The Need for Speed (and Grace): Issues in a First-Inventor-to-File World

A provision in pending patent reform legislation will (if passed) move the US from first to invent, or FTI, to first inventor to file (FITF) an application claiming the invention and end its solitary stance. Some argue that the US already has a de facto FITF system, since the first filer usually wins disputes regarding the priority of an invention. If a de facto FITF regime is already in place, and if many inventors are already adapting their practices to comply with such a system, the US may have little to lose and much to gain from making the switch to FITF. But then again, maybe not. This essay considers how a FITF regime change may impact small-entity inventors, particularly those from academic enterprises. The patent system holds both promise and peril for this group of inventors, and their inventive efforts are becoming increasingly important to this country.