By Stephen Kohn*
Introduction
The Patents for Humanity Act of 2022 (hereinafter “Act”) was signed into law on December 20, 2022. The Act establishes “a competition to award certificates that can be redeemed to accelerate certain matters at the Patent and Trademark Office.” Eligible patent applications must address a humanitarian issue. This legislation codifies the Patents for Humanity Program, initially entitled the Humanitarian Awards Pilot Program. Although the Act does not make major substantive changes to the existing program, it mandates a regular cadence that the competition is “to be held not less frequently than biennially.”
This article first reviews the constructs of the Humanitarian Awards Pilot Program, the forerunner to the Act. Next, the article reviews the path to codification. It then looks at the initial legislation that amended the program to make the awards transferable and then delve into the actions that led to the Act being signed into law.
The final section examines the broader aspects of the bill. On the surface, codifying an existing agency program into law may seem trivial, but the bill expresses a wide range of consequences. First, the program demonstrates a commitment to innovation for the betterment of humankind. Next, the program shows how Congress can exercise its power in creative ways without requiring additional budget. Finally, the Act delegates significant discretionary power to the USPTO allowing flexibility to the agency to constantly improve and revise the program without congressional action.