the widescale reform of US patent law. What the impact will be on the US economy or on other nations remains to be seen.
Obama signed the American Invents Act, HR 1249, a compromise package being pitched by the administration as a job-booster. Obama was joined at the signing by representatives of major chemical and pharmaceutical corporations, according to a White House press release, reprinted below.
Foley & Lardner attorney Harold Wegner said in his blog that Obama’s signature on the 2001 Patent Act immediately and retroactively abolished “all qui tam false marking actions (even if there is a pending but not final action in the courts) and the ‘best mode’ defense to patent infringement will be retroactively eliminated (unless the matter is already in controversy in litigation). The major changes in the patent law will have later effective dates, Wegner said. This includes a 15 percent increase in patent fees on 26 September.
White House press release follows:
Full Story: Intellectual Property Watch Magazine [3]