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In light of larger public policy debates over intellectual property and climate change, this article considers patent practice, law, and policy in respect of biofuels. This debate has significant implications for public policy discussions in respect of energy independence, food security, and climate change. The first section of the paper provides a network analysis of patents in respect of biofuels across the three generations. It provides empirical research in respect of patent subject matter, ownership, and strategy in respect of biofuels. The second section provides a case study of significant patent litigation over biofuels. There is an examination of the biofuels patent litigation between the Danish company Novozymes, and Danisco and DuPont. The third section examines flexibilities in respect of patent law and clean technologies in the context of the case study of biofuels. In particular, it explores the debate over substantive doctrinal matters in respect of biofuels -such as patentable subject matter, technology transfer, patent pools, compulsory licensing, and disclosure requirements. The conclusion explores the relevance of the debate over patent law and biofuels to the larger public policy discussions over energy independence, food security, and climate change.

This article asks, "What can Network Patent Analysis™ (NPA) tell us about developments in the treatment of this serious condition?" Patents filed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease have been analyzed by NPA. NPA is an unique patent analysis method that maps the 'collective intelligence' of the patent applicants to group and rank patents, technologies and patent applicants. A search for Alzheimer's disease patents identified approximately 24,000 patents, to which we added 24,000 citationally connected patents. NPA identified the leading 2,153 patents in the combined 48,000 patents and grouped most of these 2153 patents into 23 subject clusters. The 23 clusters of patents fall into two major groupings: drugs targeted to the β-amyloid protein ('amyloid grouping'); and drugs targeted to the Tau/serotonin and other alternative pathways ('Tau grouping'). Filing activity for the 2153 strongest patents peaked between the year 2000 and 2005. This, along with the broad range of subject matter in the patent clusters, suggests that Alzheimer's disease treatments are still undergoing strong development.