[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 25, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. Grassley):
  S. 927. A bill to allow acceleration certificates awarded under the 
Patents for Humanity Program to be transferable; to the Committee on 
the Judiciary.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, tomorrow, April 26, is World Intellectual 
Property Day, an opportunity for people around the world to appreciate 
and learn about the role of intellectual property rights in promoting 
innovation. Our Founders believed that the right to enjoy the benefit 
of one's own inventions was so important to the progress of science 
that they included it in the Constitution. More than 200 years later, 
limited exclusive rights for inventors continue to incentivize the 
research and development and make the United States the global leader 
in innovation.
  In the spirit of this year's theme, ``Innovation--Improving Lives,'' 
I am proud to partner with Senator Grassley to reintroduce the Patents 
for Humanity Program Improvement Act. Patents for Humanity is a perfect 
example of how intellectual property rights encourage inventors to 
develop creative solutions to some of the world's most pressing 
humanitarian challenges.
  Since 2012, the Patents for Humanity Program of the U.S. Patent and 
Trademark Office, PTO, has honored patent holders whose inventions 
apply cutting-edge technology to meet global challenges in medicine, 
nutrition, sanitation, energy, and living standards. The winning 
inventors receive a certificate to accelerate future PTO processes, 
such as a reexamination or additional patent applications. The Patents 
for Humanity Program provides an important incentive for talented 
innovators to use their expertise and intellect to enhance the public 
good.
  The winners of the Patents for Humanity Program have addressed some 
of the toughest challenges in the developing world. One lab developed a 
vaccine cooler that has been used in the fight against the Ebola virus. 
A nonprofit organization created a strand of rice enriched with vitamin 
A to prevent a nutritional deficiency that is the leading killer of 
children globally. A social enterprise made a low-cost solar light that 
can replace dangerous kerosene lamps in areas without electricity. 
These life saving inventions are exactly the kind of innovations that 
our intellectual property system should incentivize.
  In 2012, the Director of the PTO testified before the Judiciary 
Committee that Patents for Humanity would attract even more innovators 
if the winners could transfer their acceleration certificates to a 
third party. Frequently, successful small businesses and individual 
inventors are unable to continue their projects or are prevented from 
taking advantage of the accelerated process because of acquisitions and 
reorganizations. Transferability of the award certificates would 
increase the incentive for these small businesses and individuals to 
develop innovative technologies that would benefit the public and 
international development.
  This bipartisan legislation would allow Patents for Humanity winners 
to transfer their acceleration certificates. This straightforward, 
common sense reform to the Patents for Humanity Program passed the 
Senate by unanimous consent last Congress. I am hopeful that it will 
again this Congress and that we can finally enact into law this simple 
improvement to a successful program. We should take every opportunity 
we can to encourage and support enterprising Americans with bright 
ideas that will benefit both our country and the world.
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