Prior User Rights Study Report to Congress - America Invents Act

Accordingly, pursuant to the congressional mandate under AIA 2 , the USPTO recommends the following:1. The prior user rights defense provisions set forth in the AIA are generally consistent withthose of major trading partners and need not be altered at this time.2. The prior user right defense under the AIA should be maintained with no change at thepresent time because there is no substantial evidence that it will have a negative impacton innovation, venture funding, small businesses, universities, or independent inventors.3. The USPTO should reevaluate the economic impacts of prior user rights as part of its2015 report to Congress on the implementation of the AIA, when better evidence as tothese impacts might be available.4. United States patent law should provide for a prior user rights defense as an appropriatebalance between trade secret protection and patent law, which legally co-exist to providecompetitive advantages for United States businesses.5. United States patent law should provide for a prior user rights defense to patentinfringement in order to address a systemic inequity inherent in a first-inventor-to-filesystem and to ensure United States businesses are (i) able to protect their investments inthe event of a later issued patent, and (ii) placed on similar footing as competitors in otherjurisdictions.2 Id.4