Foley Partner Sharon Barner was quoted in an article that appeared in Intellectual Property Watch on September 9, 2011 titled “Patent Reform Passes US Senate, Makes History; Obama to Sign: IP-Watch Analysis Shows Who Wins.” Barner discusses the United States Senate’s passage of the America Invents Act. She states that the Act’s lack of strong anti-fee-diversion language may allow fees to be diverted for non-USPTO uses, observing that the USPTO may have difficulties in dealing with a backlog of patents without full access to funds created by the fees. However, Barner notes that changes made in the Act should have the potential to reduce the amount of patent litigation and will enhance the ability for businesses and individuals to resolve claims at the patent office more efficiently than in the courts.
