The legislation will create U.S. jobs through a much-needed update of the patent system, said Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and bill sponsor in the Senate. "The creativity that drives our economic engine has made America the global leader in invention and innovation," he said. "The America Invents Act will ensure that inventors large and small maintain the competitive edge that has put America at the pinnacle of global innovation. This is historic legislation. It is good policy."

The legislation would allow the USPTO to keep most patent fees, with the money going to a capped USPTO reserve fund, instead of Congress taking the money for other government expenditures. Congress has diverted about US$900 million from the patent office over the past two decades.

The Senate rejected three amendments to the America Invents Act, including one that would strengthen the ban on fee diversion, with Leahy arguing amendments could kill the bill. Any amendments would have sent the legislation back to the House, with House members unlikely to approve the changes, he said.

Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, argued that all patent fees should go directly to the USPTO, instead of the reserve fund set up by the House. Patent fee diversion to the U.S. Treasury is "immoral, if not criminal," Coburn said.

Some opponents argued the bill, with its first-to-file and patent challenge provisions, favors large corporations over small inventors. "This is a big corporation patent giveaway that tramples on the rights of small inventors," said Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat. "It is siding with corporate interests against the little guy."