Leahy-Smith America Invents Act Signed by President Obama on September 16, 2011.
On September 16, 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), discuss earlier at AT! here. The AIA is the first major overhaul of the U.S. patent laws in approximately 60 years.
More information on the new U.S. patent laws, which will be implemented gradually over the next 1-1/2 years, may be found at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website here.
President Obama certainly made a difference in the passage of this bill, in the process also significantly raising the profile of the patent world and its issues. It’s too bad that Congress didn’t do its part by enacting the bill that almost everyone else wanted — one that would have ended the diversion of USPTO fees to the legislature. But then, I guess that’s what happens when you let foxes guard the henhouse.