House Passes Patent Reform Legislation

The House of Representatives voted to approve the America Invents Act, H.R. 1249, by a 304-117 vote on Thursday. The vote marks a major milestone towards the passage of the legislation, which would represent the first major Congressional overhaul of the patent system since 1952. The Senate approved its version of the bill, S. 23, in March.

A number of differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation must still be resolved. The most notable difference between the two bills involves the funding structure for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Under the Senate version of the bill, all fees collected by the PTO enter a revolving fund under the exclusive control of the PTO. In contrast, the House bill directs PTO fees into a sequestered account but requires the PTO to request funding from Congress as part of the annual appropriations process.

The House and Senate bills otherwise share a great deal of common ground, including changes to the False Marking statute, the creation of new post-grant review procedures, and a transition from the current first-to-invent system to a first-inventor-to-file system.