The America Invents Act, signed into law in September, will transition the patent application process from the first-to-invent system, to the new first-to-file system.
In part to bring the United States into closer alignment with the rest of the world, the AIA eliminates the first-to-invent system for U.S. patent applications with an effective filing date of March 16, 2013 or later.
Among the proposed changes in both bills is a measure to convert the U.S. to a "first-to-file" system for granting patents (which most other countries use) rather than the "first-to-invent" system currently in place.