Chip Away At The Tree

Sometimes it just isn't possible to secure the proper scope of protection in a single patent. At times this is the fault of the patent attorney who didn't appreciate the nature of the advance. At other times the fault lies with the patent examiner, who just can't emotionally accept the fact that the inventor is walking away with a lock on an entire field. Still other times it is entirely reasonable to file multiple applications to cover different aspects of the technology. The following claims all cover different aspects of using voids to produce electronic materials having extremely low electrical conductivity:

1. A low dielectric constant structural layer having increased mechanical strength and having a plurality of voids comprising:

a substrate layer;

a low dielectric structural layer that substantially comprises a polymer and that juxtaposes the substrate layer; and

an infiltrating layer comprising an infiltrating material having a volatile component and a reinforcing component juxtaposing the structural layer and coating at least some of the plurality of voids .

1. A method of fabricating a nanoporous material, comprising:

providing a first polymeric strand and a second polymeric strand, wherein each of the first polymeric strand and the second polymeric strand independently comprises a crosslinking functionality and a thermostable portion, and wherein at least one of the first polymeric strand and the second polymeric strand further comprises a thermolabile portion;

crosslinking the first and second polymeric strands by reacting the crosslinking functionality of the first polymeric strand with the crosslinking functionality of the second polymeric strand, thereby forming a cyclic structure; and

providing an energy to at least partially degrade the thermolabile portion .

1. A dielectric material comprising:

an amalgamation layer having a nanoporous aerogel and a blending material, said nanoporous aerogel having a plurality of pores and said blending material further comprising a reinforcing component and a volatile component .

1. A low dielectric constant material, comprising:

a first backbone having a first aromatic moiety and a first reactive group;

a second backbone having a second aromatic moiety and a second reactive group wherein

the first and second backbones are crosslinked via the first and second reactive groups in a crosslinking reaction, wherein the reaction is a cycloaddition; and

wherein at least one of the first or second backbones comprises at least one thermosetting monomer having the formula:

wherein G is a cage structure, and wherein R1-R4 comprises an alkyl group, an aryl group, a halogen atom, CF3, COOH, or NO2, wherein at least two of R1-R4 comprises an aromatic portion and a reactive group, and wherein the reactive group on the at least one thermosetting monomer may comprise the first reactive group or the second reactive group .

In other instances new patents are filed to extend a franchise on a commercially successful product. This can be done in any field, by adding a new little twist to the product, by claiming a new method of use, and so forth. This form of "patent extension" is especially common in the pharmaceutical field, where profits from a single product can range in the billions of dollars per year. Schering-Plough, for example, secured an initial patent for loratadine, which is the active ingredient in its wildly popular Claritin™ product. With patent expiration looming the company then secured a formulation patent for a combination of loratadine and pseudoephedrine (CLARITIN-D 24 Hour™) that is not scheduled to expire until 2012