First-to-File as a Rule of Evidence
- Author(s):
- Tun-Jen Chiang
- Posted:
- 12-2012
- Law & Economics #:
- 12-83
- Availability:
- Full text (most recent) on SSRN
ABSTRACT:
Some have argued that the new first-to-file patent system is unconstitutional because the Constitution contains a principle that patents should be granted only to first inventors. In this Essay, I argue that, even accepting such a constitutional principle, a first-to-file system is permissible because it relies on a reasonable evidentiary proxy for determining the first inventor.