On March 16, 2013, the United States will transition from a first to invent system to a first to file system under the America Invents Act (“AIA”). In my opinion, it is more advantageous to have a patent application governed by the first to invent system than the first to file system even though the first to invent system for the most part behaves like a first to file system. What I mean is …

In the United States, the first person to invent is entitled to a patent.  When two different inventors file two separate patent applications on the same invention, the courts will initially look to the filing dates of the patent applications to see who was the first to file.  Since the first to file can prove [...]

The following case illustrates the importance of documenting an invention’s development.  Under current U.S. Patent Laws, the first-to-invent is awarded a patent on an invention and not the first to file a patent application.  The reason is that the first-to-invent rule appears to be more fair compared to the “first to file” rule.  The first-to-invent [...]