The America Invents Act (AIA), which was signed into law on September 16, 2011, will convert the U.S. patent system from a "first-to-invent" system to a "first-to-file" system on March 16, 2013. Although the conversion itself brings with it important process changes for patent filers, other changes to the U.S. patent system that will be made under the AIA are of greater concern, as they will punish American innovators and, by default, our innovation marketplace.
Under the current first-to-invent system, if two people filed patent applications on the same invention at about the same time, a contest would be held to see who actually invented the technology first. However, under the AIA, the first to file in the U.S. Patent Office will get the patent, and there will be no contest as to who actually invented the technology first.
