America Invents Act's Prior User Defense: Lessons from Global Patent Regimes and Legislative History

The America Invents Act (“AIA”) introduced a prior user defense into the U.S. patent system. Although this defense exists in most world patent systems, the AIA version—replete with ambiguities and exceptions—raises several interpretive problems. This Article provides a detailed analysis of this novel AIA provision in the context of legislative history and global experience, and argues for the clarification and expansive interpretation of several ambiguous terms designed to prevent the statute’s negative impact on individual inventors.