Patenting Tax Strategies

Congress passed a new Patent Act on September 8, 2011 and President Obama is expected to sign it. As part of that Act, patents will not be granted for tax strategies submitted after the effective date of the Act. Prior patents that were granted for tax strategies (such as the SO-GRAT patent) are not affected by the new Act. We believe this is a positive development, and will encourage the continued sharing of tax strategies among professionals.