Where were you on September 16, 2011, when President Obama signed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA)?
Vanessa (names have been changed) was in her studio, working with a few engineer friends to perfect a groundbreaking performance instrument. Jonathan was in his co-working space, grinding through test concepts for the creative industry-centric software he is developing. While neither innovator works in an actual basement, they are "the independents": The financially under-resourced members of the economy most potentially vulnerable to the change in U.S. patent law. Fortunately, they are also Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (PVLA) clients.
