It’s not often I record an episode of the Climate Confident podcast twice. But this one? It demanded it.
Not because we misspoke. Not because of a tech glitch. But because the very government programme we were discussing – the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, was abruptly scrapped between recordings. Quietly. Without warning. Or explanation.
This was more than an administrative decision. It was a direct hit on the ecosystem that clean technology startups depend on: an ecosystem where speed is survival, and IP protection is often the difference between breakthrough and breakdown.
So, I brought Ryan Schermerhorn back. He’s a partner at the IP law firm Marshall, Gerstein & Borun and someone who’s been in the weeds, helping clean tech innovators navigate the slow, uncertain world of patents for more than a decade. And the conversation we had couldn’t be more urgent.
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: we are in a race against time. Climate tech innovation is booming, yes but the systems meant to support it? Not always keeping up. Sometimes, they’re actively pulling the brakes.
Climate Innovation Can’t Afford the Slow Lane
Let’s start with some hard numbers. The typical wait time to get a US patent examined? Two to four years. For software and AI-related innovations, it can be longer. That’s a lifetime for a startup trying to raise funds, fend off competitors, or just prove their idea works.
The Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program was supposed to be a fix. A fast-track lane for patents directly addressing climate change – cutting the wait time from years to mere months, and waiving the $2,000–$4,000 fee usually required for expedited examination. And it worked. Ryan saw clients get patents granted in five or six months under the scheme. Then, with a new administration in Washington, the whole programme was “suspended indefinitely.” No press release. Just a quiet note added to a government webpage.
That matters. Because in climate tech, speed isn’t a luxury. It’s oxygen.
As Ryan put it in our conversation – there’s a natural excitement people have when they innovate. But there’s also a brutal reality, if you don’t protect your IP early, someone else might. And once that happens, it’s hard to claw it back.
Innovation Without Protection Is a Recipe for Stagnation
It’s tempting to see patents as a bureaucratic exercise. But they are, in fact, the scaffolding that lets ideas scale. A clean tech startup without IP protection is basically a VC investor’s worst nightmare. Why? Because it has no moat. Nothing stopping BigCo from copying the idea, scaling it faster, and crushing the originator in the process.
And it’s not just about funding. It’s about trust. It’s about being able to share your concept with partners, manufacturers, and governments, without worrying that disclosure equals theft.
There’s a reason the patent system exists. You disclose your invention publicly, you get a 20-year monopoly in return. That trade-off fuels the incremental, collaborative nature of progress. It’s how the climate solutions of tomorrow are built on the protected IP of today.
And in the climate space, this isn’t theoretical. We’re already seeing innovation snowball thanks to protected ideas:
- Climeworks’ direct air capture (DAC) technology, first patented in the 2010s, has now evolved into full-scale commercial deployment.
- CarbonCure, whose patented carbon-injected concrete technologies are in use in more than 700 plants globally.
- Novel battery chemistries, like Form Energy’s iron-air battery, are carving out new pathways for long-duration energy storage.
All of this depends on IP protection being accessible, efficient, and enforceable.
The Global Patchwork, and the Risk of Falling Behind
However, all’s not lost. Although the US programme may be gone, the global IP landscape isn’t standing still. Countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea still offer accelerated pathways for climate-related patents. In fact, 6 of the world’s top 11 IP jurisdictions have active fast-track cleantech programmes.
And through the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), an agreement among 30+ patent offices, you can often leverage an approved patent in one country to fast-track approvals elsewhere. A solar-powered mousetrap (our tongue-in-cheek, go-to example in the episode) granted in Australia could, under PPH, be approved much faster in the US.
That kind of legal-judo might seem niche, but for climate startups working across borders, it’s everything. It’s how you avoid wasting years re-litigating the same innovation across jurisdictions. It’s how you stay alive.
But it also underscores the stakes: if the US turns its back on climate-friendly IP policies, innovators may simply go elsewhere. They’ll file first in friendlier jurisdictions, focus on less politically volatile markets, and leave American leadership in cleantech innovation in the dust.
Can IP and Open Innovation Coexist?
Now, here’s the philosophical tension: how do we square the urgent need for global climate solutions with a system that grants exclusive rights to inventors?
Is IP protection at odds with the need to spread ideas fast and wide?
Ryan’s take, which I fully share, is this: no. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Without protection, many of these ideas would never have been developed in the first place. Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it requires money, time, and belief that the effort will be rewarded. Patents are that reward.
That said, there are responsible ways to wield that exclusivity. Some companies have shared their patents under open-source or royalty-free terms for the sake of broader impact. Others participate in patent pools, cross-licensing schemes, or public-private partnerships that reduce friction for real-world deployment.
We don’t need to burn the patent system to accelerate climate tech. We just need to make it work better. Faster. Fairer.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Despite the setback in the US, Ryan remains optimistic. And I do too.
Why? Because even as some administrations pull back, others push forward. Because clean tech innovation is happening in every corner of the world. And because, ironically, the political backlash often proves just how powerful these technologies are becoming.
As Ryan pointed out, conservative US states like Texas are massive beneficiaries of the very climate tech their elected officials sometimes rail against. Solar, wind, storage, carbon capture – it’s all creating jobs, lowering energy bills, and attracting investment. The toothpaste is out of the tube.
In fact, just weeks after the Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program was scrapped, several Republican legislators pushed back against further cuts to federal climate initiatives. Because their constituents are starting to notice the upside.
What You Can Do Right Now
If you’re a climate tech innovator: protect your idea. Use NDAs. File provisional applications. Talk to a patent attorney early – preferably one who understands the climate space. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and it could be the difference between your idea changing the world, or never making it out of your slide deck.
If you’re a policymaker: think carefully before pulling programmes that work. Fast-track patent schemes don’t cost much, but they send a strong signal. They tell innovators: “We see you. We want you. Let’s move fast.”
And if you’re just someone who cares: stay informed. The fight for climate innovation isn’t just about engineering. It’s about policy, legal frameworks, and the hidden plumbing of progress.
Because in this climate race, time isn’t just money. It’s degrees. It’s futures.
To hear the full conversation with Ryan Schermerhorn, including a deep dive into global IP frameworks, alternative fast-track strategies, and what gives him hope right now, listen to the full episode now.
And if you found this post valuable, please consider sharing it with your network. Because the more we understand how to protect climate innovation, the faster we get to the solutions we so desperately need.
Photo credit gr3m on Flickr