The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday, September, 6, 2011, that will overhaul the patent-system in the United States, and it is expected to get the signature of President Barack Obama. The change in law will reverse the centuries old practice of awarding a patent to an individual who discovers something useful and nonobvious, by making the filing procedures a horserace to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). According to lobbyists who represent large organizations, moving from a “first to invent” system to a “first to file” model will forestall costly litigation between dueling inventors. However, small inventors fear that the new approach will put them on an unequal playing field, because the first-to-file approach will cause companies to overwhelm the USPTO with patent applications. A pace they cannot financially compete against.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the greatest harm will come when entrepreneurs are trying to seek out private equity suitors to help finance their inventions. Unless certain legal protections are established prior to meeting the “money” people, the inventor’s idea is at-risk of being stolen.