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.
Forecast: Cost Of PV Panels To Drop To $0.36 Per Watt By 2017. The cost of photovoltaic solar panels is expected to drop to 36 cents per watt by 2017, according to new research by cleantech market research firm GTM Research.