US Senate approves major patent system overhaul

08.09.2011
The U.S. Senate has voted to approve a major overhaul of the nation's patent system, with the legislationallowing a new kind of challenge to patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The would also allow the USPTO to set fees for patents. The bill, potentially establishing the first major changes to the U.S. patent system in five decades, will give the USPTO enough money to whittle down a backlog of 700,000 patent applications, supporters said.

The Senate's 89-9 approval of the America Invents Act sends the legislation to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign the bill. The House of Representatives in June.

Many large tech companies, including Intel, Apple and Microsoft, have called for patent reform in recent years, and lawmakers have been trying to pass a bill for nearly six years. Earlier this year, the Senate stripped out limits on patent lawsuit damages that some large tech companies had supported.

The bill streamlines the patent review process at the USPTO and it would change U.S. patent rules by giving a patent to the first person to file for it, not the first person to create a new invention. Changing to a first-to-file system puts the U.S. in step with most other countries.

It would also allow third parties to file a challenge to a patent within nine months of it being awarded. The new process for challenging patents will weed out ones that the USPTO shouldn't have granted, supporters said