U.S. Speeding Up ‘Green’ Patent Process

Environmental Leader - A new pilot program from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeks to fast-track the review of “green” technology patents, a time-consuming process that often takes about 40 months under the current system. The new system is expected to take about 12 months off the process, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The first 3,000 “green” patent applications to be filed will be eligible for the new system, along with about 25,000 applications already in the pipeline, reports CNET...Carl Horton, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel of General Electric, called the new program a “terrific mechanism” to speed the spread of patented technologies.