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Senate Passes Patent Reform Bill

The America Invents Act, the latest in a series of attempts to reform the US patent system, passed the Senate on 8 March with bipartisan support by a vote of 95-5. Championed by Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, the bill aims to streamline the patent application process and reduce the current backlog of applications at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The bill would also bring US patent rules in line with those of other countries and improve the quality of patents issued.

The bill would direct the patent office to implement a first-inventor-to-file system, which grants priority to the first party to file a patent application, rather than the first to create the invention. The change seeks to save the time and money required to prove who was first to invent, and it would make the US patent rules more consistent with first-to-file systems in Europe and Japan.

Other changes would allow the USPTO to set and have access to its own fees to ensure better resources for reviewing applications. In addition, the bill would create a new post-grant review process to make it easier for third parties to oppose patents without going to court.

The House of Representatives will introduce its own patent reform bill this month, according to a statement issued by Lamar Smith, a Republican representative from Texas.

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