Signed into law by the president in September 2011, central provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) recently went into effect on March 16, 2013. Most notably, on that date, U.S. patent law underwent a historic change from a first-to-invent to a first inventor to file system, bringing U.S. patent law more in line with other patent systems around the globe. But did Congress have authority under the Constitution to make that change?
