Green Technology Pilot Program Extended

[Federal Register: November 10, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 217)]
[Notices][Page 69049-69050]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10no10-35]
--------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office [Docket No.: PTO-P-2010-0083]

Expansion and Extension of the Green Technology Pilot Program
To view the complete text of this notice, access http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2010_register&docid=fr10no10-35

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
---------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On December 8, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented the Green [[Page 69050]] Technology Pilot Program, which permits patent applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy resources, and greenhouse gas emission reduction to be advanced out of turn for examination and reviewed earlier (accorded special status). The program is designed to promote the development of green technologies. Initially, participation was limited to applications filed before December 8, 2009. The USPTO is hereby expanding the eligibility for the pilot program to include applications filed on or after December 8, 2009. The program is also being extended until December 31, 2011. These changes will permit more applications to qualify for the program, thereby allowing more inventions related to green technologies to be advanced out of turn for examination and reviewed earlier.

DATES: Effective Date: November 10, 2010.
Duration: The Green Technology Pilot Program will run until December 31, 2011, except that the USPTO will accept only the first 3,000 grantable petitions to make special under the Green Technology Pilot Program in unexamined applications irrespective of the filing date of the application.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pinchus M. Laufer and Joni Y. Chang, Senior Legal Advisors, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Associate Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, by telephone at 571-272-7726 or 571-272-7720; or by mail addressed to: Mail Stop Comments Patents, Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.

U.S./European Joint Patent Classification System

According to an Oct. 25, 2010 press release, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) are working to establish a joint patent classification system. The new system will align the U.S. and EPO classification systems with the International Patent Classification (IPC) system administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). To improve searching capabilities the new system will be more detailed than the present IPC.