President Obama today signed the historic Leahy-Smith America Invents Act that switches the country to a first-to-file patent system rather than a first-to-invent system for patent applications.
“By transitioning to a simpler, more objective, and more inventor-friendly system of issuing patents, the new Act helps ensure that independent inventors and small entities have greater clarity and certainty over their property rights and will be able to navigate the patent system on a more equitable footing with large enterprises,” U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra wrote on the White House blog.
“The Act also establishes a new in-house review process for challenging patents—a process that is faster and significantly cheaper than litigation, which too often stymies technological growth. By resolving disputes about patent rights earlier, more efficiently, and at lower cost, we can add greater certainty to—and cultivate greater confidence it—the American patent system.”
Chopra said that confidence will lead to more companies doing business in the United States and inspire individuals to work toward the next great medical and technological breakthroughs.
Chopra will hold ‘Twitter Office Hours’ with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos today at 5 p.m. EDT.
How to participate:
- Use the #WHChat hashtag on Twitter to ask questions on the America Invents Act
- Watch and ask questions via the White House Live Facebook App
- Watch live at WhiteHouse.gov/live
