Why the 2011 America Invents Act is Bad for Entrepreneurs, Bad for Startups, and Bad for America-and How to Fix It

David Boundy, Vice President for Intellectual Property and Assistant General Counsel, Cantor Fitzgerald LP

Now that the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) is law and is beginning to phase into effect, the patent community has begun to focus and understand what has happened. More and more attorneys are coming to recognize that the AIA will put entrepreneurs and startup companies in deep trouble. The reason? Despite recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau that shows that startups are responsible for all net job creation in the U.S. over the last 35 years, the AIA takes away much of the legal framework that allows American innovators—especially startups—to innovate, conduct research and development, and attract investors. Adding insult to injury, the AIA favors Fortune 150 companies by making it easier for them to accelerate the trend of their export of technical jobs. Let’s look at some of the problems, and then I’ll offer some proposals to fix the AIA.