The Latvian Patent Office (LPO) announced today the launch of an accelerated examination program for green technology patent applications which would grant patents in “about an hour.”

Apparently, the astonishing turnaround time is possible because of the chronically underutilized (more…)

The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development just published a timely and informative report on the accelerated examination programs for green technology patent applications offered by a number of national patent offices around the world.

Antoine Dechezleprêtre, a Research Fellow at (more…)

In a number of previous posts (e.g., here, here, here and here), I and others have reported on the accelerated examination programs for green technology patent applications offered by various national patent/IP offices in countries such as the UK, Korea, Brazil and China.

My most recent article, published last week in the Fall (more…)

In a good news / bad news press release, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced last week that its Green Technology Pilot Program would be extended for three months but “will soon draw to a close.”

Previously set to expire on December 31, 2011, the program is being extended through March 30, 2012 (more…)

In previous posts (most recently here), I’ve written about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) green technology pilot program to expedite examination of green patent applications.

The latest USPTO green technology pilot program statistical report (green_report_summary) indicates (more…)

In a previous post, I wrote about the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s (CIPO) proposal to implement an expedited examination program for green tech patent applications.

Last month CIPO launched the program. Now applicants can have their green patent applications advanced out of turn (more…)

Only two months remain for applicants who want to take advantage of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Green Technology Pilot Program. The program – a fast track procedure for green patent applications – is scheduled to close its doors on December 8, (more…)