USPTO Announces New Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program

The USPTO announced last week the initiation of a new Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, as part of the USPTO’s efforts to incentivize and expedite clean energy technologies. This pilot program is available to fast track examination for patent applications involving a product or process designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A petition to make special under this pilot program would not incur the typical petition to make special fee, and an applicant is not required to satisfy the other requirements of the accelerated examination program. The USPTO will accept petitions to make special under this pilot program until June 5, 2023, or until 1,000 applications have been granted special status under this program.

However, the pilot program also imposes certain restrictions on qualifying applications. An applicant is required to file the petition to make special under this pilot program within thirty days of the filing date of the application. Additionally, a qualifying patent application is limited to a maximum of twenty total claims and a maximum of three independent claims, and an applicant would be required to respond to a telephonic restriction requirement by electing without traverse. Furthermore, only applications with the specification, claims, and abstract in DOCX form would be eligible. Notably, as we previously reported, the USPTO delayed a requirement to submit DOCX files for all applications last November, in order to provide enhanced testing of its IT systems and allow applicants more time to adjust. The USPTO website also notes further, more clerical requirements of the program.

The Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program may help applicants seeking fast issuance of a patent on a specific greenhouse gas emission reduction technology. However, applicants should consider the potential effects of the pilot program restrictions on their application, in addition to the effect on patent term length due to possible lost opportunities for accruing Patent Term Adjustment.