The new US America Invents Act makes several changes to the US patent system that are designed to limit legal battles. The Act will forgo the “first to invent” approach in favor of “first to file,” which is similar to other countries’ systems. Some critics believe that this approach could lead to firms scrambling to file for a patent too quickly and that the shift favors larger firms, which may have more experience filing for patents. The Act also grants an alleged patent violator the right to contest the patent’s validity at the PTO and increases the role of potentially impacted third parties in showing prior art at the PTO. Congress opted to increase dispute resolution options instead of the PTO’s budget to the dismay of critics who had hoped more funds could employ quality workers to chip away at the application backlog.

Source: The Economist