Patent Office Seeks Input on Experimental Use Exception Statute

The US Patent and Trademark Office is seeking public comments on the state of a common law exception that allows patents to be infringed when doing so is for experimental use to better assess whether a statute is needed, according to a new Federal Register notice.

The USPTO cited an interest in learning about the impact of experimental use in “all technology areas” including quantum computing, AI, agriculture, climate-mitigation, and more, according to the Thursday filing.

The office said a “range of views on the propriety and scope of the experimental use exception” arose in the wake of the ...