Sky High Success

Name: Peter Anyon

Business: Air Quality Technologies Pty Ltd

Industry: Fuel emission reduction technology

IP smart since: 1971

Peter Anyon, Director of Technology and Innovation of Air Quality Technologies Pty Ltd (AQT), has developed an instrument for measuring fine particulate emissions from diesel engines that sets a new standard for size, efficiency and price. And he’s also ahead of the pack in ensuring that his technology is safe from IP infringement problems down the track.

Vehicle pollution analysers measure the composition of vehicle exhaust emissions, and are in growing demand due to an increasing global focus on reducing the harmful effects of motor vehicle pollution.

In Australia, the health costs associated with these fumes are estimated to be in the range of $2 to $5 billion. In Asia and other regions the figure is much higher.

“As some allied systems for air quality measurement already exist, it was important when designing our instrumentation that the end product didn’t conflict with any other technologies or methods already protected through formal intellectual property rights” Peter said.

“When using traditional methods, measurement of diesel particle levels requires a test cell the size of a squash court, crammed with over a million dollars worth of equipment, operated by two or three highly skilled staff, but only producing vehicle test results every two to three hours.”

“We have developed an instrument that can produce measurements in less than five minutes, that requires only minimal operator training, that is the size of a shoe box, and costs only a fraction of the price.”

Peter already has several patents to his name, and more are on the way, but he says that it is just as important to avoid infringing existing patents for specific technologies. To avoid potential patent infringement problems, Peter found the use of online IP databases invaluable.

“By using both the IP Australia and overseas patent databases as a research tool, I was able to construct a detailed picture of existing patents which helped give us confidence in applying our new systems,” Peter said.

“Importantly, in one area we discovered that a patent had been granted for a solution that had some similarities to one of our independently developed systems—albeit in another field.”

By sifting through the information in the IP databases, Peter was able to establish that the patent had expired, so was able to use the solution that AQT had invented, without fear of IP infringement.

Peter said that consulting with a patent attorney also gave him further peace of mind.

“We have found that our patent attorney’s skills, and his ability to liaise with IP Australia on any issues that might arise, can be invaluable in helping us to set a course of action,” Peter said.

And Peter’s advice to other innovators out there—don’t get put off by patent jargon!

“A great deal of useful information can be gathered without having to plough through all of the somewhat arcane language used in patent specifications,” Peter said.

“Really useful information can be gained by browsing introductory parts of the patent specification and by reviewing diagrams and drawings, and most importantly you can ascertain the legal status of any given patent.”

In this case a meticulous approach to safeguarding technology has paid off. AQT technologies are attracting increasing interest from a number of Australian and overseas government and private sector organisations to help reduce the social and economic costs of vehicle pollution.

Peter’s company has recently signed a technical cooperation agreement with a major testing equipment manufacturer and is currently negotiating with a number of clients for the commercialisation of some specialised versions of the new emissions measuring instrumentation.

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