One of the best things our society can do to address the many environmental challenges we are facing is switch to a low-carbon or clean tech economy. But part of doing so means innovation and improvement of clean technologies. The good news is that the Obama administration gets this and has been doing a lot to help out.
Clean tech innovators have gotten a nice boost from the Obama administration in a number of ways. One clear benefit, for example, has been the fast-tracking of clean tech patent applications. From having to wait about 2 years to just waiting about 49 days for an application to be approved or rejected, things are moving much faster than they were before.
The result? Clean tech patents have been skyrocketing in the past year or so. Check out this graph:
More good news is that this clean tech fast-tracking patent process, which was set to expire soon, was recently extended for another year and will now be in place until the end of 2011.
“We’ve seen great results so far for those applications in the Green Tech program,” Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos, said. “By doing so, we hope to help bring more green inventions to market, stimulate investment in green technology and create jobs.”
For more on this topic, check out:
1. Clean Energy Patents Have Skyrocketed Due to Obama Administration Brains Upgrade
2. Green Innovation Getting More Support from Fast Patent Approval Process
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Image Credit: Eddie Gehman Cohan