RE: Patents28 Feb 2026 13:30
What they can do to prevent copying
Within the patent term, they have several levers:
-Assert the core HPMS claimsIf a competitor is using hydrogen decrepitation in closed vessels to liberate NdFeB powder from intact assemblies in a way that falls within the WO2012072989 claim set (or its national equivalents), that is prima facie infringement in the relevant jurisdictions.
--Enforcement options: cease‑and‑desist, licensing demands, or ultimately litigation. The strength here is that the claims are fairly general around exposing assemblies to hydrogen gas to effect decrepitation and recover powder.
-Exploit continuation/divisional and improvement patents
-Even as the 2010‑priority family approaches expiry, they can keep filing on:
--Specific reactor designs (gas handling, safety, automation)
-Integrated lines (mechanical opening, selective exposure, powder handling).
-Downstream chemistry (selective REE extraction, alloy conditioning, low‑carbon flows).
Those later patents will run to the mid‑2030s and beyond, giving them a “thicket” even after the original HPMS claims fall away.
-Trade secrets and know‑howCycle‑time, parameter envelopes, material handling, impurity control, and process controls (including any proprietary models or control software) can be held as trade secrets rather than patented.Competitors may copy the broad hydrogen concept once patents lapse, but will often struggle to match throughput, yield, and environmental performance without this embedded know‑how.
Contractual and ecosystem control
-Exclusive long‑term supply or tolling agreements with OEMs and waste owners (e.g. HDD, EV OEMs) can lock in feedstock, creating an economic moat independent of IP.
-Standards and certification:
--if Hypromag/Mkango’s recycled powders/magnets become the de‑facto qualified source for certain OEMs, rivals face qualification barriers even if they are technically allowed to run similar processes.
-Branding and data
--Verified low‑carbon, traceable recycled REE products (with LCA data and certification) can be differentiated under trade marks and sustainability labels that are not affected by patent expiry, but do rely on the underlying process IP and data collection design.
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