Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017”.
Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017
AN ACT
To amend the Small Business Act to expand intellectual property education and training for small businesses, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act—
the term Administrator means the Administrator of the SBA;
the term Director means the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO;
the term SBA means the Small Business Administration;
the term small business concern has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a));
the term small business development center means a center described in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648); and
the term USPTO means the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Sec. 3 Findings
Congress finds that—
the USPTO and the SBA are positioned to—
build upon several successful intellectual property and training programs aimed at small business concerns; and
increase the availability of and the participation in those programs across the United States; and
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.
Sec. 4 SBA and USPTO partnerships
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—
develop high-quality training, including in-person or modular training sessions, for small business concerns relating to—
domestic and international protection of intellectual property; and
how such protections should be considered in the business plans and growth strategies of the small business concerns; and
leverage existing training materials already developed to educate inventors and small business concerns.
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)—
through electronic resources, including Internet-based webinars; and
at physical locations, including at—
a small business development center; or
the headquarters or a regional office of the USPTO.
Sec. 5 Small Business Development Centers
Section 21(c)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)) is amended—
in subparagraph (S), by striking “and” at the end;
in subparagraph (T), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
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.”