Patent Office to fast-track green ideas
Green technologies will be fast-tracked through the patent process
The US Patent and Trademark Office is launching a pilot programme which will see proposals for green technologies being accelerated.
It aims to knock a year off the approval process, which currently takes up to 40 months.
Under the scheme, the first 3,000 applications related to green technologies will be given special status in the hope that patenting these ideas quicker will enable inventors to secure funding, create businesses and deploy eco-friendly technologies sooner.
"American competitiveness depends on innovation and innovation depends on creative Americans developing new technology," commented the US commerce secretary Gary Locke.
"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."
Carl Horton, chief intellectual property counsel of General Electric, also praised the idea, suggesting that it will help fuel environmentally-friendly innovations.
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However, some commentators have raised concerns about the pilot, suggesting on the Tech Dirt blog that it could lead to more bad patents being approved as there is not enough time to consider them properly.
The announcement was timed to coincide with the Copenhagen climate change summit which is currently underway.
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