Strength in Numbers to Strengthen the System

Watching the Senate floor debate on Senator Patrick Leahy's patent reform bill, we were quite pleased to see the vast, vast majority of senators - 87 of them, in fact - vote to maintain the America Invents Act's first-to-file provision.

Transitioning America to a first-to-file system won't just modernize us by bringing us closer in line to the European patent system. It will also potentially help patent holders to avoid litigation, making patent protection more dependable.

Now, we turn our attention back to the floor. We hope that the overwhelming support shown to Senator Leahy in the first-to-file debate will help to carry this important bill through the full Senate and, eventually, through the House.