Mussel Control Patent Update

From July 26, 1991 (update #9)

Our story on a patent for a zebra mussel control device reported in ZMU#8 ("Patent Clouds Control Picture") brought these replies from patent holder Paul Rufolo, president of Midwest Marine Contractors, Mt. Prospoct, Ill., and attorney Howard Rockman: "...Mr. Rufolo did not patent and bring to the public his chemical dispersion system for intake pipes for the purpose of engaging in 'expensive legal battles' with industries and utilities with mussel-clogged pipes. To the contrary, by seeking patent protection for his system, Mr. Rufolo's intention was to make his system available to all marine design engineers, construction companies, diving organizations and pipeline owners who could benefit from his invention, and at the same time allow Midwest Marine Contractors and Mr. Rufolo to obtain the benefit of his invention and its engineering... "We can assure you and the industry that Mr. Rufolo conceived of his invention well before December 9, 1989, and had constructed a prototype of his invention before then... "Mr. Rufolo has developed and engineered a system that will help owners of water intake pipes solve what could be a catastrophic clogging problem. Since the development of the system has been completed by Mr. Rufolo, pipeline owners can expect to spend less in engineering fees, since their engineers won't have to spend time and money looking for and testing systems that may or may not work.".

ID: 19910726-13.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.