ALEXANDRIA, VA — President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a major overhaul of the nation’s patent system to ease the way for inventors to bring their products to market. “We can’t afford to drag our feet any longer,” he said.

Passed in a rare display of congressional bipartisanship, the America Invents Act is the first significant change in patent law since 1952. It has been hailed as a milestone that will spur innovation and create jobs.

The bill is meant to ensure that the patent office, now facing a backlog of 1.2 million pending patents, has the money to expedite the application process. It now takes an average of three years to get a patent approved. More than 700,000 applications have yet to be reviewed.

Pictured: Pres. Barack Obama signs the American Invents Act, Friday, Sept. 16, 2011, at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va.