Recent Developments in Obtaining and Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights in Nanocomposites

摘要

With the signing of the America Invents Act (AIA) by President Obama on September 16, 2011, the most significant changes in U.S. Patent law in nearly 60 years took place. These changes were driven by the perceived need to modernize U.S. patent law, to improve patent quality, to make the determination of patent validity more efficient, and to reduce unwarranted litigation costs and inconsistent damage awards. Among the most significant changes are the conversion of the United States from a "first to invent" to a "first inventor to file" jurisdiction, and the significant expansion of the amount of prior art that is legally available for citation by a patent examiner against a pending U.S. utility application. New procedures for third party submission of prior art in pending U.S. patent applications, and for opposing the grant of issued U.S. patents are being implemented under the AIA. The AIA significantly expanded the prior user defense to patent infringement. In addition, owners of U.S. patents may now correct errors or omissions that took place during the examination process and thus strengthen the validity of their patents.