The Race to the Patent Office – the Impact of the America Invents Act – “The America Invents Act (Patent Reform Act) went into effect on 16 March 2013.  It switched the U.S. patent system from “first to invent” to “first to file” and is the most significant change to the system in nearly 60 years.  The act has wide ramifications concerning the kinds of innovations that are patentable, who owns inventions, who can use inventions, and how patents are challenged and defended.  A panel of speakers discussed how the act has affected the patent process and the dramatic and unforeseen impacts they have seen since the law went into effect.” [via Lorna Newman]