On December 7, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new pilot program that would make certain green technology-related patent applications available for an accelerated examination process. The goal of the pilot program is to reduce the current pendency period of “green tech” patent applications, which is approximately 40 months from initial filing to final decision. The USPTO hopes the pilot program will accelerate the development and deployment of green technology, create green jobs, and promote U.S. competitiveness in this critical technology sector.
In announcing the pilot program, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos explained that: “Every day an important green tech innovation is hindered from coming to market is another day we harm our planet and another day lost in creating green businesses and green jobs. Applications in this pilot program will see a significant savings in pendency, which will help bring green innovations to market more quickly.”
The pilot program, announced days before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, is consistent with President Obama’s technology and economic agenda. That is, the Whitehouse’s official website states that President Obama: “believes that modernized infrastructure is a necessary part of the foundation for long term economic stability and prosperity. That includes everything from a comprehensive national broadband plan, to new health care information technology, to a modernized electrical grid.” In fact, Obama’s official campaign website spoke of the need to “employ science, technology and innovation to solve our nation’s most pressing problems.”
Under the Green Technology Pilot Program, applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy (e.g., hydroelectric, solar, wind, renewable biomass, landfill gas, ocean, geothermal, and municipal solid waste) or greenhouse gas emission reduction, will be advanced out of turn for examination if a petition meeting the requirements of the program is filed. The USPTO will accept the first 3,000 petitions filed before December 8, 2010. And, the USPTO has indicated that it will waive all fees for filing the petition required to accompany each patent application attempting to qualify for the program.
If the pilot program proves successful, the USPTO announced that it will examine ways to continue and expand it.
In reporting the announcement of the pilot program, the mainstream press focused on its potential impact on large Fortune 500® companies. For example, Mr. Carl Horton, the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel of General Electric was quoted as stating: “We hail this initiative as an excellent incentive to fuel further innovation of clean technology and a terrific mechanism to speed the dissemination of [our] patented technologies throughout the world.”
The pilot program, however, is not strictly for the benefit of large companies. We know that many vital technology break-throughs are developed by inventors working for small firms. Green tech-related inventions are no exception. Thus, I encourage small firms working in the green tech space to seek legal counsel and investigate the pilot program to determine whether their filed or soon-to-be filed patent applications qualify. After all, the U.S. patent system must work for all applicants – large and small!
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great post as usual!