Unocal offers uniform patent license except to litigating companies

Unocal Corp. has offered a uniform license to all refiners, blenders, and importers to use its cleaner burning gasoline patents�except the companies that sued to declare the patent invalid. It claimed the licenses would add no more than 1�/gal to consumer cost nationwide.

March 29, 2001

By OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, Mar. 29�Unocal Corp. has offered a uniform license to all refiners, blenders, and importers to use its cleaner burning gasoline patents�except the companies that sued to declare the patent invalid.

Unocal said the license schedule for its controversial reformulated gasoline patent specifies fees of 1.2-3.4�/gal, using a sliding scale that reduces the fee for higher volumes.

It claimed the licenses would add no more than 1�/gal to consumer cost nationwide.

Charles R. Williamson, Unocal chief executive officer, noted that the uniform license is being offered to non-litigating companies "because those companies did not force us to spend millions of dollars in attorney's fees and devote countless hours of staff time to show the validity of our patent claims."

In 1995, several refiners sued to overturn the Unocal patent. Unocal counterclaimed, alleging the plaintiffs were infringing on the patent. Federal courts upheld Unocal in the case. ARCO Corp., Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., Shell Oil Co., and Texaco Inc. appealed the ruling to the US Supreme Court (OGJ Online, Sept. 18, 2000), which declined to hear the case, thus upholding the lower court rulings (OGJ Online, Feb. 20, 2001).