Henri Dreyfus developed a methanol carbonylation pilot plant at British Celanese as early as 1925. However, a lack of practical materials that could contain the corrosive reaction mixture at the high pressures needed (200 atm or more) discouraged commercialization. Patents were awarded for many important inventions such as disperse dying and the dry-spinning process. British Celanese sued Courtaulds for infringement of acetate patents in 1931, then filed a series of appeals that eventually reached the House of Lords, which rejected the claim. They sued again in 1936 and lost again in 1937. The appeal against this decision was withdrawn when the two companies began merger talks. They reached agreement on a merger in 1939, but the deal was incomplete when World War II (1939-1945) broke out. They were not resumed in Dreyfus's lifetime. Henri Dreyfus died in 1944. During his life he had filed more than 2,000 patent applications. In 1946 Camille Dreyfus set up the Henry Dreyfus Foundation in memory of his brother, "to advance the science of chemistry, chemical engineering and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances around the world."