First to file and first to invent: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:01, 22 November 2020

Revision as of 14:59, 24 January 2021

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{{patent law}}

'''First to file''' (FTF) and '''first to invent''' (FTI) are legal concepts that define who has the right to the grant of a [[patent]] for an [[invention]]. The first-to-file system is used in all countries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Patent Reform Refuses To Die, Congress Keeps Cashing In |author=Zach Carter |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/06/patent-reform-drags-on_n_951128.html |newspaper=The Huffington Post |date=11 June 2011 |accessdateaccess-date=31 July 2013}}</ref>

There is an important difference between the strict nature of the FTF under the [[European Patent Office|European Patent Office (EPO)]] and the FITF (First inventor to file) system of the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office|United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)]]. The USPTO FITF system<ref name=usptopressrel>[http://www.patentdocs.org/2013/02/uspto-issues-first-inventor-to-file-examination-guidelines-and-final-rule.html Zuhn: "USPTO Issues First-Inventor-to-File Examination Guidelines and Final Rule"]</ref> affords early disclosers some "grace" time before they need to file a patent,<ref name=kravets/> whereas the EPO does not recognise any grace period, so early disclosure under the FITF provisions is an absolute bar to later EPO patent.

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The change has not been short of detractors. For example, the [[IEEE]] stated in its submission to the [[House Judiciary Committee]], charged with the study of the Patent Reform Act of 2007, that "We believe that much of the legislation is a disincentive to inventiveness, and stifles new businesses and job growth by threatening the financial rewards available to innovators in U.S. industry. Passage of the current patent reform bill language would only serve to relax the very laws designed to protect American innovators and prevent infringement of their ideas."<ref name=ieee>{{Cite web |url=http://ieeeusa.org/policy/POLICY/2007/082707.pdf |title=Meredith and Grzelak: "Letter to House and Senate Leaders and Judiciary Committee Members Opposing Adoption of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1145/H.R. 1908)". The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. – United States of America, 27 August 2007 |access-date=21 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925094247/http://ieeeusa.org/policy/POLICY/2007/082707.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Proponents argue that the FITF aligns the U.S. with the rest of the world, according to the original U.S. patent system, and brings more certainty, simplicity and economy to the patent process, all of which allow greater patent participation by startups.<ref>{{cite web|last=Koenig|first=John|title=America Invents Act is Better for Small Business|url=http://johnkoenig.com/the-america-invents-act-is-better-for-small-business/|accessdateaccess-date=21 September 2011}}</ref>

== See also ==