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A renewed focus on technology transfer and streamlining the patent process resulting in patent sales is one of the linchpins of plans to jumpstart the economy and stimulate job growth. With the recent reelection of President Obama, hopes are high that the American Invents Act (AIA), signed into law on September 16, 2011, will gain momentum as its various components are enacted in 2013. One of the major changes of this bipartisan law reforming new intellectual property product procedures at the United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) involves a shift from a “first-to-invent” system to a “first inventor-to-file” system for patent applications filed after March 16, 2013. A FIF system is in line with most other markets in the world. This particular change will remove barriers to full approval connected with various hurdles and proceedings that have historically forced a filer to prove they are the original inventor, since the default will now go to “first-to-file.” In addition, there are tax, marketing, prior-use, and best mode requirement clarifications that minimize disruptions to the patent process including patent litigation, while not completely eliminating post-grant review options. A couple of other changes in patent law are of interest. One is the component related to micro-entities. A micro-entity refers to an independent inventor with earning under three times the median annual income or an inventor under an obligation to assign the invention to a university. If an inventor fits this definition, they are entitled to significant reductions of around 42% in patent fees. Finally, the American Invents Act contains a provision that confidential sales of products containing patented technology shall not be counted as the beginning of the one-year period currently required in which to file a patent that previously existed. Additional changes intended to address the backlog of pending patents as well as to reduce approval times allow for the establishment of satellite offices. One such office is currently operational in Detroit with the second to begin functioning in Denver and two additional operations under development in Silicon Valley and Dallas–Fort Worth. The AIA is not without controversy. Small and large inventors alike are engaged in both sides of the debate about whether large established entities or small entrepreneurs will most benefit and which the law will disadvantage most. Certainly, the intent of the law is to make the U.S. more competitive globally by the time to obtain a patent. With a backlog of over 700,000 pending patents, everyone from inventors to investors have asked for reform since the last major revisions were made in 1952. Many questions and answers will just take time to discover as the new reforms roll out. This article is brought to you on behalf of ICAP Patent Brokerage
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