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If prior art doesn't matter, what stops anyone from patenting someone else's publicly known invention and then suing them?

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Wait, what?

Who is suggesting that prior art wouldn't/shouldn't matter?

"First to file" patents would still be invalidated by any published (or publicly available) prior art. It just means that you couldn't invalidate by demonstrating that you were privately working on the same idea.

What counts as private/public? If I show someone a project I'm working on but I've never shown anyone else, can this person go patent it?

This sub thread might make you rest a little easier, hopefully it is accurate with regards to the bill as it currently stands:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2288824

edit: changed link to relevant comment

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