USPTO Announces Program to Accelerate Green Technology Patent Applications

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced  a pilot program to accelerate the examination of green technology patent applications to support a faster development and deployment of certain green technologies, create green jobs and advance US competitiveness in this key sector.

Patent applications are normally taken up for examination in the order in which they are filed.  The average pending time for green technologies can be 30 months from filing to a first office action, and 40 months to a final decision.  Under the pilot program, for the first 3,000 applications related to green technologies in which a proper petition is filed, the agency will examine the applications on an expedited basis. 

“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,” Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos says.  “Applications in this pilot program will see a significant savings in pendency, which will help bring green innovations to market more quickly.”

For more, see the release from the USPTO