President Obama Signs Patent Overhaul into Law
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
On September 16th, President Obama signed off on the most substantial U.S. patent overhaul since the 1950s. Most importantly, the America Invents Act will change the intellectual property infrastructure from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system, a move that may favor large companies.
The first-to-invent system is uniquely American and was established by the Constitution, breaking from the traditionally European system of awarding patents based on first to file. The first-to-file system is more straightforward, eliminating the protracted court hearings that can be necessary to determine when or how an invention came to be, but it may not be more fair. Opponents of the America Invents Act say that large companies with the staff and the finances to file applications early and often may have an advantage over small companies or independent inventors. There are also claims that the law is unconstitutional.
There are a couple of immediate benefits to the legislation. The patent office will be able to review the backlog of applications much more quickly, accelerating a process that can take two or three years. President Obama says faster responses will enable inventors to "turn a new invention into a business as quickly as possible", this creating jobs. The law will also offer grants and other assistance to small businesses navigating the patent system for the first time.
