On September 16, 2011, American President Obama signed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which became effective nationwide on March 16, 2013. The new law has made changes to the existing patenting system and aims to make the filing processes faster and more effective. From patent filing to patent litigation, the America Invents Act (AIA) has impacted all the processes better. In this article, we will learn more about patent litigation and the impact of AIA on patent registration and litigation processes.
What is Patent Litigation?
A patent is registered to protect someone’s unique ideas and inventions from any other using them without licensing or legal permission. If you find or suspect anyone using your patent or inventing something similar to yours, you have the legal right to produce them in court and sue them. This process of protecting your patents from infringements is called patent litigation. If the infringement is true, the infringer has to pay you for the losses and the royalties for using your patent without your permission.
The patent litigation process is not that simpler. It will consume time, effort, and money. The plaintiff (the one who has initiated a suit against someone before the court) has to pay for the filing, attorney, and expenses that come along with the litigation.
The Impact of AIA on Patent Litigation
Since patent litigation involves spending time and money, what if the plaintiff is a small-scale business? How can he spend more money on litigation expenses, especially in case of multiple infringements? Should he lose his invention to someone else because he cannot afford the litigation expenses? The AIA helps such small businesses in case of litigation by reducing the overall cost of litigation and making the appropriate changes to the patent law.
In case of multiple infringements, the patent owners or the plaintiffs do not need to sue all the defendants independently. It will result in high litigation expenses. With the America Invents Act (AIA), the plaintiff can group them all in a single suit. Therefore, the cost of litigation can be reduced, and even small businesses can protect their inventions and sue anyone who tries to infringe on their creations.
Apart from this, the AIA aims to improve the overall speed of the patent registration process and increase the quality and effectiveness of the patents registered. Additionally, the patent system has been transformed from first-to-invent to first-to-file, stating that the patent rights are given to the person who files the patent first, regardless of the invention date.
Brealant Gives You the Best Patent Guidance!
The America Invents Act benefits patent owners on a broad scale. It improved the speed and quality of patent registration and reduced patent litigation costs. If you are in need of patent registration guidance, Brealant would be the best choice for you! We help you with patent, trademark, and copyright registration and guide you throughout the process to make your registrations successful.