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I'm pretty sure the USPTO and Patent Attorneys win, given that it'll encourage more people to file patents, and sooner rather than later.

Not sure of the impact on innovation, but my gut instinct isn't good.

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First to file actually reduces amount and cost of litigation. It removes the need to prove that you invented something 'first', which invariably involves a lot of wrangling over when an invention was 'invented' and at what point something could even be considered 'invented'. Those questions were deemed to be distracting and not particularly helpful to the patent process. First-to-file may actually be more helpful in prior art searches because it reduces incentives to 'sit' on an invention and wait out the market, and increases certainty.

The number of applications consisting of just ideas, that haven't been implemented, tested, or tried, is going to sky rocket. And who can afford to file so many patents? The "big" established guys. Things just got worse.

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