What you need to know about the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

I was talking with Steve Sarussi and Joe Milligan the other day and learned about the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act that was passed last September.  Cindy and Dan work more on the companies at that stage than I do and I thought there may be others that didn't know about this either. 

Here's what you need to know:

1.The AIA changes the system of awarding patents from a first to invent system to a first inventor to file system.

2.The AIA expands prior art to include foreign public uses and offers for sale. Under current law, third party uses and sales of the same invention abroad are not bars to patent protection in the U.S.

3.The AIA creates two new administrative procedures in the USPTO that enable third parties to challenge the validity of a granted patent.

4.The AIA eliminates failure to disclose best mode as an invalidity defense.

5.The AIA substantially changes patent marking law.

There's a wealth of information here including articles and links to webinars on the topic if you're interested.