The America Invents Act (AIA) that is going to be implemented on March 16, 2013. It is the law that transitions the US patent law from a "first-to-invent" system to a "first-to-file" system. The "first-to-invent" system has been operating for 200 years in the US, and understanding what the transition means for inventors as well as the companies is crucial for their efficient intellectual property protection.
fIRST-TO-INVENT
"First-to-invent" patent law system allowed first inventors of the gadget or widget an advantage of keeping the intellectual property even though the second inventor has already filed the patent first. In this case, if the Inventor A invented the widget first and Inventor B invented the widget second, but Inventor B filed the patent first, patent rights will still be assigned to Inventor 1 if he can show the documentation with the proof of his earlier invention.
In this case, real inventors are protected from theft of their intellectual property by those who are trying to take advantage of the invention and monetize it first.
FIRST-TO-FILE
However, "first-to-invent" rule conflicts with the rest of the world's patent law system, and the transition made by AIA is aimed to harmonize the US patent law system with the rest of the world, and de-emphasize focus from the actual invention.
However, first to file law can be interpreted as "first-to-disclose" law because the inventor can publish his discoveries publicly and still file the patent within one year from the publishing date. This, still, conflicts with European law, because there is no grace period for filing the patents there.
So, patent law system is very sophisticated and is different in different country. If the company operates internationally, it has to study the patent law of the country where it has a strategic market. Filing a patent in the US only, unfortunately, doesn' protect the company or the inventor abroad.
I think it would be hard to prove who the "real" inventor was under the first to invent system. What stops everyone from coming forward and saying that they had the same idea X amount of years back? I personally agree with the switch to first to file. However, it could have negative ramifications if someone had the idea first but could not afford the patent fees.
ReplyDeleteI agree, "first-to-invent" system that was in work for the last 200 years is really hard to prove. But I imagine, any invention is written down, or recorded somehow. There are also witnesses who saw the inventor working on his widget. So, as an inventor, your primary goal would be to record your invention so that you can claim the patent. With "first-to-file" system the process of claiming the patent is more clear.
DeleteI agree with the first comment here. I feel like it would be difficult to prove who the first inventor was, whereas with the first to file system it's much more objective. As unfair as it may be, it seems the most logical.
ReplyDeleteAaron,
ReplyDeleteI totally share your opinion. "first-to-file" syste is more objective. Thanks