by Dennis Crouch
New patent applications filed three months from now will fall under the US new First-to-File regime created by the America Invents Act of 2011. Those applications will no longer be able to claim invention-date priority, will have much more limited pre-filing grace period, will be subject to prior user rights and broad post-grant review, and can be invalidated by public uses and sales of similar inventions in foreign countries. On the other hand, absent a derivation problem, secret prior invention or reduction to practice by a third party will no longer be relevant to patentability.
How are you preparing for this March 16, 2013 changeover?
