Senate to Take Up “Patents for Humanity” Legislation

Update: On Dec. 20, 2022, President Biden signed the Patents for Humanity Act of 2022 into law.

The House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 5796, a bill titled “Patents for Humanity Act of 2021,” which would set a timeline for a competition that has been periodically held by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the past 10 years. This bill has been sent to the Committee on the Judiciary in the Senate for review.

Since 2012, the USPTO has held a competition called “Patents for Humanity” that recognizes innovators developing technologies to address global humanitarian issues. Winners of the competition are granted an acceleration certificate to expedite the review of their patent application at the USPTO.

The bill passed by the House codifies this competition and requires that it be held at least once every two years. This is important because, while the USPTO has been working to speed up examination time for a patent application, the time involved still can span several years. This competition and the resulting acceleration certificates are a valuable opportunity for those developing technologies with humanitarian objectives. Codifying this competition would guarantee that the certificates continue to be available to inventors working on global humanitarian issues.