V. Patent License Files,, 1944-1971

Summary: Waksman and the Rutgers Research and Endowment Foundation held patents in numerous countries for Streptomycin, Dihydrostreptomycin, Neomycin, and Candicidin. Getting foreign companies to recognize the authority of these patents, or adhere to royalties agreements, comprises the bulk of the correspondence. The folders with the most corporate intrigue are: Argentina and Brazil where companies attempted to trademark the Spanish word for Neomycin; E.R. Squibb with a dispute over payment and their involvement in the Argentina trademark problem; Denmark for corporate gossip; and Italy for examples of very friendly corporate correspondence almost bordering on hero worship for Waksman. The Japan files are of special interest having started correspondence right after the end of World War II. The legal and business workings of these license agreements is very complex.

Items of note (patent reprints, articles, notable correspondence) are listed with the folder names. These documents were arranged in a way that seemed deliberate (for instance copies of sent letters and their replies grouped together) and the processor believed that researchers would be better served by Waksman's order.

If a sizable amount of correspondence occurred between Waksman and the Foundation and a company the correspondence is labeled as Business or Scientific or both. "Business Correspondence" includes amendments to license agreements, legal correspondence and general memos. "Scientific Correspondence" includes reports and queries for scientific information. Italicized information refers to arrangement notes.