Polymers, Patents, Profits

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Any groundbreaking scientific discovery or invention is potentially of general interest and is therefore also the basis for profitable follow-up developments and innovations. From the scientist's point of view it is desirable to save his innovative achievements for his own profit. This why the state grants exclusive rights to the scientist in the form of patents. In turn, the scientist has to disclose the details of the discovery. In the mid 1950s, Nobel prizewinner Karl Ziegler and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute of Carbon Research established a technology that had an outstanding impact on the worldwide production of polypropylenes and polyethylenes, the fundamental components of the plastics industry. This is the fascinating, first-hand story of the patent fights between the research team and the "giants" of the petrochemicals industry, such as Du Pont and Esso. The author was part of Ziegler's group throughout the entire period, resulting here in an entertaining case study of an innovative chemical discovery, presenting interesting historical as well as scientific information. An impressive example of the fights between academia and industry concerning patent rights and the economic utilization of academic research innovations.