US Senate passes, sends to president, the most significant patent system overhaul in 6 decades

WASHINGTON - The Senate passed late Thursday and sent to President Barack Obama the first overhaul of the U.S. patent system in six decades.

Obama is certain to sign the legislation, which he championed as a way to promote innovation and put Americans back to work.

The Senate voted 89-9 for legislation that supporters say will streamline the patent process, reduce costly legal battles and give the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office the money it needs to process patent applications quickly.

Obama had urged Congress to send him the bill to sign to rid the country of the system based on legislation passed in 1952. Many attempts to update the law have failed

The measure would switch the United States from the "first-to-invent" system to the "first-inventor-to-file" system for patent applications. That change would put the U.S. in line with other industrialized countries.

Passage was not easy. Congress has debated a patent bill every year over the past six years. Before final passage of this one, the Senate had to defeat three proposed amendments that would have forced the bill to return to the House of Representatives and increased prospects of another deadlock.

The proposal has met resistance from some small-scale and independent inventors who say it will put them at a disadvantage with big corporations. Supporters say it will add certainty to a system now riddled by costly lawsuits.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/us-senate-passes-sends-to-president-the-most-significant-patent-system-overhaul-in-6-decades-129492943.html