Starting last fall and stretching through mid-2013, the U.S. has been overhauling the patent-approval process for the first time since 1952. The biggest change: our first-to-invent system, which favors creators, will become a first-to-file system, which favors . . . whoever files first. Uncle Sam says the reform will speed innovation. Our experts check the numbers.

NUMEROLOGY | The Real Cost Of Patent

Reform

GOOD FOR INNOVATION

Average patent wait time:

34 months

. . . and going down. Startups that qualify for the new fast-track

option get their patents reviewed in as little as 12 months, which makes it easier

to bring their products

to market.

False-marking lawsuits

1000+ since 2010

. . . and going down. A new rule makes

it tough for anyone but the government to sue companies for labeling products with outdated patent numbers (which happened to Frisbee and Wooly

Willy).

U.S. Employment (nonfarm):

131.7 million

. . . and going up. If companies get

patents more quickly, they can also start producing new products, which the White House says will generate jobs.

BAD FOR INNOVATION

Losses from “patent trolling”

$80 billion per year

. .

. and going up. Because the new laws don’t really crack down on patent trolls–those who buy patents solely to retroactively sue companies that have

used them–the number of lawsuits will keep increasing, says Jim Bessen, who researched the phenomenon at Boston University.