A controversial patent reform bill has been approved by the United States Senate, prioritizing those first to file for a patent rather than the first to invent the technology, and is expected to be signed by President Obama imminently. The America Invents Act not only amends the process for filing patents but the system for challenging them, with the introduction of a post-grant review that, it’s argued, will allow bad patents to be re-examined. The bill’s supporters claim it will streamline the filing process, allow the USPTO to more quickly crunch through the huge backlog of existing applications, and bring the patent system overall more in line with what other countries operate. Its critics, however, claim progressive amendments to the bill have diluted it to the point where it can no longer be considered true reform.
