US Congress passes patent reform bill

The US Congress has voted on the patent reform bill that has been in development with the support of major corporations, and has been passed.

The bill, which makes some major overhauls to the patent system in the US, was voted in at 304 to 117.

The bill means that those who first submit an application gets the patent, instead of the first to invent. It also ensures that the Patent and Trademark Office keeps more of the revenue from inventor’s fees with which to fund itself.

As we said yesterday, the bill has had the support of companies like Apple, Google and IBM. IBM has the biggest portfolio of patents in the United States.

Some amendments to the bill had been a cause for debate, delaying the passing of the America Invents Act (yes, it is really called that) until today.