[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 9, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1312-S1313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU:
  S. 3089. A bill to require a study and report by the Office of 
Advocacy of the

[[Page S1313]]

Small Business Administration regarding the effects of proposed changes 
in patent law; to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak on an 
issue that is of great importance to small businesses and independent 
inventors everywhere--patent reform.
  I understand that the Senate Judiciary Committee has been hard at 
work analyzing what reforms would improve the U.S. patent system. One 
of these reforms would involve changing the U.S. from a ``first to 
invent'' to a ``first to file'' invention priority system. As Chair of 
the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, I want to 
ensure that Congress' reform will create a patent regime that will not 
unduly burden small businesses and independent inventors, but instead, 
enhance their success as innovators in the U.S. economy.
  Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employers, employing 
\1/2\ of the U.S. labor force. These businesses are at the forefront of 
U.S. innovation and have produced over 80 percent of net new jobs in 
the U.S. economy over the past decade. At a time when our Nation's 
economy is under stress, we need the help of small businesses in 
creating new jobs and economic opportunities.
  Today, we are living in what some call a ``Digital Age'' with an 
ever-increasing focus on how to incorporate advanced technology into 
our day to day activities. When it comes to advanced technology, small 
businesses are also leading the pack in terms of job growth, producing 
approximately 40 percent of all high-tech employment nation-wide.
  One measurable way of tracking the rate of small business innovation 
in the U.S. is by analyzing patent statistics. For example, small 
businesses in the technology sector produce 13 times more patents per 
employee than large businesses. Additionally, small firm patents 
outperform those of larger firms in a number of key areas, and tend to 
be cited more frequently as these patents are more original and more 
general. These metrics are important indicators of patent value, and 
indeed small firm patents are tightly linked to growth in the patenting 
firms.
  As you can see, the role that small businesses play as innovators in 
our economy is critical to our Nation's overall success as an 
international high-tech leader. In order to properly track and 
understand how changes to the U.S. patent system will impact our small 
innovators, I am introducing the Small Business Patent Data Collection 
Act of 2010. This legislation will direct the Small Business 
Administration's Office of Advocacy to conduct a study in consultation 
with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to analyze how changes to the 
current system will impact the ability of small businesses to obtain 
patents, whether the change would create barriers, and how it will 
impact the costs and benefits to small businesses overall.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3089

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. STUDY AND REPORT OF PATENT LAW CHANGES.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section--
       (1) the term ``Chief Counsel'' means the Chief Counsel for 
     Advocacy of the Small Business Administration; and
       (2) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning 
     given that term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 632).
       (b) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Chief Counsel, in consultation with 
     the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark 
     Office, shall conduct a study of the effects of changing from 
     a first-to-invent to a first-to-file invention priority 
     system under patent law under title 35 of the United States 
     Code.
       (2) Areas of study.--The study conducted under paragraph 
     (1) shall include examination of the effects of changing from 
     a first-to-invent to a first-to-file invention priority 
     system, including examining--
       (A) how the change would affect the ability of small 
     business concerns to obtain patents;
       (B) whether the change would create or exacerbate any 
     disadvantage for applicants for patents that are small 
     business concerns relative to applicants for patents that are 
     not small business concerns; and
       (C) the costs and benefits to small business concerns of 
     the change.
       (c) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Chief Counsel shall submit to the 
     Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Small Business and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
     House of Representatives a report regarding the results of 
     the study under subsection (b).
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