The Committee on Small Business will meet for a hearing titled, “Intellectual Property 101: How Small Business Owners Can Utilize Intellectual Property Protections in Their Businesses.” The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 in Room 2360 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Intellectual property plays a vital role in protecting creative and innovative products and ideas. There are four main types of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Each type of intellectual property has different attributes and criteria that must be met in order to be protected. Unfortunately, many small business owners are not aware that they should protect their innovative products and ideas through intellectual property protections. Those small business owners that are aware of intellectual property rights do not always know how to navigate the intellectual property process, and it can be very expensive. This hearing will examine how small business owners have used intellectual property protections to help their businesses and identify issues they have faced when navigating the intellectual property processes.

Attachments
1. Hearing Notice
2. Witness List
3. Hearing Memo 
4. Opening Statement 

Witnesses
Ms. Michal Rosenn
General Counsel
Expa
New York, NY
Disclosure
Testimony

Mr. David Graham
CEO
Code Ninjas LLC
Pearland, TX
* Testifying on behalf of the International Franchise Association
Disclosure
Testimony

Mr. Rick Carnes
President
Songwriters Guild of America, Inc.
Brentwood, TN
Disclosure
Testimony

Ms. Joan Fallon, DC
Founder and CEO
Curemark
Rye, NY
Disclosure
Testimony