Protecting Clean Technologies and Green Brands: Strategies for Getting your Eco-Patents and Eco-Marks Through the US Patent & Trademark Office

From PV manufacturing to geothermal drilling tools and from gasification equipment to wind turbines, many of the most promising clean technologies were previously developed in other industries and only later adapted for use in the clean tech boom. In addition, much of the innovation in the clean tech space consists of incremental improvements on established core technologies that have been off-patent for some time. While these valuable innovations may be worthy of patent protection, patenting such new uses of known processes and incremental improvements poses challenges in view of recent developments in patent law. In addition, clean technology companies and sustainable businesses may need to consider various strategies for protecting green brands. This manuscript presents some considerations for clean tech companies seeking patent protection for their innovations and trademark protection for their green brands.