Revolution at the patent office: the impact of GATT on every aspect of patent law and how it affects you

Abstract

In late 1994, the U.S. Congress passed legislation which, upon being signed into law by President Clinton, established the compliance of the United States to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Besides the more controversial issue of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its effects on U.S. Sovereignty and trade policies, GATT has also required brand new laws, rules, and regulations for patents. On June 8, 1995, these new developments in patent law went into effect. Every inventor, every company, every patent attorney and agent, every patent search firm and patent marketing agency was affected by GATT. Whole new policies and approaches to obtaining patent protection for inventions are now required to meet the challenges of the new patent laws. For example, individual inventors can get priority for their inventions for only $75. In addition, patent terms may be extended to expire as much as 20 years from the filing of the application, and foreign inventors and companies are now on an equal footing with U.S. Inventors to obtain U.S. Patents.