Notice2023-11660
Expansion and Extension of the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program
Primary source
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Published
June 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentPatent and Trademark Office
Abstract
On June 3, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program as a component of its ongoing efforts to encourage and incentivize innovation in the climate space and as an example of its commitment to policies tackling climate change. The initial phase of the program--ending June 5, 2023--has sought to positively impact the climate by accelerating the examination of patent applications for products and processes designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Through this notice, the USPTO is expanding the program to include innovations in any economic sector that are designed to make progress toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. This includes innovations designed to remove greenhouse gases already present in the atmosphere; reduce and/or prevent additional greenhouse gas emissions; and/or monitor, track, and/or verify greenhouse gas emission reductions. The USPTO is also increasing the filing limitations for petitions under the program and extending the duration of the program. These changes will permit more applications to qualify for the program, thereby allowing more innovations that will aid in achieving national climate goals to be advanced out of turn for examination. As with the existing program, applications accepted into the expanded program will be advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for first action on the merits. The conditions, eligibility requirements, and guidelines of the expanded program will be the same as those established for the existing program, unless modified by this notice. By expanding and extending the program, the USPTO aims to emphasize the urgency of zero- and negative-emissions solutions, and further encourage investment in an equitable, clean energy future.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35841-35843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11660]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2023-0023]
Expansion and Extension of the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot
Program
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On June 3, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) implemented the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program as a
component of its ongoing efforts to encourage and incentivize
innovation in the climate space and as an example of its commitment to
policies tackling climate change. The initial phase of the
[[Page 35842]]
program--ending June 5, 2023--has sought to positively impact the
climate by accelerating the examination of patent applications for
products and processes designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Through this notice, the USPTO is expanding the program to include
innovations in any economic sector that are designed to make progress
toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. This includes
innovations designed to remove greenhouse gases already present in the
atmosphere; reduce and/or prevent additional greenhouse gas emissions;
and/or monitor, track, and/or verify greenhouse gas emission
reductions. The USPTO is also increasing the filing limitations for
petitions under the program and extending the duration of the program.
These changes will permit more applications to qualify for the program,
thereby allowing more innovations that will aid in achieving national
climate goals to be advanced out of turn for examination. As with the
existing program, applications accepted into the expanded program will
be advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for first action on
the merits. The conditions, eligibility requirements, and guidelines of
the expanded program will be the same as those established for the
existing program, unless modified by this notice. By expanding and
extending the program, the USPTO aims to emphasize the urgency of zero-
and negative-emissions solutions, and further encourage investment in
an equitable, clean energy future.
DATES: Pilot Duration: The Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, as
expanded by this notice, will run from June 6, 2023, until either June
7, 2027, or the date the USPTO accepts a total of 4,000 grantable
petitions (considering both the existing and expanded programs),
whichever occurs first. The USPTO may, at its sole discretion,
terminate the program depending on factors such as workload and
resources needed to administer the program, feedback from the public,
and the effectiveness of the program. If the program is terminated, the
USPTO will notify the public. The USPTO will continue to indicate on
its website the total number of petitions filed and the number of
applications accepted into the program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristie A. Mahone, Senior Legal
Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy
Commissioner for Patents, at 571-272-9016 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#82c9f0ebf1f6ebe7accfe3eaedece7c2f7f1f2f6edace5edf4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="713a0318020518145f3c10191e1f1431040201051e5f161e07">[email protected]</span></a>;
or Susy Tsang-Foster, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal
Administration, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Patents, at 571-
272-7711 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b082e2822750f283a353c761d34282f3e291b2e282b2f34753c342d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1e4d6b6d67304a6d7f70793358716d6a7b6c5e6b6d6e6a7130797168">[email protected]</span></a>. For questions on electronic
filing, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at 866-
217-9197 during its operating hours of 6 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday-
Friday, or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bdd8dfdefdc8cecdc9d293dad2cb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5336313013262023273c7d343c25">[email protected]</span></a>. For questions related to a particular
petition, please contact the Office of Petitions at 571-272-3282 during
its operating hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Part I. Background
Executive Order 14008, dated January 27, 2021, calls for
immediately reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050. See E.O. 14008 of January
27, 2021: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, 86 FR 7619
(Feb. 1, 2021). Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions means that the
measure of greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere is
counterbalanced by the measure of greenhouse gas removed from the
atmosphere. While accelerating innovations designed to reduce emissions
is of foremost importance, solutions for removing greenhouse gases from
the atmosphere are critical because of the unlikelihood of eliminating
emissions in all sectors. See The Long-Term Strategy of the United
States: Pathways to Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050 (Nov.
2021), available at <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/US-Long-Term-Strategy.pdf">www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/US-Long-Term-Strategy.pdf</a> (2021 Long-Term Strategy).
In 2022, the USPTO published a notice implementing the Climate
Change Mitigation Pilot Program, which aligns with and supports
Executive Order 14008. See Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, 87
FR 33750 (June 3, 2022) (2022 Notice). The initial phase of the program
has focused on innovations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Specifically, the existing program permits an application that claims
certain products and/or processes designed to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to be advanced out of turn (accorded special status) for
first action on the merits without meeting all of the requirements of
the accelerated examination program, if the applicant files a petition
to make special under 37 CFR 1.102(d) that meets all the requirements
in the 2022 Notice. In the petition to make special, the applicant must
certify that: (1) the claimed invention covers a product or process
that mitigates climate change, (2) the product or process is designed
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, (3) the applicant has a good faith
belief that expediting patent examination of the application will
likely have a positive impact on the climate, and (4) the inventor or
any joint inventor has not been named as the inventor or a joint
inventor on more than four other nonprovisional applications in which a
petition to make special under this program has been filed. The USPTO,
however, committed to periodically evaluating the program to determine
whether and to what extent coverage should be expanded or limited.
Part II. Expansion of the Pilot Program
A. Subject Matter Coverage
As stressed in the 2021 Long-Term Strategy, reaching net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 necessitates a robust pursuit of
removal solutions, given the unlikelihood of completely eliminating
greenhouse gas emissions from some activities. Further, technologies
designed to monitor, track, and/or verify greenhouse gas emission
reductions are anticipated as necessary expedients. See U.S. Innovation
to Meet 2050 Climate Goals: Assessing Initial R&D Opportunities (Nov.
2022), available at <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/U.S.-Innovation-to-Meet-2050-Climate-Goals.pdf">www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/U.S.-Innovation-to-Meet-2050-Climate-Goals.pdf</a>. Considering the criticality
of tackling climate change and the experiential knowledge of the USPTO
resources needed to deliver accelerated review in the climate space,
the USPTO is expanding the program to include a broader range of
technologies designed to make progress toward achieving the goal of
net-zero emissions. Specifically, the USPTO is replacing the second
certification set forth in the 2022 Notice with a certification ``that
the product or process is designed to: (a) remove greenhouse gases
already present in the atmosphere; (b) reduce and/or prevent additional
greenhouse gas emissions; and/or (c) monitor, track, and/or verify
greenhouse gas emission reductions.'' Applicants must continue to
certify that the claimed invention covers a product or process that
mitigates climate change, and that they have a good faith belief that
expediting patent examination of the application will likely have a
positive impact on the climate, as set forth in the 2022 Notice.
B. Filing Limitations
The USPTO is also increasing the filing limitations to afford more
opportunities to participate. In particular, an applicant may file a
petition to participate in the program if
[[Page 35843]]
the inventor or any joint inventor has not been named as the inventor
or a joint inventor on more than 12--up from 4--other nonprovisional
patent applications in which a petition to make special under this
program has been filed. Specifically, the USPTO is replacing the fourth
certification set forth in the 2022 Notice with a certification ``that
the inventor or any joint inventor has not been named as the inventor
or a joint inventor on more than 12 other nonprovisional applications
in which a petition to make special under this program has been
filed.'' If the inventor or any one of the joint inventors of the
current application has been named as the inventor or a joint inventor
on more than 12 other nonprovisional patent applications in which
petitions under this program have been filed, then the petition for the
current application may not be appropriately filed. Any petitions filed
during the existing program count toward the filing limitations in the
expanded program.
C. Office Form Required for Filing a Petition
Petition form PTO/SB/457, titled ``CERTIFICATION AND PETITION TO
MAKE SPECIAL UNDER THE CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION PILOT PROGRAM,'' is
still required to make the petition under the program. Other than the
changes to the subject matter coverage and the filing limitations
described above, the conditions, eligibility requirements, and
guidelines of the program will be the same as those provided in the
2022 Notice. The USPTO will modify the certifications contained in
petition form PTO/SB/457--at numbered items 2 and 11--to correspond
with the changes described above. The modified petition form will be
available for use on June 6, 2023, at <a href="http://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/forms">www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/forms</a>.
The USPTO reminds applicants that under the 2022 Notice, the
petition to make special (form PTO/SB/457) must be electronically filed
using Patent Center, with the application or entry into the national
stage under 35 U.S.C. 371, or within 30 days of the filing date or
entry date of the application. The USPTO encourages applicants
interested in participating in the program to review the 2022 Notice,
along with the information provided on the program's web page, at
<a href="http://www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/patent-related-notices/climate-change-mitigation-pilot-program">www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/patent-related-notices/climate-change-mitigation-pilot-program</a>.
Part III. Extension of the Pilot Program
The program, as expanded by this notice, will run from June 6,
2023, until either June 7, 2027, or until the date that the USPTO
accepts a total of 4,000 grantable petitions, whichever occurs first.
The total of 4,000 grantable petitions includes petitions granted under
the existing and expanded programs combined. Information concerning the
number of petitions that have been filed and granted under the program
will continue to be available on the program's web page. The USPTO may
further extend the program (with or without modifications) depending on
feedback from the participants and the effectiveness of the program.
Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-11660 Filed 5-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
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