It is a great idea. It is unfortunate it there is a limit of a year to file. I guess that is to encourage rapid research, but, it should be made permanent. Sometimes one invention leads to the next which is better than the first and so on.
The Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program (click here) is designed to positively impact the climate by accelerating examination of patent applications for innovations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under this program, qualifying applications involving greenhouse gas reduction technologies are advanced out of turn for examination (granted special status) until a first action on the merits—typically the first substantive examination—is complete. For qualifying applications, the applicant does not incur the petition to make special fee and is not required to satisfy the other requirements of the accelerated examination program. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will accept petitions to make special under this program until June 5, 2023, or the date when 1,000 applications have been granted special status under this program, whichever occurs earlier. This program aligns with and supports Executive Order 14008, dated January 27, 2021, and supports the USPTO’s efforts to secure an equitable economic future, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate the effects of climate change.
