[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 10, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6030-H6032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION PROTECTION ACT OF 2017
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2655) to amend the Small Business Act to expand intellectual
property education and training for small businesses, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2655
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Innovation
Protection Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the SBA;
(2) the term ``Director'' means the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO;
(3) the term ``SBA'' means the Small Business
Administration;
(4) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning
given the term in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632(a));
(5) the term ``small business development center'' means a
center described in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 648); and
(6) the term ``USPTO'' means the United States Patent and
Trademark Office.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the USPTO and the SBA are positioned to--
(A) build upon several successful intellectual property and
training programs aimed at small business concerns; and
(B) increase the availability of and the participation in
those programs across the United States; and
(2) any education and training program administered by the
USPTO and the SBA should be scalable so that the program is
able to reach more small business concerns.
SEC. 4. SBA AND USPTO PARTNERSHIPS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the Director
shall enter into a partnership agreement under which the
Administrator and Director shall--
(1) develop high-quality training, including in-person or
modular training sessions, for small business concerns
relating to--
(A) domestic and international protection of intellectual
property; and
(B) how such protections should be considered in the
business plans and growth strategies of the small business
concerns; and
(2) leverage existing training materials already developed
to educate inventors and small business concerns.
(b) Training.--The training developed under subsection (a)
may be provided by the Administrator, the Director, or small
business development centers established under section 21 of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648)--
[[Page H6031]]
(1) through electronic resources, including Internet-based
webinars; and
(2) at physical locations, including at--
(A) a small business development center; or
(B) the headquarters or a regional office of the USPTO.
SEC. 5. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.
Section 21(c)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
648(c)(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (S), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (T), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(U) training developed by the Administrator and the
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office,
which may be delivered in person or through a website to
small business concerns relating to--
``(i) domestic and international intellectual property
protections; and
``(ii) how such protections should be considered in the
business plans and growth strategies of the small business
concerns.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.
General Leave
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the House Small Business Committee, I
rise this evening in support of another bill, H.R. 2655, the Small
Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017, and I want to commend the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for his leadership on this
bill.
As small entrepreneurs continue to expand their businesses both here
and abroad, they must have the tools they need to protect their
intellectual property. Entrepreneurs and small-business owners have
generated more than 63 percent of new jobs over the last two decades,
and small businesses represent about 96 percent of employer firms in
high-patenting manufacturing industries.
However, the process for obtaining copyright, trademark, and patent
protections both in the United States and abroad can be daunting, even
for the most experienced small-business owners. We need to ensure that
small-business owners have the tools they need to protect their
innovative ideas and products, as intellectual property protections are
essential to promoting entrepreneurship and innovation.
Small-business owners often do not have the knowledge or resources to
protect their ideas and products, especially when they are competing in
the international marketplace. Most simply cannot afford to retain
attorneys to guide them through the difficult process of obtaining
intellectual property protections, which leaves them vulnerable to
their innovative ideas and products being stolen both here in the
United States and internationally.
This bipartisan legislation, introduced by my friend and colleague
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) addresses this issue by forming a
partnership between the SBA, the Small Business Administration, and the
United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, giving
entrepreneurs the full breadth of knowledge of the Small Business
Development Center system and the USPTO. The partnership will provide
training for small-business owners, which can be provided by the USPTO,
the SBA, or a Small Business Development Center either electronically
or at a physical location.
This legislation utilizes existing resources at both agencies to
better assist small-business owners and expand their outreach efforts
to provide small businesses with the resources they need to address
intellectual property issues.
Considering the important role that small entrepreneurs play in our
global marketplace, it is our responsibility to ensure that they have
the resources they need to better protect their intellectual property.
H.R. 2655 addresses this important small business issue and, therefore,
I would urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank Mr. Evans for his leadership on
this, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise to support H.R. 2655, the Small Business Innovation Protection
Act of 2017.
Innovation is an indispensable driver of economic growth and it
ensures America's competitive edge in the global marketplace, but many
small innovators who should have IP rights are disadvantaged by a
complex system which allows their property to be pirated. Much of the
time, all they needed was access to the resources, the expertise, and
the knowledge to obtain, monitor, and enforce their rights.
H.R. 2655 corrects this by creating a partnership between the two
agencies best suited to help these innovators: the Small Business
Administration and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
By leveraging existing IP education and training programs and
utilizing the immense network of Small Business Development Centers,
innovators will have all the necessary resources to better protect
their interests both domestically and internationally.
{time} 1930
I applaud Representative Evans for recognizing the problem and
working to advance the interests of our Nation's small businesses.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans).
Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2655, the Small
Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017.
I want to thank my colleague Congressman Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
for working with me to help American small businesses via this critical
piece of legislation.
H.R. 2655 directs the Small Business Administration and the Under
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to enter into a partnership agreement;
one, to develop high quality training for small business concerns
related to domestic and international protection of intellectual
property and how such protections should be considered in small
business concerns' business plans and growth strategies.
Number two, to leverage existing training material already developed
to educate inventors as well as small business concerns.
In addition, section 4 of this bill provides that the agencies must
use the training material that they already have at their disposal.
I think that Members of the Congress have a special duty to try and
ensure that our small businesses have all the tools in the toolbox they
need to succeed.
We know that small businesses are critical to the economic strength
of our country, especially new and growing tech-based economies.
That is why we should create programs like this to assist
entrepreneurs in starting their own businesses, providing structure,
and helping them with their progress.
In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where there are already 1
million small businesses, which, according to the Pennsylvania SBDC,
employ 2.4 million workers that make up 47 percent of the private
sector labor force, it is critical that these businesses be able to
protect their intellectual properties so that they will feel free to
continue growth and innovation and prosper.
This bill is a step in the right direction by expanding intellectual
property education and training for small businesses. And frankly, Mr.
Speaker, this bill is an example of how we can use the power of
government to create narrowly tailored solutions to problems in the
current public/private partnerships in Pennsylvania and around the
Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the support of my colleagues.
In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, there is a letter from the
Biotechnology Industry Organization written in support of this
particular bill I ask that my colleagues support.
Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, intellectual property protections offer small innovative
firms and entrepreneurs much needed
[[Page H6032]]
protection at home and in other countries.
In fact, small business firms with IP rights earned 32 percent more
in revenue on average per employee when compared to their counterparts
without IP rights.
Without those protections, our economy may not be what it is today.
H.R. 2655 offers necessary education and training to sustain
America's competitive edge and drive continued economic growth.
As such, I once again urge my colleagues to support this measure, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation strengthens the partnership between two
important Federal agencies that help small businesses protect what they
have created: the SBA and the USPTO.
It is important that small firms across the Nation have access to all
the tools that they need to protect their creations from intellectual
property theft.
Therefore, I would urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 2655.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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