by  Darren Crew

The America Invents Act (AIA) was signed into law on September 16, 2011. The AIA modifies many different subject areas of U.S. patent practice, including at least: (i) inventor’s oath or declaration (effective September 16, 2012); (ii) falsely marking products as „patented“ (effective September 16, 2011); (iii) post grant review (effective September 16, 2012); (iv) inter partes review (effective September 16, 2012); and (v) micro entity fees (available in the future).

1. Inventor’s Oath/Declaration (Effective September 16, 2012)

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed changes to the existing rules of practice, in order to implement the inventor’s oath or declaration provisions of the AIA.

Each inventor will still be required to execute an oath or declaration. However, under the proposed rule changes, that requirement can be satisfied by filing an assignment that includes all necessary statements. Thus, a separate oath or declaration will not be required.—click here to read more—