ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 4 -- 3M Innovative Properties, St. Paul, Minnesota, has been assigned a patent (8,969,500) developed by Klaus Hintzer, Kastl, Germany, and Harald Kaspar, Burgkirchen, Germany, for "melt-processible fluoropolymers having long-chain branches, methods of preparing them and uses thereof."

The patent application was filed on April 24, 2008 (12/597,022). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d . . .