Hirono, Tillis, Velázquez, Kim Reintroduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Collect Data About Who is Applying for Patents
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Representatives Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Young Kim (R-CA) announced the reintroduction of the Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement (IDEA) Act of 2024, bicameral, bipartisan legislation to permit the collection of data that will provide a better understanding of the disparate rates at which women, veterans, and other groups apply for patents in the United States. The IDEA Act is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee at its September 19th Executive Business Meeting.
“In order for America to remain innovative and competitive on a global scale, we must include inventors from underrepresented groups across the country—such as women, veterans, and communities of color—in our patent system,” said Senator Hirono. “The IDEA Act will help us to better understand who is applying for patents so that we can focus resources and education to help more people participate in this important part of our economy.”
“It is vitally important to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to innovate and to seek to protect their innovations,” said Senator Tillis. “I am proud to reintroduce this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to get a better understanding of the background of individuals who apply for patents with the USPTO.”
“On the House Small Business Committee, I see every day how innovation and invention drive entrepreneurship and create greater opportunity,” said Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez, Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee. “This legislation will drive better policy that ultimately helps more women, people of color and other traditionally disadvantaged groups obtain patents for their inventions, bring new products to markets, creating jobs and enhancing our nation's competitiveness along the way.”
“For America to lead in today’s innovative, dynamic economy, we need all of our best and brightest minds at the table. Unfortunately, Americans of different backgrounds can face barriers to making their ideas a reality,” said Rep. Young Kim. “The IDEA Act aims to help us bridge the opportunity gap and identify barriers to developing patents. I am proud to co-lead this bill with Rep. Velazquez and will keep fighting to ensure all Americans have the opportunity to invent and achieve their dream.”
In addition to Senators Hirono and Tillis and Reps. Velázquez and Kim, the legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
Studies show that women and other underrepresented groups apply for and obtain patents at significantly lower rates than the population as a whole. There is a complete lack of data around the rate at servicemembers and veterans are using our patent system. The IDEA Act works to provide more data about those gaps by directing the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to collect demographic data—including gender, military or veteran status, and race—from patent applicants on a voluntary basis. It further requires the USPTO to both issue reports on the data collected and make the data available to the public, thereby allowing outside researchers to conduct their own analyses and offer insights into the various patent application gaps.
The full text of the bill is available here.
“Passing the IDEA Act will help us get the information we need to expand our innovation talent pool and compete globally. We thank Senators Hirono and Tillis and Representatives Velázquez and Kim for their strong commitment to expanding participation in inventing, and we look forward to working with them to enact this important legislation,” said Invent Together Executive Director Holly Fechner.
“As the U.S. heads into the next century of innovation and competitiveness, the IDEA Act will provide vital demographic data that can help inform policy-making and educational initiatives,” said Barbara Snyder, President, Association of American Universities. “The Act will also enable academic research into inventorship and entrepreneurship.”
“The Society of Women Engineers wholeheartedly endorses the Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement Act,” said Society of Women Engineers Executive Director and CEO Karen Horting. “This vital legislation will not only help bridge the gender gap in innovation, but also empower women engineers to fully contribute to our nation's technological and economic progress. By fostering a more inclusive environment for inventors, we can unlock the untapped potential of diverse minds and drive forward a future of greater innovation and prosperity.”
“AUTM, an association whose 3,000+ Members support research commercialization, would like to thank Senator Hirono and her colleagues for their leadership on introducing the IDEA Act,” said AUTM CEO Stephen Susalka. “This legislation is crucial for addressing the underrepresentation of diverse inventors in the patent system.”
“Better reporting on underrepresentation in entrepreneurship and patenting is a crucial step for understanding how the government, the academy, and industry can all do better to recognize and reward the full spectrum of genius to be found in inventors across every background and to capitalize on the social and economic benefits that unleashing their innovation will provide,” said Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation CEO Erik Iverson and Chief Intellectual Property and Licensing Officer Michael Falk. “The IDEA Act embraces the above recommendation by requiring that the USPTO collect demographic data on a voluntary basis and then requiring that both reports and the data itself be made public. We strongly support this commonsense step toward ensuring that the benefits of patent protection are shared by inventors of all backgrounds.”
“If we want America to lead the world in the development of cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, life-saving medicines and quantum computing, we need to expand American innovation geographically, demographically and economically across all American communities,” said Andrei Iancu, former undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2018-2021), and current board co-chair of the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP). “The IDEA Act will help us gather the data needed to increase access to the intellectual property system so that the United States maximizes its innovation potential.”
“Every American, no matter their background, has a right to protect their intellectual property,” said David Kappos, former undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2009-2013), and current board co-chair of the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP). “The IDEA Act is a much-needed reform that will help policymakers identify and address harmful disparities in the patent system. These disparities deprive inventors of beneficial economic opportunities and prevent groundbreaking products from reaching consumers. The Council for Innovation Promotion thanks Sen. Hirono and her colleagues for their work on this legislation, and we urge Congress to enact it without delay.”
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