Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be the lead Democratic cosponsor of H.R. 6758, the SUCCESS Act.

This bill takes the important step of extending for 8 more years the Patent and Trademark Office's authority to set its own fees. It is a timely bill, and it is a timely time that we are passing this bill, because the fee-setting authority for the USPTO expired on September 16 of 2018.

This bill will allow the USPTO to have the ability to set the amount it charges for each of the services it provides to patent and trademark applicants.

The ability to set its fees will also help the USPTO with its long- term planning. The fees are set to recover aggregate estimate costs of the patent and trademark operations, including all administrative costs.

This bill would renew the USPTO's fee-setting authority consistent with the framework of the America Invents Act, which was enacted in 2011. Section 29 of the America Invents Act called for the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to ``establish methods for studying the diversity of patent applicants, including those applicants who are minorities, women, or veterans.''

This bill directs the Director of the USPTO, in consultation with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to conduct a study on the number of patents annually applied for and obtained by U.S. women, minorities, and veterans. The study would provide recommendations to promote the participation of women and minorities in entrepreneurship and in the patent system.

This data is necessary so Congress and the public can fully understand the demographic nature of the patent applicant pool. This study will be critical in developing policies to help underrepresented groups engage in entrepreneurial activities that are the backbone of our American economy.

Women, racial minorities, and low-income individuals are significantly underrepresented in the innovation ecosystem. For example, the Institute for Women's Policy Research reported in 2016 less than 20 percent of U.S. patents listed one or more women as inventors, and under 8 percent listed a woman as the primary inventor.

The exclusion of women, minorities, and other underserved communities is beneficial not just for inventors, but for the business sector as well.

For these reasons, I am proud to cosponsor this bill. I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Adams).

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am again asking that my colleagues support this very commonsense bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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