Six years in the making, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act was approved by the Senate on September 8th and was signed into law by President Obama on September 16th. This landmark legislation brings a number of important changes to U.S. patent law.
Companies will need to reevaluate their patent application filing strategies and their policies regarding public disclosures of their inventions in view of the shift to first-to-file and the changes to what is considered prior art. Strategies for dealing with competitors’ patent estates will also have to evolve, as will litigation strategies and defenses. In the wake of the Act, the use of reexamination and the new post-grant review procedures may relocate patent battles from the courtrooms of Eastern Texas to the halls of the PTO.
This seminar will focus on practical advice for dealing with the new Act, including:
- Impact of moving to first-to-file on your U.S. patent portfolio, including the enlarged scope of prior art
- Effective use of the post-grant review system, including the availability of stays of litigation for pending post-grant reviews
- Replacement of inter partes reexamination with inter partes review and its impact
- Timetable for transition and effective dates
- Fees and other key changes in patent practice and structure
- Elimination of the best mode defense in litigation
Significant narrowing of false marking causes of action
Speakers:
WMACCA will apply for 1.0 hour of Virginia MCLE credit.