Obama Signs Law Banning New Patents On Tax Strategies; Practitioners Praise Move

President Obama signed legislation into law Sept. 16 that bans the patenting of tax strategies.

The law, the America Invents Act (H.R. 1249) , creates significant changes to the U.S. patent system. The Senate voted to send the bill to the president Sept. 8 (175 DTR G-11, 9/9/11).

The law means that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cannot approve any more tax strategy patents, including those that are pending. Without the law, tax compliance would have been more complicated, and some people would have faced royalty fee charges and patent infringement litigation, according to a statement from ...