132 STAT. 4158 PUBLIC LAW 115–273—OCT. 31, 2018 

Public Law 115–273 

115th Congress 

An Act 

To direct the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director 

of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, in consultation with the 

Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to study and provide recommendations to promote the participation of women, minorities, and veterans 

in entrepreneurship activities and the patent system, to extend by 8 years the 

Patent and Trademark Office’s authority to set the amounts for the fees it charges, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Study of Underrepresented 

Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018’’ 

or the ‘‘SUCCESS Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

(1) Patents and other forms of intellectual property are 

important engines of innovation, invention, and economic 

growth. 

(2) Many innovative small businesses, which create over 

20 percent of the total number of new jobs created in the 

United States each year, depend on patent protections to 

commercialize new technologies. 

(3) Universities and their industry partners also rely on 

patent protections to transfer innovative new technologies from 

the laboratory or classroom to commercial use. 

(4) Recent studies have shown that there is a significant 

gap in the number of patents applied for and obtained by 

women and minorities. 

(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that 

the United States has the responsibility to work with the private 

sector to close the gap in the number of patents applied for and 

obtained by women and minorities to harness the maximum innovative potential and continue to promote United States leadership 

in the global economy. 

SEC. 3. REPORT. 

(a) STUDY.—The Director, in consultation with the Administrator and any other head of an appropriate agency, shall conduct 

a study that— 

(1) identifies publicly available data on the number of 

patents annually applied for and obtained by, and the benefits 

of increasing the number of patents applied for and obtained 

15 USC 1 note. 

Study of 

Underrepresented 

Classes Chasing 

Engineering and 

Science Success 

Act of 2018. 

Oct. 31, 2018 

[H.R. 6758] 


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PUBLIC LAW 115–273—OCT. 31, 2018 132 STAT. 4159 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 6758: 

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 115–966 (Comm. on the Judiciary). 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018): 

Sept. 25, considered and passed House. 

Oct. 11, considered and passed Senate. 

DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS (2018): 

Oct. 31, Presidential statement. 

Æ 

by women, minorities, and veterans and small businesses owned 

by women, minorities, and veterans; and 

(2) provides legislative recommendations for how to— 

(A) promote the participation of women, minorities, 

and veterans in entrepreneurship activities; and 

(B) increase the number of women, minorities, and 

veterans who apply for and obtain patents. 

(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the Committees 

on the Judiciary and Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Judiciary and Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the results of 

the study conducted under subsection (a). 

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF FEE-SETTING AUTHORITY. 

Section 10(i)(2) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (Public 

Law 112–29; 125 Stat. 319; 35 U.S.C. 41 note) is amended by 

striking ‘‘7-year’’ and inserting ‘‘15-year’’. 

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the 

Administrator of the Small Business Administration. 

(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means a department, 

agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government. 

(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 

the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

Approved October 31, 2018. 


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