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Patent for LK-99 Room Temp Superconductor – References to Salvatore Cezar Pais?

14 points by King-Aaron ↗ HN
The Korean team that announced their room temperature superconductor, which other labs are now just proving to be a working concept, have put in a patent for their findings: https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2023027537A1/en

In that patent, they make references to a US Government patent by Salvatore Cezar Pais about his work on superconductors: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20190058105A1/en

That guy - Dr Pais - has several US government patents. https://patents.google.com/?inventor=Salvatore+Cezar+Pais

Is the inclusion of that reference meant to be some kind of red flag/trolling attempt? Or is there some weight behind his work? I recall these woo patents coming up a few years ago and then disappearing from the spotlight.

6 comments

[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 15.9 ms ] thread
irthomasthomas
I bloody thought this was a nerd trawling exercise! Or, maybe just China trolling, like you said. Payback for smashing their weather balloons?

But it was obvious to me from the first video I watched. A handheld potato camera filming the monitor of a microscope, when the microscope itself contains a good camera. That, plus the fact that he spins the magnet multiple times in his hand, like a magician. It's impossible to track which side of the magnet he is using.

Surprised HN went so hard on it. It's stuff like this that's made me slash my HN reading time.

martinclayton
It looks like the citation of the Pais patent was added by the examiner, rather than by the applicants. Does that make any difference in your view?
King-Aaron
Since posting this earlier today, I have read up about referencing 'prior art' as not to get a patent dismissed (not being a patent lawyer I wasn't aware of this) - so yeah that does make sense that an examiner has added this.
amseliplaw
Patents list references considered by the Examiner. In the U.S., applicants are also required to disclose references known to the applicant that are "material to examination." It is not an admission against patentability, but instead creates a strong presumption of validity over the cited references for a patent that grants.

I am a patent attorney, stumbled across this reading about the LK-99 announcement.

edumace
Dr. Pais is a decades long researcher for the US Navy. He is credible, but the 'UFO patents' are a thing of lore more than scientific fact. I am seeing the signs of this LK99 patent as something positive, since it was filed in January and has taken a long time to write up and prepare. After at least six months you believe the researchers in South Korea would have ample time to check their own findings before throwing their reputation and time on this.