The American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA) is a
United States federal law enacted on November 29, 1999, as Public Law 106-113. In 2002, the Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical Amendments Act of 2002, Public Law 107-273, amended AIPA.
AIPA contains significant changes to American Patent Law. AIPA added
* An "earlier invention" defense for
business method patents – 35 U.S.C. §273;
* Publication of US patent applications for foreign published applications – 35 U.S.C. §122;
* Patent term restoration for delays caused by the
Patent and Trademark Office – 35 U.S.C. §154;
* The
Request for Continued Examination (RCE) patent prosecution procedure; and
* Disclosure requirements for
invention promotion firms.
Political considerations
Large corporations generally supported the bill.
Independent inventor
An independent inventor is a person who creates inventions independently, rather than for an employer.
Many independent inventors patent their inventions so that they have rights over them, and hope to earn income from selling or licensing them. U ...
s generally opposed the bill.
Edward Robinson "They Saved Small Business When corporate America tried to seize the patent system from independent inventors, this Boston couple came to the rescue.", Fortune Small Business Magazine, April 1, 2000
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See also
*Patent Reform Act of 2005
The Patent Reform Act of 2005 () was United States patent law, United States patent legislation proposed in the 109th United States Congress. Texas Republican Party (United States), Republican Congressman Lamar S. Smith introduced the Act on 8 Jun ...
References
Further reading
The American Inventor’s Protection Act: A Legislative History
Wake Forest Intellectual Property Law Journal
The ''Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law'' is a student-run law journal produced by the Wake Forest University School of Law.
The journal was founded in 2001 after years of lobbying and preparation by students, professo ...
J. Richardson and K. Sibley, THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COMMUNICATIONS OMNIBUS REFORM ACT OF 1999: an Overview for IP Practitioners
North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology
United States federal patent legislation
Acts of the 106th United States Congress
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