Leadership in CET Act

This bill creates a pilot program at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to speed up the review of certain patent applications in critical and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor design, and quantum information science. The program must start within one year of the bill becoming law and is meant to help the United States lead in these fields by giving eligible applications faster attention.

The USPTO can set the rules for who can participate, waive some fees to help move applications faster, and work with other federal agencies as needed. To qualify, an application must include at least one invention in an eligible critical or emerging technology, be a first-filed, noncontinuing utility patent application, and the applicant cannot be a “foreign entity of concern.” Also, the inventor can only be named on up to four other applications in this pilot . The pilot ends five years after the first application is accepted or once 15,000 applications are accepted, whichever comes first, with a possible renewal for a shorter, similar period. The USPTO must share basic program numbers online and report to Congress on how well the pilot worked after it ends.

Key points

• Who is affected: Inventors and companies working in areas like AI, chips, and quantum; applicants must not be foreign entities of concern .
• What changes: A faster review track for qualifying patent applications; the USPTO may waive some fees and set special rules to speed things up.
• When: Starts within one year of enactment; ends after five years or 15,000 accepted applications, with a possible shorter renewal; public stats and a final report are required .