Expository Essay on Advantages of First-to-Invent Patenting Procedure

Introduction

Initially, the United States' intellectual property laws required that patentprotection was to be given to the person who first invented a product even though they were not the first to have filed for a patent for a product or process (Lo and Sutthiphisal 2). However, there have been various changes in the patenting law which occurred in 2011 whereby the law provided that the person who first filed for the patent rights was to be given patent protection.

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Another advantage of first-to-file patenting practice is that it promoted invention within the United States. That is, inventors were assured that the government protects their inventions and innovations. Also, the patent laws ensured that no other party could get patent protection over a product or processthat another party had developed (Sharp 1236). At the time, it was impossible to copy someone's invention or idea and proceed to get patent protection. In reference to the recent law, first-to-file, it is possible that someone may copy another person's invention of a process or product and then proceed to get patent protection before the original developer can do so.

Subsequently, the first-to-invent patent policies ensured equality in the provision of patent protection to small entities as well as large corporations or developers. Further, the patent laws assured the protection of small inventors who sometimes took a longer time to file for patents were protected (Sharp 1236). Initially, the patent application process was a tedious process and required many lawyers to facilitate the process. Sometimes an inventor could develop a product or a process, but lack the lawyers or fail to file for the patent rights on time. In such a case, the first-to-invent laws provided enough time for the small inventors to file for the patent protection. However, with the recent first-to-file patent laws, small inventors without the resources to file for the patent protection on time may be discriminated since similar corporations with power and resources may copy the ideas and go ahead to file for the patent protection rights.

Also, the first-to-invent patent laws ensured that the inventors got enough time to conduct improvements on a product or process. Developing a new idea may take time since the inventors have to test the functionality of the product or process before acquiring patent protection. The testing process provided time to evaluate the effectiveness of a product or process and identify the areas that required improvement (Lo and Sutthiphisal 4). However, the first-to-file intervention does not allow adequate time for improvement since the inventors have to compete against time to ensure that they get to file for the patent protection first.

Conclusion

To conclude, the first-to-invent patent protection laws greatly focused on enhancing and supporting small inventors to ensure that they get the opportunity to acquire patent protection for their original inventions. As a result, invention and innovation was promoted in the U.S since the law ensured that the original inventors got the time to file for patent protection. Also, the approach ensured that there was adequate time for the inventors to improve the various aspects of their new product or process before rushing to file for patent protection.

Works Cited

Lo, Shih-tse, and Dhanoos Sutthiphisal. Does it matter who has the right to patent: first-to-invent or first-to-file? Lessons from Canada. No. w14926. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009.

Sharp, Andrew L. "Misguided Patent Reform: The Questionable Constitutionality of First-to-File." U. Colo. L. Rev. 84 (2013): 1227.