SUCCESS 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 and minorities 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 purposess. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 SUCCESS Act 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. 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 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). 4. Extension of fee-setting authority Section 10(i)(2) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ( Public Law 112–29 35 U.S.C. 41 7-year 15-year 5. Definitions In this Act: (1) Administrator The term Administrator (2) Agency The term agency (3) Director The term Director Amend the title so as to read: A bill 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. September 25, 2018 Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 or the SUCCESS Act (Sec. 3) This bill directs the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to study and report to Congress on the number of patents applied for and obtained: (1) by women, minorities, and veterans; and (2) by small businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans. The USPTO must provide legislative recommendations to increase the number of women, minorities, and veterans who participate in entrepreneurship activities and apply for patents. (Sec. 4) Additionally, the bill amends the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to extend for eight years the authority of the USPTO to set and adjust patent fees.