American Inventors Protection Act

The American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA) is a United States federal law enacted on November 29, 1999, as Public Law 106-113. In 2002, the Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical Amendments Act of 2002, Public Law 107-273, amended AIPA.

Long titleAn Act to provide for patent reform, and for other purposes.

Enactedbythe 106th United States Congress

Public lawPub. L. 106-113

Statutes at Large113 Stat. 1501

Quick facts Long title, Enacted by ...

American Inventors Protection Act of 1999

Long title	An Act to provide for patent reform, and for other purposes.
Enacted by	the 106th United States Congress
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 106-113
Statutes at Large	113 Stat. 1501
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 3194 by Frank Wolf on November 2, 1999 Signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 29, 1999

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AIPA contains significant changes to American Patent Law. AIPA added ^[1]

• An "earlier invention" defense for business method patents – 35 U.S.C. §273;
• Publication of US patent applications for foreign published applications – 35 U.S.C. §122;
• Patent term restoration for delays caused by the Patent and Trademark Office – 35 U.S.C. §154;
• The Request for Continued Examination (RCE) patent prosecution procedure; and
• Disclosure requirements for invention promotion firms.^[2][3]