“AI Helping to Address Climate Change”

Marshall Gerstein Partner and patent attorney Ryan J. Schermerhorn authored an overview of recent artificial intelligence (AI) developments that positively impact the recycling industry. Published this week by Waste Advantage Magazine, the article points to companies that are successfully using robots to collect debris more efficiently and cost-effectively, separate recyclables from waste, and sort recyclables by material.

“Enter companies like AMP and Glacier, which are developing innovative AI-powered technology to address these problems,” Ryan notes in his overview of various clean technologies adept at improving waste management. “Companies like these are also helping to increase the number of AI-related patent applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In 2020 alone, the USPTO published approximately 80,000 AI-related patent applications, significantly increasing over the approximately 10,000 AI-related patent applications published in 2000 (applications are published 18 months after their earliest filing date).”

Ryan reminds readers that to encourage this trend, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced its Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, which allows patent applicants to expedite—at no cost—the examination of any U.S. patent application when one or more claims of those applications are directed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Innovators are encouraged to leverage the USPTO’s Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program to pursue patent protection for AI-powered technologies (and other technologies) that arguably address climate change in some capacity. This free program significantly expedites and lowers the cost of the patent application process,” he says.

To read the article, visit Waste Advantage Magazine’s website here.