What the First-to-File Patent Change Means (And What IP Strategists Should Do About It)
The Corporate Law Report: First-to-File Patents, Hiring for Cultural Fit, Roth Conversions Post-Fiscal Cliff, and Global Corporate Insights
Today, technology companies are conceptualizing new ideas and improving upon those ideas at a blistering pace. Previously, under the United States’ first-to-invent patent system, such companies could afford to wait until new...more
It has been over three years since the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act was signed into law by President Obama, and just over eighteen months since the effective date of the first-inventor-to-file changes to 35 USC § 102....more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it will host seven roadshow events across the country to increase public understanding of the First Inventor to File (FITF) provisions of the America Invents Act. The...more
Reflecting upon the events of the past twelve months, Patent Docs presents its seventh annual list of top biotech/pharma patent stories. For 2013, we identified fourteen stories that were covered on Patent Docs last year...more
One of the provisions of the Innovation Act introduced by Congressman Goodlatte (R-VA) on October 23, 2014, purports to codify the doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting for applications and patents examined under the...more
Last week, a coalition of more than 100 companies and organizations including the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the California Healthcare Institute (CHI), and Eli Lilly & Company, sent a letter to Congressional...more
On September 16, 2013–the second anniversary of the America Invents Act (AIA)–the USPTO will host a forum on the AIA at its Alexandria, Virginia campus. The USPTO AIA forum will provide an overview of AIA implementation to...more
Two Op-Eds appearing in The Scientist over the summer present competing views on the impact of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. In an article published in July, Dr. George Lewis, the Chief Scientific Officer and...more
On March 16, the most significant provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) came into force. The AIA was seen as the most extensive alteration to patent law in half a century, and was hotly debated over nearly a decade. The...more
The first-to-file provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) took effect on March 16, 2013. The predominant view among patent practitioners is that applicants should in general keep their pre-AIA patent...more
On March 16, 2013, the final (and most significant) portion of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) took effect, and the United States broke from a first-to-invent regime to a first-inventor-to-file (FITF) regime. Of...more
Sure, First-to-File is new here, but the rest of the world has been dealing with it forever and the sky has not fallen on technological innovation elsewhere. And it won’t fall on it here either under a First-to-File system....more
When should a patent application be filed? Should it be filed prior to submission of a manuscript or abstract for peer-review or just prior to publication? In highly competitive technologies, it is prudent to file as soon as...more
As of March 16, 2013, the USPTO officially switched to the first-to-file system—from the first-to-invent system that had previously been a hallmark of U.S. patent law. Part of the America Invents Act, which was enacted...more
In This Issue: - AMERICA INVENTS ACT FINAL IMPLEMENTATION: FROM FIRST-TO-INVENT TO FIRST-TO-FILE: The America Invents Act (“AIA”), which went into effect September 16, 2011, introduces some of the most...more
In September 2011, the America Invents Act (AIA) reformed the United States patent statutes. One of the most significant reforms is the change from a "first-to-invent" system to a "first-inventor-to-file" system for new...more
Now that we are less than one month away from implementation of the First-Inventor-To-File provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA), stakeholders are considering whether to file new patent applications now, to secure...more
The America Invents Act (AIA), which was commonly referred to as the “patent reform bill,” was signed into law in 2011, rolled out in 2012 and 2013, and business owners are still wondering what, if anything, it means to them....more
In a press release issued earlier today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that examination guidelines and the final rule for implementing the first-inventor-to-file (FITF) provisions of the Leahy-Smith America...more
On March 16, 2013, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is changing from a First-to-Invent system to a First-Inventor-to-File system under the America Invents Act for all patent applications that have a priority date...more
The final phase of the America Invents Act (AIA) takes effect on March 16, 2013. This means that any patent application filed in the U.S. on or after that date, which, at any time during its pendency, contains a claim that is...more
The most significant changes in U.S. patent law since 1790 apply to patent applications filed after March 15, 2013. If you have any new inventions or improvements on old inventions that you are considering patenting, or...more
On March 16, 2013, the "first-to-file" provisions of the America Invents Act ("AIA"), will take effect, replacing the current first-to-invent system. Here we provide specific recommendations to optimize protection of your...more
Patent attorneys are expecting a flurry of patent filing activity by March 15, 2013. This is because under the American Invents Act, U.S. Patent Laws will change on March 16, 2013 and the U.S. will convert to a first-to-file...more
On March 16, 2013, the United States patent system will change fundamentally when we switch from a "First to Invent" to "First to File" system, thanks to the America Invents Act. What will it mean for businesses and...more