On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT) reintroduced the Patents for Humanity Program Improvement Act (S. 712). The bill would allow transfer of acceleration certificates award under the USPTO’s Patents for Humanity Program, including by sale, to third parties. Leahy introduced the bill in the last Congress as S. 3652. In November 2010, IPO wrote to the USPTO expressing concern that sale of acceleration certificates to third parties would have unintended consequences that would be harmful to the patent system and could violate the TRIPS agreement.