We have made substantial investments in a wide variety of areas related to our Plasma CVD process, including:

• trade secret automated computer control software and hardware for our diamond growth chamber (to minimize the amount of human intervention required and maximize total growth time). 
• trade secret wave guide design
• trade secret stage design
• trade secret holder design
• various trade secret processes for substrate prep and handling
• and most importantly, a trade secret mix of gasses, flow, temperature and pressure to ensure an optimal delivery of chemical species necessary for robust diamond growth.

While we have explored the patent regime and have had thorough patent reviews (both for our IP as well as to ensure we are not treading on other existing patents), we currently intend to keep our proprietary processes protected via 'trade secret' enforcement. 

This has the advantage of not restricting the time the IP is protected (vs. 20 years for patent) and further, not being a 'how to' guide for companies in countries with less than stellar IP legal enforcement.