Four Features of the “First to File” System

1. New System: From “first to invent system” to the “first to file system.”

“The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, signed into law on September 16, 2011, profoundly changes the U.S. patent system by awarding patents to the first inventor to file an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Thus, in order to protect an idea, inventors of all sizes need to file patent applications before their competition.”

2. Public disclosure can preclude inventor from obtaining a patent even if you file first:

If someone other than inventor patents, discloses in a printed publication, use the invention in public, places the invention on sale or “otherwise” makes it available to the public anywhere in the world before the effective filing date it will be a bar. file This rule has been referred to by some as creating a ‘first to publish as long as you file within a year’ system rather than a true first to file system”

3. When law takes effect:

“The ‘first inventor-to-file’ law will take effect on March 16, 2013 (18 months from passage) and will apply to new patent applications filed on or after that date.”

4. First inventor to file not who invented first:

“For priority purposes, only the date of filing will need to be determined, not the actual date of invention.”