White House to push through cleantech patents

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been ordered to speed its review of green technology patent proposals in hopes of making good ideas (and the jobs they bring with them) a reality that much faster.

The announcement, from the Obama administration, coincides with the first day of the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen and the U.S. Department of Energy’s handout of $100 million to cleantech projects via its ambitious ARPA-E program.

Starting tomorrow, the average patent review time will be cut from 40 months to 12, giving innovators a better chance of scoring the funding they need to build on their most promising concepts. About 3,000 applications will be expedited in this fashion to see how it goes. Another 25,000 are eligible for the same treatment if it proves effective.

In order to qualify for this pilot program, patents must “materially contribute” to a more healthy, cleaner environment — including renewable sources of energy, materials that can be used for green building, energy efficiency developments and methods for slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

The faster review process may be a stretch for the Patent and Trademark Office, which won’t be able to hire on any new staff to handle the change in protocol. The agency overshot its budget by $200 million this year. It says that that cleantech proposals make up such a small percentage of the overall volume it receives that the program shouldn’t delay non-green applications.

About 770,000 patents are currently pending.

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