Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017

To amend the Small Business Act to expand intellectual property education and training for small businesses, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017 2. Definitions In this Act— (1) the term Administrator (2) the term Director (3) the term SBA (4) the term small business concern 15 U.S.C. 632(a) (5) the term small business development center 15 U.S.C. 648 (6) the term USPTO 3. Findings Congress finds that— (1) the USPTO and the SBA are positioned to— (A) build upon several successful intellectual property and training programs aimed at small business concerns; and (B) increase the availability of and the participation in those programs across the United States; and (2) any education and training program administered by the USPTO and the SBA should be scalable so that the program is able to reach more small business concerns. 4. SBA and USPTO partnerships (a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the Director shall enter into a partnership agreement under which the Administrator and Director shall— (1) develop high-quality training, including in-person or modular training sessions, for small business concerns relating to— (A) domestic and international protection of intellectual property; and (B) how such protections should be considered in the business plans and growth strategies of the small business concerns; and (2) leverage existing training materials already developed to educate inventors and small business concerns. (b) Training The training developed under subsection (a) may be provided by the Administrator, the Director, or small business development centers established under section 21 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 648 (1) through electronic resources, including Internet-based webinars; and (2) at physical locations, including at— (A) a small business development center; or (B) the headquarters or a regional office of the USPTO. 5. Small Business Development Centers Section 21(c)(3) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3) (1) in subparagraph (S), by striking and (2) in subparagraph (T), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (U) training developed by the Administrator and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which may be delivered in person or through a website to small business concerns relating to— (i) domestic and international intellectual property protections; and (ii) how such protections should be considered in the business plans and growth strategies of the small business concerns. . May 29, 2018 The Committee on the Judiciary

Summary: Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017 This bill directs the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to enter into a partnership agreement to: develop high-quality training for small business concerns related to domestic and international protection of intellectual property and how such protections should be considered in small business concerns' business plans and growth strategies, and leverage existing training materials already developed to educate inventors and small business concerns. Such training may be provided by the SBA, the USPTO, or SBA development centers (SBDCs): (1) through electronic resources, including Internet-based webinars, and (2) at physical locations, including an SBDC or the headquarters or regional office of the USPTO. The bill amends the Small Business Act to require services at an SBDC to include training, developed by the SBA and the USPTO, in person or through a website relating to: (1) domestic and international intellectual property protections, and (2) how such protections should be considered in the business plans and growth strategies of small business concerns.