Reality check needed at the USPTO?
An article by Susan Decker titled Patent Chief Kappos `On the Hunt' to Reduce U.S. Backlog, Spur Innovation begins with the text:
David Kappos, the head of the U.S. patent office, said his agency is “on the hunt” to cut its applications backlog to the lowest since 2007 to further President Barack Obama’s goal of job growth through innovation.
Later in the article, one has the text:
Kappos created a special program that lets applicants with inventions that increase energy efficiency petition for a speedier review. The so-called green energy program has been so popular, a similar approach is being considered for other products including medical devices, Kappos said.
But Martin LaMonica had written on August 27, 2010, about two weeks earlier, in the post Green-tech patent program off target pace :
A trial program meant to speed the pace of innovation in green technology hasn't unleashed the torrent of activity as hoped.
Launched in December, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Green Technology Pilot Program puts patent petitions related to environmental technologies at the front of the line for appraisal. The goal is to encourage economic activity in the sector.
Initially, the patent office said the first 3,000 existing patent petitions that fit the category could request accelerated status, with the number capped to ensure adequate attention from examiners. As of Thursday, however, a USPTO representative said there have been 1,477 requests for accelerated status, well short of the pace first expected.
Overall, the program appears to be underutilized, particularly by start-up companies, which stand to benefit from the accelerated review process.
"It's kind of a head scratcher as to why this has not been taken up more quickly," said Eric Raciti, who works in the alternative energy practice of law firm Finnegan. "If it were publicized and more broadly accessible from the beginning, the response probably would've been more robust."
He suspects that more small companies haven't taken advantage of the program because they may not have budgeted for the additional legal costs associated with receiving a patent in a quicker timeframe.
***And things had not been going well earlier in the program. from a post on 21 May 2010-->
In yet another attempt to expedite important patent applications through the examination process the United States Patent and Trademark Office announced earlier today that it is revising its Green Technology Pilot Program. The revision in the program will allow more categories of technology to be eligible for expedited processing under the USPTO green initiative, which allows for the expediting of patent applications through the examination process. Eligibility for the pilot program, which was designed to promote the development of green technologies, had previously been limited to applications within a select number of classifications, with only about one-third of applications for special status being granted.
***See also IPBiz post
Fast tracking of green patent apps not working well?
***Also in the realm of reality check
Joe Montana scores another touchdown for reality against 'Rudy':
Biopic fans will be shocked – shocked! – to learn that Hollywood takes liberties with the real-life narratives and characters that often come to stand in for history in the popular imagination. In the case of the enduring 1993 hit "Rudy," the film was so unrecognizably warped beyond the existence of an undersized Notre Dame player who registered an improbable sack against Georgia Tech in 1975 that former Irish coach Dan Devine called certain scenes – notably the climactic moment when Rudy's teammates confront Devine's villainous character by handing in their jerseys to get Rudy on the dress list, and later his reluctance to actually put Rudy in the game – "unforgivable" and "a lie."
Of the movie, Joe Montana said in an interview: Yeah. It's a movie, remember. Not all of that is true.
Do we also say: It's the patent office. Not all of that is true?
**Also on reality
Plight of the Living Dead
David Kappos, the head of the U.S. patent office, said his agency is “on the hunt” to cut its applications backlog to the lowest since 2007 to further President Barack Obama’s goal of job growth through innovation.
Later in the article, one has the text:
Kappos created a special program that lets applicants with inventions that increase energy efficiency petition for a speedier review. The so-called green energy program has been so popular, a similar approach is being considered for other products including medical devices, Kappos said.
But Martin LaMonica had written on August 27, 2010, about two weeks earlier, in the post Green-tech patent program off target pace :
A trial program meant to speed the pace of innovation in green technology hasn't unleashed the torrent of activity as hoped.
Launched in December, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Green Technology Pilot Program puts patent petitions related to environmental technologies at the front of the line for appraisal. The goal is to encourage economic activity in the sector.
Initially, the patent office said the first 3,000 existing patent petitions that fit the category could request accelerated status, with the number capped to ensure adequate attention from examiners. As of Thursday, however, a USPTO representative said there have been 1,477 requests for accelerated status, well short of the pace first expected.
Overall, the program appears to be underutilized, particularly by start-up companies, which stand to benefit from the accelerated review process.
"It's kind of a head scratcher as to why this has not been taken up more quickly," said Eric Raciti, who works in the alternative energy practice of law firm Finnegan. "If it were publicized and more broadly accessible from the beginning, the response probably would've been more robust."
He suspects that more small companies haven't taken advantage of the program because they may not have budgeted for the additional legal costs associated with receiving a patent in a quicker timeframe.
***And things had not been going well earlier in the program. from a post on 21 May 2010-->
In yet another attempt to expedite important patent applications through the examination process the United States Patent and Trademark Office announced earlier today that it is revising its Green Technology Pilot Program. The revision in the program will allow more categories of technology to be eligible for expedited processing under the USPTO green initiative, which allows for the expediting of patent applications through the examination process. Eligibility for the pilot program, which was designed to promote the development of green technologies, had previously been limited to applications within a select number of classifications, with only about one-third of applications for special status being granted.
***See also IPBiz post
Fast tracking of green patent apps not working well?
***Also in the realm of reality check
Joe Montana scores another touchdown for reality against 'Rudy':
Biopic fans will be shocked – shocked! – to learn that Hollywood takes liberties with the real-life narratives and characters that often come to stand in for history in the popular imagination. In the case of the enduring 1993 hit "Rudy," the film was so unrecognizably warped beyond the existence of an undersized Notre Dame player who registered an improbable sack against Georgia Tech in 1975 that former Irish coach Dan Devine called certain scenes – notably the climactic moment when Rudy's teammates confront Devine's villainous character by handing in their jerseys to get Rudy on the dress list, and later his reluctance to actually put Rudy in the game – "unforgivable" and "a lie."
Of the movie, Joe Montana said in an interview: Yeah. It's a movie, remember. Not all of that is true.
Do we also say: It's the patent office. Not all of that is true?
**Also on reality
Plight of the Living Dead
posted by Lawrence B. Ebert at 5:25 AM
2 Comments:
I think it's a shame that more innovators haven't sought to take advantage of the "green" tech patent fast-track program. I'd hoped that this would catch on and serve as a big boost to both the economy and preservation of the environment. Maybe more incentives are needed?
part of the problem is the time limitation. this program is for existing applications that were filed by the deadline. if you filed after the deadline or filed today you would not be eligible.
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