1 If the patent application was filed on or after June 8, 1995, the starting patent term is 20 years. 2  This accounts for the vast majority of patents in force today. 3  The 20 year term is calculated based upon the priority filing date, not counting provisional application or the original filing in a foreign country.
The report indicates that the median installed price of PV systems completed in 2012 was $5.30/W for residential and small commercial systems smaller than 10 kilowatts (kW) in size and was $4.60/W for commercial systems of 100 kW or more in size.
The installed price of distributed solar power fell by 40 cents per watt for U.S. residential and small-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems between 2013 and 2014, while large nonresidential systems saw costs fall by an average of 70 cents per watt, according to new Energy Department data released this week.