Mr. Murphree took a strong position in favor of a more liberal patent
‘policy.
A liberalization affecting only AEC contractors would be insuf-
ficient, as would a Patent Compensation Board,
What the field needs is for
many more people to get into it on their own hook, and Zo ahead on their own
money in the hope of their own advantage,
The inventions of importance are
going to be unpatentable under the present Act.
Mr. Dean said that the Commission at this point planned to express its
intent to liberalize as permitted under the present Act.
He agreed that it
would be desirable to raise the patent question in the hearings on proposed
legislation.
\
Next, Dr, Hafstad reviewed the civil power program.
He presented much
of the information with visual aids, charts, sketches, tables, ete.; the
Civil
Power
Program details are not recorded here. He said that the program must rest on the
assumption that uranium will substantially contribute to the country's
primary energy consumption, with increasing importance as shortages in the
common fuels develop.
(Mr. Murphree doubted that one could accurately
predict long range oil shortage.)
Dr. Hafstad said that starting about 1960
nuclear energy could begin to make a significant contribution.
He showed charts of the estimated cost of plutonium as a function of
time and the estimated cost of power from various reactors, these being
closely interrelated,
for power only are:
The reactor types which at present look most promisin,
(1) pressurized, water-moderated reactor (light water
with enriched U-235 or heavy water with normal uranium); and, (2) sodiuncooled, graphite-modcrated reactor.
but not yet at hand,
The homogeneous reactor looks promising
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