It is currently owned by the Estate, but I assume (Anne, Mark or Mark?) that it would be assigned to NETCO as part of that transaction.  I should add that we will incur some legal expenses in filing applications in foreign jurisdictions (although probably not substantial).  Also, an additional benefit of delaying the filing for ten months is that the US Patent and Trademark Office will make an initial determination as to some elements of patentability (which they do not otherwise do) -- this would give us some indication of whether it is worthwhile pursuing the patent process.
 

Please note new address and fax number:

Travis C. McCullough 
Enron North America Corp. 
1400 Smith Street EB 2079 
Houston, Texas 77002 
Phone:  (713) 853-1575 
Fax:      (713) 853-9252 

-----Original Message-----
From: Kitchen, Louise 
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2002 8:28 AM
To: McCullough, Travis; Haedicke, Mark E.
Cc: Koehler, Anne C.; Taylor, Mark E (Legal)
Subject: RE: EnronOnline patent application - deadline approaching


Where does this patent reside - in the Estate or NetCo?

-----Original Message-----
From: McCullough, Travis 
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 3:56 PM
To: Haedicke, Mark E.; Kitchen, Louise
Cc: Koehler, Anne C.; Taylor, Mark E (Legal)
Subject: EnronOnline patent application - deadline approaching


With respect to prosecuting our business method patent application outside the U.S., we may now designate those non-U.S. countries in which we are seeking patent protection, or elect to postpone that process for an additional ten months.
 
If we wish to designate the appropriate countries now, we must file an application in each country in which we want patent protection on or before February 28, 2002.   If we elect to postpone the process, we must file an notice to that effect on or before January 30, 2002.  One benefit of taking the ten-month extension of the process is that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will review our patent application and issue a non-binding written opinion on whether our invention meets certain conditions (novelty, inventiveness, industrial applicability) that are required in order to be patentable.  
 
Please let me know whether we should designate countries now, or file for the extension.  It may be that we want to let the dust settle on the NETCO transaction before making this decision.

Please note new address and fax number:

Travis C. McCullough 
Enron North America Corp. 
1400 Smith Street EB 2079 
Houston, Texas 77002 
Phone:  (713) 853-1575 
Fax:      (713) 853-9252