Title: Women Inventor Development and Equality Act
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Women Inventor Development and Equality Act
This bill directs the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to collect and publish demographic information (including gender, race, and ethnicity) that is voluntarily submitted by inventors who apply for patents.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3517 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3517

  To amend chapter 11 of title 35, United States Code, to require the 
      voluntary collection of demographic information for patent 
                 applications, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2017

Ms. Velazquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend chapter 11 of title 35, United States Code, to require the 
      voluntary collection of demographic information for patent 
                 applications, 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 ``Women Inventor Development and 
Equality Act''.

SEC. 2. COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR PATENT APPLICATIONS.

    (a) Amendment.--Chapter 11 of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 124. Collection of demographic information for patent 
              applications
    ``(a) Voluntary Collection.--The Director shall provide for the 
collection of demographic information (including gender, race, and 
ethnicity) related to an inventor with an application for patent, that 
may be submitted voluntarily by that inventor.
    ``(b) Access to Information.--Any information submitted under 
subsection (a) shall be kept confidential and separate from the 
application for patent. The Director shall establish appropriate 
procedures to ensure the confidentiality of any information submitted 
under subsection (a) and to ensure that demographic information is not 
included when the application for patent is reviewed.
    ``(c) Publication of Demographic Information.--
            ``(1) Report required.--Not later than January 31 of each 
        year, the Director shall publish a report that includes the 
        following:
                    ``(A) The total number of patent applications filed 
                during the previous year disaggregated by demographic 
                information and by class number and title.
                    ``(B) The total number of patents issued during the 
                previous year disaggregated by demographic information 
                and by class number and title.
            ``(2) Privacy.--Any personally identifying information may 
        not be included in the report described in paragraph (1). If 
        any information that is required to be included in the report 
        would be personally identifying information, such information 
        shall be excluded from the report.
            ``(3) Format.--The report described in paragraph (1) shall 
        be made available in a format that allows the demographic 
        information to be cross-tabulated to review subgroups.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 11 of title 35, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new item:

        ``124. Collection of demographic information for patent 
                            applications.''.
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