The Patent and Trademark Office put in place a pilot program late last year to accelerate the issuance of clean-tech patents. It appears to be experiencing some success.
Since December, 943 companies have applied to be part of the green-tech patent program
Since the effort began in December, 943 companies have asked that their patent applications to be considered for this fast-track review – roughly six a day. The patent office granted 335 of these requests. Figures on patent approvals weren’t immediately available.
But anecdotally, some companies have found the processes useful. One is Skyline Solar of Mountain View, CA, which announced on Thursday it received a patent covering its solar thermal technology.
The company uses reflective rectangular sheets of metal to concentrate the sun’s rays on inexpensive thin-film solar cells. The technique allows less efficient thin film to match the performance of more efficient polysilicon cells, the company claims.
The patent was approved in slightly more than two months after the Skyline Solar was accepted into the program. Many traditional patents take a year or more to approve.
The company said in a press release that it was one of the first firms to be awarded a patent under the pilot program.
