[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 13, 2012)]
[Notices][Pages 14766-14767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5988]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Patents for Humanity Program (Formerly Humanitarian Program)
ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
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To see the full text of this comment request, access http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-03-13/html/2012-5988.htm
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
I. Abstract
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is conducting a voluntary pilot program to incentivize the distribution of patented technologies or products to address humanitarian needs. This pilot program is open to any patent owners or patent licensees, including inventors who have not assigned their ownership rights to others, assignees, and exclusive or non-exclusive licensees. The USPTO plans to collect information from applicants that describe what actions they have taken with their patented technology to address humanitarian needs among an impoverished population, or how they have furthered research by others on technologies for humanitarian purposes. Applications will be considered in four categories: Medical Technology, Food and Nutrition, Clean Technology, and Information Technology. It is expected that inventions from any field of technology will be eligible for the program, as long as they are applied to one of the four categories.
This pilot program is a follow-up to the responses received from the agency's ``Request for Comments on Incentivizing Humanitarian Technologies and Licensing Through the Intellectual Property System'' published September 20, 2010. On February 8, 2012, the USPTO published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the pilot program and outlining the procedures for participation in it. The USPTO plans to review the results from this pilot program to determine whether it should be extended.
In order to participate in this program, applicants must submit an application describing how their actions satisfy the competition criteria to address humanitarian issues. These applications may be up to five pages long and can be supplemented with additional supporting materials. The USPTO has developed two application forms that applicants can use to apply for participation in the Patents for Humanity Pilot Program--one application covers the humanitarian uses of technologies or products and the other application covers humanitarian research. There is also a form where applicants provide their contact information which the USPTO uses to notify applicants that they have been selected for an award. The applications must be submitted electronically through the http://patentsforhumanity.challenge.gov Web site. Submitted applications will be available on the public Web site after being screened for inappropriate material.
The applications will be reviewed by independent judges. A selection committee composed of representatives from other federal agencies and laboratories will make recommendations for the awards based on the judges'reviews. Those applicants who are selected for an award will receive a certificate redeemable to accelerate select matters before the USPTO and public recognition for their efforts, including an awards ceremony at the USPTO. The certificates can be redeemed to accelerate one of the following matters: An ex parte reexamination proceeding, including one appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) from that proceeding; a patent application, including one appeal to the BPAI from that application; or an appeal to the BPAI of a claim twice rejected in a patent application or reissue application or finally rejected in an ex parte reexamination, without accelerating the underlying matter which generated the appeal. The certificates cannot be transferred to other parties.
The USPTO obtained an emergency clearance from OMB for this collection, which was approved on January 25, 2012. This approval expires on July 31, 2012.