115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 791 

AN ACT 

To amend the Small Business Act to expand intellectual 

property education and training for small businesses, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

†S 791 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Inno3 vation Protection Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad7 ministrator of the SBA; 

8 (2) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Under Sec9 retary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 

10 Director of the USPTO; 

11 (3) the term ‘‘SBA’’ means the Small Business 

12 Administration; 

13 (4) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

14 meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Small 

15 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)); 

16 (5) the term ‘‘small business development cen17 ter’’ means a center described in section 21 of the 

18 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648); and 

19 (6) the term ‘‘USPTO’’ means the United 

20 States Patent and Trademark Office. 

21 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

22 Congress finds that— 

23 (1) the USPTO and the SBA are positioned 

24 to— 
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†S 791 ES

1 (A) build upon several successful intellec2 tual property and training programs aimed at 

3 small business concerns; and 

4 (B) increase the availability of and the 

5 participation in the programs described in sub6 paragraph (A) across the United States; and 

7 (2) any education and training program admin8 istered by the USPTO and the SBA should be scal9 able so that the program is able to reach more small 

10 business concerns. 

11 SEC. 4. SBA AND USPTO PARTNERSHIPS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 180 

13 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis14 trator, in consultation with the Director, shall develop 

15 partnership agreements that— 

16 (1) provide for the— 

17 (A) development of high-quality training, 

18 including in-person or modular training ses19 sions, for small business concerns relating to 

20 domestic and international protection of intel21 lectual property; 

22 (B) leveraging of training materials al23 ready developed for the education of inventors 

24 and small business concerns; and 
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1 (C) participation of a nongovernmental or2 ganization; and 

3 (2) provide training— 

4 (A) through electronic resources, including 

5 Internet-based webinars; and 

6 (B) at physical locations, including— 

7 (i) a small business development cen8 ter; and 

9 (ii) the headquarters or a regional of10 fice of the USPTO. 

11 SEC. 5. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. 

12 Section 21(c)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (S), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

15 the end; 

16 (2) in subparagraph (T), by striking the period 

17 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(U) in conjunction with the United States Pat20 ent and Trademark Office, providing training— 

21 ‘‘(i) to small business concerns relating 

22 to— 

23 ‘‘(I) domestic and international intel24 lectual property protections; and 
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1 ‘‘(II) how the protections described in 

2 subclause (I) should be considered in the 

3 business plans and growth strategies of the 

4 small business concerns; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) that may be delivered— 

6 ‘‘(I) in person; or 

7 ‘‘(II) through a website.’’. 

Passed the Senate July 18, 2018. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 791 

AN ACT 

To amend the Small Business Act to expand intelbusinesses, and for other purposes. lectual property education and training for small