal vascular diseases that continue to threaten plants and trees in many parts of the world including large regions of North America and Europe. Interventions to the advance of these types of fungal diseases had been limited to digging seven-foot-deep trenches, where possible, to interrupt transmission of the disease through root structures, and limiting tree pruning to discourage transmission via vectors. Texas A&M also recommended periodic use of "chemotherapy" root-flair injection with a toxic anti-fungal chemical.

However, it had long been recognized that trees and certain other plants have their own natural mechanisms for fighting such disease.

The idea now was to engineer a product that could enhance the important processes in a plant's root structure and effectiveness of a plant's own immune systems. After more than a decade of research, development and testing, this new methodology yielded a unique new non-toxic water-soluble product that can be applied to the underside of the leaves and on the ground beneath the tree or plant. In some cases, injection of the product may be a viable option. Although total understanding of chemical and biologic mechanisms of this product still does not exist, we were able to gain enough experience working with the product to conclude that it pointed to a new integrated approach to saving endangered trees and plants.

The design of the product -- which the manufacturer determined to be a trade secret -- encompassed plant tolerance, modification of nutritional status, amplification of natural plant responses to both microbes and insects, root health maintenance (due to root hormone production and nutrient uptake efficiency) and insect management (biological and conventional). As part of our feasibility study of this 'New New Product,' our firm explored many dimensions related to its marketability and long-term efficacy. Tests, including those conducted by our firm, showed that regular periodic treatments using this new product increased the number of survivors of the fungal disease. Measurement of success, of course, must be based on sound epidemiology. We concluded that complementary interventions to vascular diseases such as trenching, where feasible, should also be continued. But, most importantly, we discovered that the nutrients/biostimulants contained in this product seem to benefit all plants and trees.

Satisfied with our due-diligence, we were able to negotiate exclusive world-wide rights to distribute the product above and trademark it. We then contributed to the creation of a new company that would be the sole distributor of this and some related products. We located the new company initially just outside Austin, TX, in the Texas Hill Country, home of the newest and hottest 'Silicon Valley' of cutting-edge companies now developing around the US. We sold the company several years ago, and the new owner is marketing the product nationally.



If you would like more information on new products we have developed or are looking at, e-mail us at our HOT E-mail address: bartleytech_@_yahoo.com
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