IP Bulletin, May 2013

The Nutter IP Bulletin provides periodic IP news updates and practical tips

After the AIA - Strategies for Expediting Patent Filings

While the America Invents Act (AIA) brought many significant changes to the U.S. patent laws, there is arguably no more impactful change than the shift from a "first to invent" system to a "first inventor to file" system. Now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will award a patent to an applicant with the "earliest effective filing date." This shift in the law increases the stakes for large companies, small companies, and individual inventors seeking patent protection, as patent applicants will now find themselves racing to the U.S. patent office. It is now more paramount than ever that patent applicants evaluate and modify internal procedures to ensure that innovative ideas are identified and applications are filed as timely as practical.