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