Senate Passed The America Invents Act. H.R. 1249

Today the Senate passed H.R. 1249 after being passed in the House in June. Bill now goes to the president who is expected to sign.

The bill changes the US patent system from a First-to-invent to a first-to-file system that will move ownership structure of patented inventions towards large corporations, away from independent inventors and small businesses.

This bill has strong support from some of the largest corporations in the world, including:*

3M
American Bankers Association
BP
Exxon Mobil Corporation
General Electric
Intel
Johnson & Johnson
Merck
Microsoft
Motorola
PepsiCo, Inc.
Pfizer
Procter & Gamble Company
(Full list at MapLight.org)

Some businesses and organizations opposing this bill are:*

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
American Civil Liberties Union
Generic Pharmacutical Association
IP Advocate
National Small Business Association
(Full list at MapLight.org)

*Source maplight.org

The list of Senate Members who voted on this bill can be found at http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/112/senate/1/129