Bill Overview
Title: Patents for Humanity Act of 2022
Description: This bill provides statutory authority for a program to award certificates that may be used to accelerate certain proceedings and applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The program established under this bill shall be treated as the successor to the existing Patents for Humanity program. Under this bill, the PTO must hold a competition at least once every two years to award certificates to eligible entities that submit a patent application that addresses a humanitarian issue.
Sponsors: Rep. Jeffries, Hakeem S. [D-NY-8]
Target Audience
Population: People indirectly benefiting from humanitarian innovations due to accelerated patents
Estimated Size: 200000000
- The program is specifically targeted at entities that submit patent applications, meaning inventors and organizations involved in innovation and patent seeking activities are the direct target population.
- The bill focuses on accelerating patents that address humanitarian issues, meaning entities that are developing technologies related to healthcare, food security, clean energy, and other humanitarian areas are most directly affected.
- The population indirectly affected could be communities and individuals who benefit from technologies that address humanitarian issues once these patents accelerate development and deployment of such technologies.
- While the bill is directly related to the U.S Patent and Trademark Office, the technologies influenced by it could have global impacts, affecting millions if not billions of people who are affected by the related humanitarian issues.
Reasoning
- The program primarily impacts entities involved in innovation and patents related to humanitarian issues. These can include universities, non-profits, and R&D departments in corporations, which are relatively small segments.
- The indirect beneficiaries are broader, including potentially a large sector of the population if these innovations translate into accessible products or solutions.
- Budgets set limits on the number of applications accelerated, suggesting only a subset of applications receive direct policy benefits.
- The wellbeing of individual inventors or researchers may be directly affected by increased resource allocation or time efficiency allowed by the policy.
Simulated Interviews
R&D Director at a Biotechnology Firm (San Francisco, CA)
Age: 40 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 3/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This policy might really expedite some of our pressing projects.
- It can help us address diseases faster, which is our main goal.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 9 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 9 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 6 |
University Researcher (Boston, MA)
Age: 35 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 2/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy might help us push our innovations to market quicker.
- However, there may be competitive challenges in winning these accelerations.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 5 |
Startup Founder (Austin, TX)
Age: 28 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 5/20
Statement of Opinion:
- As a startup, anything that speeds up patent approval can make or break us.
- I hope the competition for this isn't too fierce.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Year 10 | 5 | 4 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 4 |
Non-profit Executive (Raleigh, NC)
Age: 50 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 4/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This new policy could incentivize our partners to focus more on patentable innovations.
- It's too soon to see how it will directly affect our operations though.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 5 |
Patent Attorney (Seattle, WA)
Age: 60 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 6/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The acceleration in patent proceedings might change the landscape of timelines.
- I'm curious to see if it affects my clients positively.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 9 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 9 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
CEO at a Health Tech Startup (Phoenix, AZ)
Age: 45 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 8/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This could help us bring our devices to market quicker, which is crucial for competitiveness.
- Funding plays a large role, so we'll see if we can leverage this program appropriately.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 5 |
Innovation Officer at a Large Corporation (New York, NY)
Age: 55 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 2/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Any acceleration helps our pipeline, though it's minor relative to our overall operation.
- It's more beneficial to smaller entities - we may leverage it selectively.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 8 |
Freelance Inventor (Chicago, IL)
Age: 30 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 7/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Programs like these are a potential boon to inventors like me, but access and winning competitions are tough.
- I'll definitely try to apply.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 5 |
Environmental Organization Director (Los Angeles, CA)
Age: 65 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 20.0 years
Commonness: 5/20
Statement of Opinion:
- While the impact is indirect, any acceleration in eco-tech could have downstream benefits.
- We may not apply directly but our partners might.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 7 |
Pharmaceutical Scientist (Columbus, OH)
Age: 42 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 4/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy could help prioritize critical medicines.
- There's potential here, but I wonder about practical realizations.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 6 |
Cost Estimates
Year 1: $10000000 (Low: $8000000, High: $12000000)
Year 2: $10000000 (Low: $8000000, High: $12000000)
Year 3: $10500000 (Low: $8500000, High: $12500000)
Year 5: $11000000 (Low: $9000000, High: $13000000)
Year 10: $12000000 (Low: $10000000, High: $14000000)
Year 100: $50000000 (Low: $40000000, High: $60000000)
Key Considerations
- Effectiveness of the program in incentivizing entrepreneurs to address humanitarian issues.
- Ability of the PTO to manage increased workload without significant operational delays.
- Balance between accelerating high-impact patents and maintaining fair access for all innovations.