The Advantages and Disadvantages of the 2011 New Patent “First-to-File” System

Abstract

This paper examines the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the new patent law or change that shifts the patenting system of the United States from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system. The author briefly describes the historical process of filing a patent as based on the “first-to-invent” system, and then explores and defines the change in patent law which occurred under the America Invents Act (AIA) of 2011, and which has come to be known as a “first-to-file” system. The advantages and disadvantages of this new patent law filing system are explored relative to the challenges of the former “first-to-invent” system. Finally, the author deliberates on its potential and future impact given current competitive, economic, legal, and political challenges.

Keywords: America Invents Act (AIA), Entrepreneurship, First-to-file system, First-to-invent system, Nonobvious, Novel, Patent law, Patent, U.S. Constitution, Useful, U.S. Patent Act, U.S. Code, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).