Editorial Comment Concerning The America Invents Act

On March 16, 2013, inventors lost valuable rights that have been a cornerstone of the U.S. patent system for decades and which distinguished the U.S. from other countries. It no longer matters that you were the first to invent - the U.S. now has a "first inventor to file" patent system.  It is no longer possible for you to advertise or test market a product before filing a patent application without losing your patent rights - you no longer have the grace period that you once enjoyed.  As a result, inventors must now "race" to file patent applications to preserve their patent rights.  These changes in U.S. patent law could result in patent applications hastily being filed to "beat the clock", most likely in the form of provisional patent applications which may not be sufficient to provide priority and support for claims ultimately filed in a nonprovisional patent application.  Inventors should keep their invention completely secret before filing a patent application, should consult a patent attorney before discussing their invention with anyone, and should not file a provisional or any other type of patent application without first obtaining legal advice.  It's a brave new world.

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