Patent Clouds Control Picture

From June 14, 1991 (update #8)

Approval of a recent patent application may delay zebra mussel control projects, according to John DeKam, chairman of the Michigan Section of the American Water Works Association. DeKam said that U.S. Patent #5008075 -- granted to Paul G. Rufolo on April 24, 1991, for installing a preventative maintenance system for underwater pipes -- will result in an expensive legal battle involving industries and utilities with intakes infested with zebra mussels. One impending project, a control system for the Saginaw/Midland Water Supply Line, is presently being delayed because of uncertainties raised by this patent, DeKam said. Also, the Green Bay Water Utility had planned to seek bids on a zebra mussel control project for its intakes in mid-July with the aim of starting construction this fall, but utility General Manager Bill Nabak said that the utility would seek "a clearer understanding of the patent situation before proceeding further." Rufolo provided a copy of the patent in a letter sent to water intake operators around the Great Lakes in which he offered to "discuss" a licensing arrangement to allow installation of the patented system. In a letter to Congressman Robert Traxler, DeKam wrote, "The apparatus described in the patent was proposed by Mr. Wilfred LePage, water superintendent at the City of Monroe, MI (sic), at a zebra mussel conference held on December 6, 1989...there is nothing unique about the system (patented)...It involves common technology and construction practices. The patent employs a method of placing a small diameter chemical feed line inside a water intake line...".

ID: 19910614-9.

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.