Today, September 16, 2011, President Obama signed H.R. 1249, the “Leahy-Smith America Invents Act” passed by the Senate, 89-9, the week before.
As summarized and analyzed in today’s Patent and Trademark column, the Act presents the most comprehensive overhaul of the Patent Statute (35 U.S.C.) since it was enacted in 1952, including changing our system of awarding patents from those who invent first to those who file their application first, expanding significantly post-grant procedures for interested parties to object and challenge the issuance of patents, giving the Patent and Trademark Office greater control over how the money it generates is spent, creating satellite patent offices outside Washington, D.C., and providing for “micro-entities” which will qualify for significant discounts.
