Patent Reform Act of 2007

On April 18, 2007, members of the House and Senate introduced the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (the Reform Act), which would make major changes to the way that patents are procured, profited from, and challenged in the United States. The new law would apply to any patent issued on or after the new law’s effective date, which would be 12 months after enactment. In a press release, Rep. Howard Berman (D.Cal.) stated his “firm intention” to pass a bill this year and expressed his belief that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D.Vt.) intended to do the same. Indeed, Sen. Leahy stressed that members of both houses of Congress, having introduced bills with identical language, are serious about patent reform. While the bills have yet to make their way through committee, where sponsors expect modifications to be made, drafts of the bills provide important clues as to where Congress is headed with the biggest changes to U.S. patent law in more than 50 years.

First to File

The Reform Act would give the right to patent an invention to the party who is first to file a patent application. This represents a big shift from current law, which gives the right to patent to the party who is first to invent. Disclosures made by inventors or those who obtain the subject matter from the inventors will not bar procurement of a patent if the disclosures are made no more than one year before filing. Such disclosures during the year before filing will also prevent public disclosures from others from being considered prior art.

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