I had the honor of attending a presentation yesterday by Michael Colitz III, with GrayRobinson P.A., on pending legislation affecting Patent Law. The event was hosted by The Tampa Bay Innovation Center at the Microsoft facility in Tampa, FL. These events, called “Tech Talk”, are held monthly and are very well attended.
Much can be found on the topic of Patent Reform by searching the “America Invents Act”, but Michael gave us the “layman’s version” of how the changes will affect the product development industry.
Possibly the biggest change is that the U.S. will go from a “First to Invent” to a “First to File” philosophy. In the past, time stamped documentation such as engineering notebooks, emails, design files, etc. could be used to prove to the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) that you had the idea first. If the pending legislation passes, the first individual to FILE for a patent on an idea will be given first rights, regardless of who developed the idea first. This is already true in every nation with a patent process with the exception of the United States. The “loophole” to this is that the U.S. still intends to maintain a 1 year “Grace Period” after publication for an inventor to file their patent. Therefore, you can lock in your idea for one year by “publishing” sufficient information on your idea in a publicly accessible location (trade journal, online blog, etc.)
Other changes affect the diversion of fees the USPTO receives and various review “tracks” based on the amount of the fee imposed.
If you’re an inventor, or an aspiring inventor, do yourself a favor and research these pending changes! The House and Senate versions of the bill have bi-partisan support and, unlike several attempts over the last 6 years, look very likely to pass.
