It’s all hands on deck in Washington as the Obama administration has made beating China in the ongoing renewable energy race a top priority. To ensure that the technology innovation that is crucial to lead this race is quickly patented, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Washington launched a program that could reduce the patent review process by as much as a year.
The pilot program has taken in an initial 3,000 applications and is now closed. Depending on its success, the USPTO could make this fast-track review process permanent, says Carl Kukkoonen, a patent attorney at international law firm Mintz Levin. Currently it takes on average 30 months to 40 months for the USPTO to review a patent application.
In the Mintz Levin blog, Kukkoonen writes that renewable energy technologies eligible for the express review process have to support the following:
The discovery or development of renewable energy resources—including inventions relating to hydroelectric, solar, wind, renewable biomass, landfill gas, ocean (including tidal, wave, current, and thermal), geothermal, and municipal solid waste, as well as transmission, distribution, or other services directly used in providing electrical energy from these sources
The more efficient utilization and conservation of energy resources—including inventions relating to the reduction of energy consumption in combustion systems, industrial equipment, and household appliances
Greenhouse gas emission reduction—including inventions that contribute to advances in nuclear power generation technology, fossil fuel power generation, or industrial processes with greenhouse gas-abatement technology (e.g., inventions that significantly improve the safety and reliability of these technologies).
Kukkoonen, who is based in Mintz Levin’s San Diego office, says the program, if fully implemented, could help grow investments in renewable energy technologies.
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