For the first time in 60 years Congress has passed sweeping patent reform legislation, the America Invents Act (AIA). Enacted in September 16, 2011 and being phased in through March 16, 2013, the AIA introduces a number of significant reforms impacting all aspects of patent procurement and patent enforcement. The purpose of the AIA is to foster innovation, create jobs, and spur economic growth. While these public policy goals are ambitious, wind energy companies are likely to be drawn to aspects of this legislation that are far more practical and frankly, receiving too little attention.
The AIA sets out a number of new opportunities for patent actions – all designed to be focused in scope with fixed time periods to conclude. Moreover, these focused actions play out in the two most significant areas where patents impact a wind energy company’s valuation: patent portfolio creation and freedom to operate. By bringing additional certainty in these areas, one surprising result of the AIA may turn out to be that wind energy decision makers and investors can better assess their return on investment (ROI) for significant patent expenditures.
Rapid Patent Portfolio Creation
Under the AIA, for the first time in modern U.S. patent practice, a prioritized examination process called “Track 1” is made widely available to companies. Under Track 1, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office promises to complete examination of a newly filed patent application from filing through a final Examiner-level decision within one year.
