Small Biotech Companies to Benefit from Changes to US Patent System

Biotechnology companies - particularly smaller outfits - should benefit from the new patent system being brought in under the America Invents Act.

Forthcoming changes to the US patent system should benefit small biotechnology companies in particular, it has been claimed.

At present, the US operates a 'first to invent' system. But the nation is about to follow the majority of other countries around the world by moving to a 'first to file' system thanks to the America Invents Act (AIA).

This means that the first company to file for a patent will be granted priority, even if it was not the first to invent the product.

According to Jim Greenwood, president and chief executive officer of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation, the legislative change will benefit biotech companies "by enhancing patent quality and the efficiency, objectivity, p