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Senate Passes Landmark Patent Reform Bill

Posted by samzenpus on from the problem-solved dept.

inkscapee writes "The US Senate is congratulating itself for passing a 'landmark' piece of patent reform legislation. Some key elements are 'first to file' instead of first to invent, and ending fee diversion, which means fees paid to the Patent Office will actually fund the Patent Office. Curiously, this practice has resulted in a backlog of 700,000 patent applications. The House is reportedly working on a similar bill, and soon harmony and rationality will triumph."

4 of 362 comments (clear)

  1. wait by CSFFlame · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Isn't first to file REALLY bad? It helps patent trolls doesn't it?

    1. Re:wait by Gumshoe · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Isn't first to file REALLY bad? It helps patent trolls doesn't it?

      Yes. It's a disaster. In effect if you invent something you now have to patent it or possibly suffer the consequences from a patent troll. It's a money spinner for the patent office if nothing else.

    2. Re:wait by IP_Troll · · Score: 5, Insightful

      First to file encourages people to file for patents sooner rather than waiting for someone else to file and cutting them off with a first to invent claim.

      First to file doesn't favor patent trolls, they can't patent the invention if someone else was using it publicly and didn't bother to patent it.

      If anything it cuts off patent trolls because they can't keep inventions a secret waiting for someone else to file a patent, and then usurp that patent from the original filer.

  2. first to file standardizes things world-wide by rritterson · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Other comments have taken to clearing up some of the misconceptions regarding first-to-file versus first-to-invent so I won't duplicate them. However, one thing not yet pointed out is that the vast (VAST) majority of the rest of the world uses a first-to-file system.

    By switching our system, it reduces the burden on an inventor (and thus the legal cost) of obtaining a world wide patent as the systems become closer to the same. And note that Europe has not considered switching to first-to-invent as a way to combat patent trolls, which says something about how much the USA switching will help/hurt trolls.

    --
    -Ryan
    AUWYHSTOT (Acronyms are Useless When You Have to Spell Them Out Too)