With passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, patent ownership in the U.S. will be dictated by a first-to-file system, and the platform has been expanded for disputing the validity of patents with the Patent & Trademark Office, representing both new challenges and opportunities for personal-care firms. Signed into law Sept. 16 by President Obama, H.R. 1249 is the culmination of six years of debate on how to reform the nation's patent system.
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