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ARTICLE · 13 JULY 2011

Patent Law Reform Is Almost Here

Ladas & Parry
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Patent Law reform legislation (in the form of the "America Invents Act") has at last passed both houses of the United States Congress. The Senate passed Bill S. 23 by a vote of 95-5 on March 8, 2011. The House of Representatives passed Bill HR 1249 by a vote of 304 - 117 on June 23, 2011.

United StatesIntellectual Property

Article by John Richards1

BACKGROUND

Patent Law reform legislation (in the form of the "America Invents Act") has at last passed both houses of the United States Congress. The Senate passed Bill S. 23 by a vote of 95-5 on March 8, 2011. The House of Representatives passed Bill HR 1249 by a vote of 304 - 117 on June 23, 2011. The two bills as passed are very similar and so reconciliation of their texts is not expected to be a problem. President Obama has indicated that he will sign the legislation when it is presented to him. When he does so it will effect the most significant single legislative change in U.S. patent law in over a hundred years.

Attempts at Patent Law reform have failed in the three previous Congresses and prior to the present Congress there was some concerns as to whether it would ever be passed. Following criticisms of the patent system by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Academy of Sciences, bipartisan attempts at patent

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