However, the window is narrower in other respects because prior inventions of others under pre-AIA § 102(f) and (g) are generally no longer prior art under the AIA, Metallizing Engineering forfeiture apparently may no longer exist, 3 and common ownership may now provide a defense against documents that would otherwise be prior art under the AIA.

In addition, the temporal window for additional prior art is wider in one respect through the change in focus from 'date of invention' to 'effective filing date,' because the effective filing date of any claimed invention is almost always later than the pre-AIA date of invention.

litigation discovery, which does not exist in other first-to-file systems, the universe of what now may be considered prior art. 2 In other words, the new definitions remove geographic and language restrictions on prior art, exponentially expanding, in view of U.S. Public disclosures before the effective filing date of the claimed invention anywhere in the world in any language will have prior art effect. § 102 changes fundamental assumptions defining what will and will not be considered prior art under the AIA, for any application containing at least one claim having an effective filing date after March 15, 2013. Failing to Understand the Expanded Definition of Prior ArtĪ first challenge is to be able to identify applicable prior art and thus avoid overlooking potentially fatal prior art. This article highlights some of the more significant and immediate of those dangers. patents and patent applications, including those of third parties. Whether or not any of those lofty objectives will pan out in reality, inventors, patent applicants, patent owners, and the patent professionals who assist them must understand the changes to avoid significant 'dangers' that lurk for the unwary, both in formulating patent filing strategies and in evaluating existing U.S. law of patentability and patent enforceability with the intent to deliver greater transparency, objectiveness, predictability, and simplified patent law principles. 1 The 130-page AIA legislation transformed foundational aspects of the U.S.

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), signed into law on September 16, 2011, marked the first fundamental patent reform in the United States since the 1952 Patent Act (pre-AIA).

Pre aia 102