WASHINGTON – This week, President Trump signed S. 791, the Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017, into law. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 2655, which passed the House in July and was led by Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The Small Business Innovation Protection Act will expand intellectual property education and training for small businesses by establishing a partnership between the United States Small Business Administration and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The partnership will leverage existing outreach programs at the agencies to educate more small businesses on domestic and international intellectual property protections. This bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by President Trump on Tuesday, October 9, 2018.

Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH) released the following statement:

“With the United States being the largest technology market in the world, intellectual property plays a critical role in protecting creative and innovative products both in the United States and abroad. In fact, America’s intellectual property is worth $6.6 trillion, and intellectual property-intensive industries employ over 45 million Americans. Cyber security protections for small businesses are essential, and I am pleased the President has signed this important legislation. What’s more, I’m proud this new law will utilize existing resources within the federal government to better assist small businesses with intellectual property issues. I thank President Trump for signing this critical piece of legislation into law to protect small businesses and the millions of Americans they employ.”

Additionally, on Thursday, October 11, 2018, H.R. 6758, the Study Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018, or the SUCCESS Act, passed the Senate by unanimous consent. This bipartisan legislation led by Chairman Chabot encourages woman, minority, and veteran entrepreneurship by studying their use of the United States Patent and Trademark Office and investigates ways to increase their access to patents. Further, the bill extends the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s fee setting authority for eight years.