USPTO Announces Pilot Program to Encourage Inventions Related to COVID-19

The USPTO has announced a pilot program to help promote the dissemination of inventions related to COVID-19.  Beginning September 17, 2020, applicants can defer payment of the provisional patent application filing fee (until a corresponding non-provisional application is ultimately filed) if the application describes subject matter related to COVID-19. Further, the subject matter (i.e. product or process) must be subject to an applicable Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for COVID-19 use whether such approval has been obtained, is pending, or will be sought prior to marketing the subject matter for COVID-19.  In exchange, the applicant must agree to make the technical information disclosed in the provisional application available to the public via a searchable collaboration database on the USPTO website, presumably before the usual 18-month confidentiality period has expired.

It is hoped that this program, which is currently scheduled to be in effect until September 17, 2021, will help foster the growth of technology useful in combatting COVID-19. 

For more information on the pilot program, please see:

https://www.uspto.gov/initiatives/deferred-fee-provisional-patent-application-pilot-program-and-collaboration-database

or contact a member of our team.