The energy for an endergonic reaction is obtained by coupling the reaction with an exergonic reaction. A familiar example of coupling exergonic reactions to endergonic reactions to promote spontaneity comes from ATP.
That's a key distinction, because foreign countries with weak patent laws routinely inundate the market with knockoff products. The only way you're going to control your product in the market is if you have the ability to tell others to stop, Wolin says. In the United States and elsewhere, it's the patent system. That's the only way..
You could ask the employer to sign an NDA but that wonât usually go over well. Patents give you a limited term monopoly to certain inventions if you file the details publicly (so everyone know what you invented). For an invention to be patentable, there canât be a history of it in public. So if you spill the beans in public, you can make your own invention unpatentable. Generally speaking, you have one year to apply from the first date on which your invention is published.