Attorneys who specialize in patent law are expecting broad changes to patent prosecution and litigation strategies in the wake of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). One of the more fundamental changes, moving the U.S. to a first-to-file system, is also the most controversial. The change, which will occur in March 2013, will necessitate more extensive global prior-art searches than previously. According to Finnegan partner Michele Bosch, “lawyers will need to understand and comply with two legal systems for prior art.”
