Advisory Commission on Patent Law Reform

In 1990, the Secretary of Commerce established an Advisory Commission on Patent Law Reform to examine 13 sets of issues regarding the patent system, including protection of what PTO terms ‘‘computer-related inventions, ’ as well as procedural matters such as a first to file system, automatic publication of applications, and the term of patent protection. See 56 Fed. Register 22,702-706 (May 16, 1991). The latter questions reflect a concern about the differences between the U.S. patent system and those in foreign countries.