Industry Expert Blogs

If you are considering filing a patent, you should know about the new patent rules effectinve on March 16, 2013. Most importantly, patent rights will switch from “first-to-invent” to “first-to-file.”

The first-to-invent model worked basically like this: You invent rocket shoes on April 1, 2010 and start working on a patent application, which you file one month later. The guy next door you independently invents rocket shoes (what are the odds!) on April 10, 2010 and files a patent one week later. He got his patent application in first, but under first-to-invent, you, not your neighbor, have the right to the patent.

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