U.S. Senate Votes in Favor of the Patent Reform Bill

U.S. Senate Votes in Favor of the Patent Reform Bill

The "American Invents Act" or Senate Bill 23 which proposes reform to federal patent law has been passed by the U.S. Senate by an overwhelming favorable vote of 95-3. The Act includes proposed legislation intended to improve the patent application process, add certainty to patent infringement litigation and improve the quality of patents. The Act proposes, for example:

Redefining the effective filing date to be the actual filing date if the patent application, thereby replacing the present "first to invent" system with a "first to file" system consistent with the patent laws of most other countries. Such a provision may motivate inventors to file patent applications sooner rather than later. Such a provision could promote more diligent tracking of the inventive process by inventors and increase the pace of innovation. However, it could also result in a wave of patent applications submitted to the U.S. Patent Office, which is already experiencing a significant backlog in the examination of patent applications.To revise the provisions for determining patent novelty and non-obviousness.Modifies the system for third party cancelation of patents.Allows any third party to submit any publication relevant to a patent application.Modifying the "False Marking" provision of Federal Patent Law to only allow the United States to sue for the $500 per offense penalty, deletes the provision which allows any person suing for False Marking to receive one-half of the penalty and to add the following more subjective clause:"Any person who has suffered a competitive injury as a result of a violation of this section may file a civil action in a district court of the United States for recovery of damages adequate to compensate for the injury."

A summary of the provisions of the Act can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-23&tab=summary and the full text of

the bill can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s112-23.

The Bill will now be debated by the House Judiciary Committee and voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives. However, the House may present its own version of Patent Reform, so the outcome is still undecided.

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