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 price for an installed solar panel system has dropped by around 75% over the past 10 years. The price for solar photovoltaic cells has dropped by over 99% since 1977. Installing solar panels will earn you money through the feed-in tariffs and also save you money on your electricity bill.