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Halliburton Takes Fracking Fight From Oil Field to Patent Office

  • Schlumberger’s patents are old ideas, Halliburton claims
  • Patents are part of market-share battle over oilfield services
Operations During A Halliburton Fracking Tour

Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg

Halliburton Co. isn’t content to limit its battle for market share with Schlumberger Ltd. to the oil field these days. It’s opened a new front in an unlikely place: the patent office.

The Houston-based provider of drilling services is waging an aggressive campaign to persuade the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel some of Schlumberger’s fracking-related patents, telling the agency they’re not inventions but old ideas repackaged. At the same time, Halliburton is pursuing more patents and was awarded 35 percent more in 2017 compared to the previous year.