Announcements
Stay informed with the latest Patents for Humanity news and deadlines by signing up for the USPTO Awards newsletter.
- December 3, 2024: The USPTO hosted a combined ceremony to recognize Patents for Humanity: Green Energy winners and Trademarks for Humanity winners. Watch a recording of the event.
- September 15, 2023: Patents for Humanity: Green Energy application cycle is closed.
- May 17, 2023: Submission deadline extended to September 15, 2023 for Patents for Humanity: Green Energy category competition.
- March 6, 2023: The USPTO announces the Patents for Humanity: Green Energy category. The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2023.
- February 16, 2023 at 1 p.m. ET: USPTO will host a virtual ceremony to recognize Patents for Humanity: COVID-19 category winners.
- December 15, 2022: USPTO announces the Patents for Humanity: COVID-19 category winners. Learn more about this year’s winners here.
- September 30, 2021 at 5 p.m. ET: Deadline for submitting applications for the Patents for Humanity: COVID-19 category. Learn more about the program here.
- September 17, 2020 at 2 p.m. ET: Virtual award ceremony premiered on the USPTO Facebook page. Watch a recording of the event.
- August 26, 2020: USPTO announces the 2020 Patents for Humanity winners. Learn more about the winners here.
- February 16, 2020: The application period for Patents for Humanity 2020 has closed. Winners will be announced in September 2020.
- Learn more about the application process and how to support the program below.
Patents for Humanity is the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) awards competition recognizing innovators who use game-changing technology to meet global humanitarian challenges. The program provides business incentives for reaching those in need: winners receive an acceleration certificate to expedite select proceedings at the USPTO, as well as public recognition of their work. The awards showcase how patent holders with vision are pioneering innovative ways to provide affordable, scalable, and sustainable solutions for the less fortunate.
Businesses and others are finding unique and creative ways to reach underserved markets. Their stories show that humanitarian engagement is compatible with business interests and strong patent rights, and that companies can effectively contribute to global good while maintaining commercial markets. Watch a video about the Patents for Humanity award to learn more.
Application process and eligibility
Patents for Humanity submissions are evaluated on the effectiveness of their technology to address humanitarian issues, the contributions made by applicants to increase use of their technology among the impoverished, and the impact those contributions have made to improve lives. The program is open to all types of patent holders, applicants, and licensees.
The application period for Patents for Humanity 2024 has closed. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Eligibility
The competition is open to any patent owners, patent applicants, or patent licensees. Applicants may team together to submit a single joint application as long as at least one applicant meets the eligibility criteria.
Award categories
Participating patent owners or licensees submit applications describing how they've used their patented technology or products to address humanitarian challenges for the less fortunate. Applications compete in five categories of global challenges:
- Medicine—any medical-related technology such as medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, or medical devices.
- Nutrition—technologies which improve nutrition such as higher yield crops, more nutritious food sources, food preservation, storage, or preparation.
- Sanitation—improving lives by addressing environmental factors such as clean water, waste treatment, air pollution, and toxic substances.
- Household energy—technologies providing power to energy-poor homes and communities for household needs like lighting, cooking, and heating.
- Living standards—technologies that raise living standards to empower people to escape poverty, such as literacy, education, communications, information delivery, access to markets, and microfinance.
Judging criteria
Judging criteria
Applications will be judged by one of the following two sets of criteria, depending on how their technology benefits the less fortunate:
Humanitarian use
Criteria used for those applying eligible technologies to positively impact a humanitarian issue, focusing on demonstrable real-world improvements:
Subject matter—the applicant's technology, which is claimed in a U.S. utility patent in force at the time, or a pending U.S. utility patent application, effectively addresses a recognized humanitarian issue.
Target population—the applicant's actions target an impoverished population affected by the humanitarian issue.
Contribution—the applicant took meaningful actions to make the technology more available for humanitarian uses. This only includes actions taken by the applicant.
Impact—the applicant's contributions have significantly advanced deployment of the technology to benefit the target population. This includes downstream actions by third parties building on the applicant's contributions.
Humanitarian research
Criteria used for those who make available patented technologies to other researchers for conducting research with a humanitarian purpose, particularly areas lacking commercial application:
- Subject matter—the applicant's technology, which is claimed in a U.S. utility patent in force at the time or a pending U.S. utility patent application, effectively supports research by others, for example, as a tool or input.
- Neglected field—research by others clearly targets a humanitarian issue in an area lacking significant commercial application.
- Contribution—the applicant took meaningful actions to make the technology more available for research by others in the neglected field. This only includes actions taken by the applicant.
- Impact—the research by others has a high potential for significant impact on the neglected field. This includes downstream actions by third parties using the applicant's contributions.
Qualified judges from outside the USPTO will review and score the applications. The USPTO will then forward the top-scoring applications to reviewers from participating federal agencies to recommend award recipients.
Award types
Two types of awards will be made: Patents for Humanity Awards and honorable mentions.
The Patents for Humanity Award is the top award for applicants best representing the Patents for Humanity principles. Patents for Humanity Award recipients receive public recognition at an awards ceremony sponsored by the USPTO. They also receive a certificate to accelerate any of the following matters before the USPTO:
A patent application,
Ex parte reexam,
Ex parte appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Inter partes matters and other post-grant proceedings may not be accelerated at this time.
Honorable mentions receive accelerated examination of one patent application (but not other types of matters) and a mention on the USPTO website. A portion of honorable mention awards may be given to the best up-and-coming technologies.
Winners who have questions about redeeming their acceleration certificate should contact us.
Past awards
A pilot Patents for Humanity award program was conducted in 2012–2013. It gave ten awards and six honorable mentions to businesses, universities, and nonprofits using patented technology to aid the less fortunate. Subsequent Patents for Humanity awards were made in April 2015, September 2016, August 2018, August 2020, and December 2022.
See a list of past Patents for Humanity Award winners:
- 2024 Award winner
- 2022 Award winners
- 2020 Award winners
- 2018 Award winners
- 2016 Award winners
- 2015 Award winners
- 2013 Award winners
Read press releases related to previous Patents for Humanity awards:
- 2020 Patents for Humanity winners: USPTO press release (August 26, 2020)
- 2018 Patents for Humanity winners: USPTO press release (August 9, 2018)
- 2016 Patents for Humanity winners: USPTO press release (September 9, 2016)
- 2015 Patents for Humanity winners: USPTO press release (April 13, 2015)
Past award ceremonies:
- 2024 Patents for Humanity and Trademarks for Humanity awards ceremony (December 3, 2024, with recording of the event)
- 2020 Patents for Humanity awards ceremony (September 17, 2020, with recording of the event)
- 2018 Patents for Humanity awards ceremony (November 27, 2018, with recording of the event)
- 2015 Patents for Humanity awards ceremony (April 20, 2015, with recording of the event)
Support the program
Your support is critical to making the Patents for Humanity program a success. First and foremost we want potential applicants to know that it exists. We need help publicizing the program beyond our own communication channels in order to attract the best candidates. Help us spread the word about Patents for Humanity to those with game-changing technologies. Please feel free to use the ready-made material below.
It’s easy to help! You can:
- Place the Patents for Humanity banner on your website.
- Mention the program in your emails, newsletters, blogs, and other public communications.
- Discuss the program with clients and colleagues.
- Mention it in your presentations.
- Invite USPTO speakers to conferences, meetings, and other events.
Resource materials
- Link to the Patents for Humanity webpage.
- Display the program logo: large image. May also be used in print to refer to the program.
- Use text from our program info page or press releases.
- Distribute our Patents for Humanity flyer.
- Draw from our Patents for Humanity slides.
- Stay informed with the latest news and deadlines by signing up for the USPTO Awards newsletter.
- Use the hashtags #Patents4Humanity #USPTO