Title: Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2021
This bill modifies the responsibilities of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) satellite offices, increases the discount on patent-related fees for small and micro entities, and addresses related issues.
Specifically, the bill modifies the statutory purpose of PTO satellite offices to include outreach and retention activities targeting underrepresented groups and individuals from economically, geographically, and demographically diverse backgrounds.
For each satellite office established after January 1, 2021, the PTO must consider the office's proximity to anchor institutions (e.g., hospitals primarily serving veterans and institutions of higher education) and populations that are underrepresented in patent filings, including rural populations.
The PTO must establish (1) a satellite office in the southeastern United States within three years of this bill's enactment, (2) at least two community outreach offices in each region of the United States within five years of this bill's enactment, and (3) a pilot program to help prospective first-time patent applicants assess the viability of a potential patent application.
The PTO must also (1) conduct and report to Congress a study on patent pro bono programs, including whether such programs are sufficiently serving underrepresented groups; and (2) use the study's findings to update such pro bono programs.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2773 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2773

   To amend the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to address satellite 
offices of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2021

 Mr. Leahy (for himself and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to address satellite 
offices of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 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 ``Unleashing American Innovators Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Under 
        Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
        the Office.
            (2) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the United States 
        Patent and Trademark Office.
            (3) Patent pro bono programs.--The term ``patent pro bono 
        programs'' means the programs established pursuant to section 
        32 of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 2 note).
            (4) Southeast region of the united states.--The term 
        ``southeast region of the United States'' means the area of the 
        United States that is comprised of the States of Virginia, 
        North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, 
        Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

SEC. 3. SATELLITE OFFICES.

    (a) Amendments to Purpose and Required Considerations.--Section 23 
of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``increase outreach 
                        activities to''; and
                            (ii) by inserting after ``Office'' the 
                        following: ``, including by increasing outreach 
                        activities, including to individual innovators, 
                        small businesses, veterans, and any other 
                        demographic group or category of innovators 
                        that the Director may determine, after notice 
                        in the Federal Register, to be underrepresented 
                        in patent filings''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) enhance patent examiner and administrative patent 
        judge retention, including patent examiners and administrative 
        patent judges from economically, geographically, and 
        demographically diverse backgrounds;''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) with respect to each office established after 
                January 1, 2021, shall consider the proximity of the 
                office to anchor institutions (such as hospitals 
                primarily serving veterans and institutions of higher 
                education) and populations that the Director may 
                determine to be underrepresented in patent filings, 
                including rural populations.''.
    (b) Southeast Regional Office.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a satellite 
        office of the Office in the southeast region of the United 
        States.
            (2) Considerations.--When establishing the office required 
        under paragraph (1), the Director shall consider the following:
                    (A) The number of patent-intensive industries 
                located near the selection site.
                    (B) How many research-intensive institutions, 
                including institutions of higher education, are located 
                near the selection site.
                    (C) The State and local government legal and 
                business frameworks that support intellectual property-
                intensive industries located near the selection site.
    (c) Study on Additional Satellite Offices.--Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall complete a 
study to determine whether additional satellite offices of the Office 
are necessary to--
            (1) achieve the purposes described in section 23(b) of the 
        Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 note), as amended 
        by this section; and
            (2) increase participation in the patent system by women, 
        people of color, veterans, individual inventors, or members of 
        any other demographic, geographic, or economic group that the 
        Director may determine to be underrepresented in patent 
        filings.

SEC. 4. COMMUNITY OUTREACH OFFICES.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), not 
        later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        Director shall establish not fewer than 2 community outreach 
        offices in each region of the United States that, as of that 
        date of enactment, is served by--
                    (A) a satellite office of the Office; or
                    (B) the principal office of the Office.
            (2) Restriction.--No community outreach office established 
        under paragraph (1) may be located in the same State as--
                    (A) the principal office of the Office; or
                    (B) any satellite office of the Office.
            (3) Requirement for northern new england region.--
                    (A) In general.--The Director shall establish not 
                less than 1 community outreach office under this 
                subsection in the northern New England region, which 
                shall serve the States of Vermont, New Hampshire, and 
                Maine.
                    (B) Considerations.--In determining the location 
                for the office required to be established under 
                subparagraph (A), the Director shall give preference to 
                a location in which--
                            (i) as of the date of enactment of this 
                        Act--
                                    (I) there is located not less than 
                                1 public institution of higher 
                                education and not less than 1 private 
                                institution of higher education; and
                                    (II) there are located not more 
                                than 15 registered patent attorneys, 
                                according to data from the Office of 
                                Enrollment and Discipline of the 
                                Office; and
                            (ii) according to data from the 2012 Survey 
                        of Business Owners conducted by the Bureau of 
                        the Census, less than 45 percent of the firms 
                        are owned by women, minorities, or veterans.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the community outreach offices 
established under subsection (a) are to--
            (1) further achieve the purposes described in section 
        23(b)(1) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 1 
        note), as amended by this Act;
            (2) partner with local community organizations, 
        institutions of higher education, research institutions, and 
        businesses to create community-based programs that--
                    (A) provide education regarding the patent system; 
                and
                    (B) promote the career benefits of innovation and 
                entrepreneurship; and
            (3) educate prospective inventors, including veterans, 
        individual inventors, and individuals from demographic, 
        geographic, or economic groups that the Director may determine 
        to be underrepresented in patent filings, about all public and 
        private resources available to potential patent applicants, 
        including the patent pro bono programs.
    (c) Subordinate to Satellite Offices.--The community outreach 
offices established under this section shall be subordinate, and report 
directly, to the principal office of the Office or the satellite office 
of the Office that corresponds to the region in which that community 
outreach office is located, as applicable.

SEC. 5. UPDATES TO THE PATENT PRO BONO PROGRAM.

    (a) Study and Updates.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director shall--
                    (A) complete a study of the patent pro bono 
                programs; and
                    (B) submit the results of the study required under 
                subparagraph (A) to the Committee on the Judiciary of 
                the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                House of Representatives.
            (2) Scope of the study.--The study required under paragraph 
        (1)(A) shall--
                    (A) assess--
                            (i) whether the patent pro bono programs, 
                        as in effect on the date on which the study is 
                        commenced, are sufficiently serving veterans, 
                        individual inventors, and members of 
                        demographic, geographic, and economic groups 
                        that the Director may determine to be 
                        underrepresented in patent filings;
                            (ii) whether the patent pro bono programs 
                        are sufficiently funded to serve prospective 
                        participants;
                            (iii) whether the participation 
                        requirements of the patent pro bono programs, 
                        including the requirement to demonstrate 
                        knowledge of the patent system, serve as a 
                        deterrent for prospective participants;
                            (iv) the degree to which prospective 
                        inventors are aware of the patent pro bono 
                        programs;
                            (v) the degree to which the length of 
                        prosecution time for pro bono applicants serves 
                        as a deterrent for attorneys to participate in 
                        the patent pro bono programs; and
                            (vi) any other issue the Director 
                        determines appropriate; and
                    (B) make recommendations for such administrative 
                and legislative action as may be appropriate.
    (b) Use of Results.--Upon completion of the study required under 
subsection (a), the Director shall work with the Patent Pro Bono 
Advisory Council, existing regional programs, and intellectual property 
law associations across the United States to update the patent pro bono 
programs in response to the findings of the study.
    (c) Expansion of Income Eligibility.--The Director shall work with 
and support existing (as of the date of enactment of this Act) regional 
programs and intellectual property law associations across the United 
States to expand eligibility for the patent pro bono programs to an 
individual living in a household, the gross household income of which 
is not more than 400 percent of the Federal poverty line.

SEC. 6. PRE-PROSECUTION PATENTABILITY ASSESSMENT PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Pilot Program.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a pilot program to 
assist first-time prospective patent applicants in assessing the 
viability of a potential patent application submitted by such a 
prospective applicant.
    (b) Considerations.--In developing the pilot program required under 
subsection (a), the Director shall establish--
            (1) a notification process to notify a prospective patent 
        applicant seeking an assessment described in that subsection 
        that any assessment so provided may not be considered an 
        official ruling of patentability from the Office;
            (2) conditions to determine eligibility for the pilot 
        program, taking into consideration available resources;
            (3) reasonable limitations on the amount of time to be 
        spent providing assistance to each individual first-time 
        prospective patent applicant; and
            (4) procedures for referring prospective patent applicants 
        to legal counsel, including through the patent pro bono 
        programs.

SEC. 7. FEE REDUCTION FOR SMALL AND MICRO ENTITIES.

    (a) Title 35.--Section 41(h) of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``50 percent'' and 
        inserting ``75 percent or more, at the discretion of the 
        Director,''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``75 percent'' and 
        inserting ``90 percent or more, at the discretion of the 
        Director,''.
    (b) Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.--Section 10(b) of the Leahy 
Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 41 note) is amended by striking 
``75 percent'' and inserting ``90 percent or more, at the discretion of 
the Director,''.
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