Professor Megan La Belle of Catholic University's Columbus School of Law will be part of an academic panel that examines "Patent Invalidity after the America Invents Act," a two-day discussion hosted by the University of San Diego School of Law. The Jan. 16-17 event will feature prominent judges, practitioners from area law firms, and leading patent law professors to discuss the latest information on inter partes review procedures and outcomes, patentable subject matter, functional claiming, indefiniteness, and first-inventor-to-file at the Patent and Trade Office and in the courts. The America Invents Act (AIA) was signed into law by President Obama in 2011. The Act switches the U.S. patent system from a "first to invent" to a "first inventor to file" system, eliminates interference proceedings, and develops post-grant opposition. The law represents the most significant change to the U.S. patent system since 1952.