Saturday, March 16th the America Invents Act comes into full effect. The Act is the largest patent law reform in decades. The biggest change to look out for, of course, is the new First Inventor to File system. No longer can an inventor secure protection for their invention just because they were the first to invent; now, they must be the first inventor to file that invention as well. That brings America in accord with the rest of the world but also maintains protection for inventors against copying of their inventions by only granting patents to inventors who independently invent the patented product. For more on the First Inventor to File read this Wired article. The Act brings with it some other changes as well, notably a more expansive definition of prior art. For some of these other highlights read this short post and follow the links at the bottom of that article for even more. Happy inventing, America!
The intellectual property student group at the University of Pennsylvania Law School