Patent Law Reform Update: Enactment of Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
On September 8, 2011 the U.S. Senate passed a patent reform bill, the "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act," which was subsequently signed into law by President Obama on September 16. The final Senate vote was 89-9, reflecting broad support for patent reform legislation in this Congress-the Senate passed its version of the bill (S. 23) by a vote of 95-5, and the House bill (H.R. 1249) passed by a 304-117 margin. It is widely believed that this patent reform measure is going to usher in considerable changes in how patents are obtained and enforced in the United States.
McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff attorneys are well versed on the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act patent law changes and how the changes will impact prosecuting and enforcing patents in the U.S. They are providing up-to-date developments related to the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and its potential impact upon your business, including the information highlighted below.
MBHB Publications
"On the Brink of Change -- Congress Passes Patent Reform," MBHB snippets, Summer 2011 edition (Vol. 9, Issue 3)
"Leahy-Smith America Invents Act Ratchets Up Fees 10 Days After Enactment," MBHB snippets Alert (September 15, 2011)
"Patent Reform: What Has Already Changed?," MBHB snippets Alert (October 4, 2011)
"'Patent Reform: First-Inventor-to-File' to Replace the Current 'First-to-Invent' System," MBHB snippets Alert (October 13, 2011)
"Patent Reform: Derivation Proceedings," MBHB snippets Alert (November 1, 2011)
"Patent Reform: New Section 298 Will Preclude Patentees from Proving Willfulness or Inducement Through an Alleged Infringer's Failure to Obtain or Provide Evidence of an Opinion of Counsel," MBHB snippets Alert (November 3, 2011)
"Patent Reform: Transitional Review of Business Method Patents Under AIA," MBHB snippets Alert (November 10, 2011)
"Patent Reform: Changes to Reissues and the New Supplemental Examination Procedure," MBHB snippets Alert (December 12, 2011)
MBHB Webinar and In-House Seminars
Webinar | February 23, 2012 | 10:00 a.m. CT
Impact of the America Invents Act on Patent Litigation Strategy (access arhived version via WebEx)
Webinar | October 5, 2011 | 12:00 p.m. CT and Webinar | October 19, 2011 | 8:00 a.m. CT
Impact of the New Patent Law: An Overview of the America Invents Act (access archived version via WebEx)
Please contact an MBHB attorney should you have any questions about the Act or to arrange an in-house seminar about the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.
Patent Docs Weblog
Visit Patent Docs, authored by MBHB attorneys, at http://www.patentdocs.org/ for additional information on the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.