This excellent article shows that when Canada changed from a first-to-invent system to a first-to-file system, it was bad for individual inventors, technology start-ups, and Canadian venture capital.  The article then quotes a UK study showing how the European system is not encouraging innovation.  The article notes that the America Invents Act will effectively eliminate the one year grace period for inventors, which is particularly important for startups.  The new post grant review will allow large companies to tie up entrepreneurial companies in expensive litigation for years.  The post grant procedure has been used effectively in Europe to stifle startup competitors by large companies.  Unfortunately, one of the supposed benefits of the Act was to stop fee diversion.  The Patent Office is completely funded by user fees and Congress has taken (stolen) these fees to support other Congressional pet projects.  The result of fee diversion is that it now takes four or more years on average for a patent to issue.  This pendency time results in the patent often issuing long after the commercial opportunity has passed the company by.  If it took 3 to 4 years to obtain title to your car or house after you bought it, you would think you were living in a third world country.  However, this is what happens in the patent world everyday and the America Invents Act does not solve this problem.  The author concludes that Congress should be careful that the America Invents Act not become the equivalent of Sarbanes Oxley.

This article was written by Gary Lauder is Managing Director of Lauder Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist and co-inventor of a dozen patents. More info on this issue can be found on his Web site.