Major Changes Made to Patent Law

Major modifications to the patent law were finally passed by Congress and approved by the President on September 16, 2011. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) will switch the U.S. to a first-to-file system in March 2013, 18 months after the Act's enactment. For more information, see an analysis of the AIA by David Pressman. You can also  refer to a summary of the America Invents Act's provisions, or our timeline detailing when the changes in the America Invents Act go into effect.