Inventors Race to File Patents
Inventors are rushing to file patent applications ahead of a change in the U.S. patent system that is likely to make it more expensive and difficult to win protection for new ideas.
The federal Patent & Trademark Office received 12,670 patent applications in the week ended March 2, its latest available data. The tally was the highest weekly total of the year and the second-highest weekly total of the past five months. Tallies for the weeks ending March 9 and March 16 aren’t available yet, but they are expected to be even higher, according to a PTO spokesman.
