The American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA) is a United States federal law enacted on November 29, 1999 as Public Law 106-113. In 2002, the Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical Amendments Act of 2002, Public Law 107-273, amended AIPA.

AIPA contains significant changes to American Patent Law. AIPA added

• An "earlier invention" defense for business method patent
  Business method patent
  Business method patents are a class of patents which disclose and claim new methods of doing business. This includes new types of e-commerce, insurance, banking, tax compliance etc. Business method patents are a relatively new species of patent and there have been several reviews investigating the...
  
  s - 35 U.S.C. §273;
• Publication of US patent applications for foreign published applications - 35 U.S.C. §122;
• Patent term restoration for delays caused by the Patent and Trademark Office
  United States Patent and Trademark Office
  The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
  
   - 35 U.S.C. §154; and
• The Request for Continued Examination
  Continuing patent application
  Under United States patent law, a continuing patent application is a patent application which follows, and claims priority to, an earlier filed patent application....
  
   (RCE) patent prosecution procedure.
• Disclosure requirements for Invention promotion firm
  Invention promotion firm
  An invention promotion firm or invention submission corporation provides services to inventors to help them develop or market their inventions. These firms may offer to evaluate the patentability of inventions, file patent applications and license them to manufacturers, build prototypes, and market...
  
  s

Political considerations

Large corporations generally supported the bill. Independent inventor

Independent inventor

An independent inventor is an inventor who creates inventions by himself. They often earn their income from selling or licensing the patents they get on their inventions.Independent inventors are distinguished from inventors who work for corporations...

s generally opposed the bill.

See also

• Patent Reform Act of 2005
  Patent Reform Act of 2005
  The Patent Reform Act of 2005 was United States patent legislation proposed in the 109th United States Congress. Texas Republican Congressman Lamar S. Smith introduced the Act on 8 June 2005. Smith called the Act "the most comprehensive change to U.S...
  
  
• http://ipjournal.law.wfu.edu/Ergenzinger.phpThe American Inventor’s Protection Act: A Legislative History, Wake Forest Intellectual Property Law Journal
  Wake Forest Intellectual Property Law Journal
  The Wake Forest Intellectual Property Law Journal is a student-run law journal of intellectual property law produced by the Wake Forest University School of Law....
  
  ]