US legislation aims to simplify rules for inventors

Nature : The most comprehensive overhaul of US patent law is up for review in the House after similar legislation passed the Senate on 8 March. The bill proposes to change the US patent system from a first-to-invent arrangement to a first-to-file arrangement. Currently, if two inventors file similar patent applications at around the same time, they go into an expensive process called “interference,” during which a specialized division of the US Patent Office tries to discover who created the invention first. The average cost of the process to inventors is between $400 000 and $500 000. Advocates of the new legislation say that the change will make it easier for scientists to obtain patents without getting bogged down in litigation; opponents are concerned that the change may lead to a sudden increase in filings, which the agency won’t be able to handle without a significant increase in staff. One provision of the law that has not been heavily disputed would allow outsiders to challenge new patents in a post-grant review process without having to resort to costly litigation.