Brief notes on America Invents Act

Goodwin Procter, LLP published a good summary of the changes the pending America Invents Act brings to the current patent law. If you are interested in the subject, read the whole article - it's quite short. To summarize even further (bear in mind I'm an inventor and IP licensing professional, not a lawyer):

10 days within enactment
- fees go up 15%;
- for additional $4,800 you can expedite examination of your patent application, so that a final disposition will provided 12 months after granting the application expedited status.


12 to 18 months
- First-to-File (18mos) - application priority will be determined by the filing, not invention date (same as in Europe now).
- Third parties (12mos) will be able to submit materials or objections relevant to an application, either 6mos after its publication, or 9mos after the patent is granted.

With regard to practical invention/IP work: a) you have to file sooner and do a better job at elaborating your idea; b) you have to monitor competing IP development efforts and intervene when necessary.


tags: patents, control