TAKEAWAY: The USPTO expanded eligibility requirements and extended the duration of its Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program aimed to promote innovations that tackle climate change.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced the expansion and extension of its Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, originally launched in June 2022. The program aims to incentivize innovations that address climate change and is now available to a broader range of technologies that advance progress towards achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
As of June 6, 2023, original utility nonprovisional applications that involve the following technologies are eligible for accelerated examination:
- Removal of greenhouse gases already present in the atmosphere
- Reduction and/or prevention of additional greenhouse gas emissions
- Monitoring, tracking, and/or verifying greenhouse gas emission reductions
Applicants seeking to participate in the program may file a petition to make special. Qualifying applications will receive expedited processing until the first action on the merits is complete.
The expanded program is scheduled to run until June 7, 2027, or until the USPTO accepts a total of 4,000 grantable petitions, whichever occurs earlier.
Further details on the program, including claim limits and other eligibility requirements, are available at the USPTO’s Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program webpage.