New American Patent Act — Important Also For Danish Companies

On 16 September 2011, President Obama signed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act after its adoption by both chambers of Congress. Thus, the most extensive reform of American patent law for more than 50 years was carried through. The impact of the reform, among many other things, is that the right to an invention in the future will be granted to the first party to file an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rather than as until now, to the first inventor. Thus, after more than 200 years, the U.S. abandons the "first to invent" principle in favour of the "first to file" principle applied by most of the rest of the world.

The focus of this article is the American patent reform and its implications for Danish companies.