Washington – U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Ranking Member and Chair of the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee, and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have introduced two bipartisan bills that promote transparency and diversity in the U.S. patent system. One bill would require recording at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office who owns a patent within 90 days of transfer. The other bill would enable the USPTO to pursue numerous initiatives aimed at increasing the diversity of inventors, including bringing the USPTO closer to inventors by creating a Southeast Regional Office and smaller community offices throughout the country.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Patent Counsel Joshua Landau:
“These important bills will enable under-represented Americans to participate more fully in inventive activity by providing them with increased access and resources to help them invent. The bills will also increase the ability of innovators to identify the ownership of patents that they can license, as well as providing better information about patent portfolios owned by non-practicing entities who might litigate against innovators.
CCIA applauds these bi-partisan bills and hopes to see them swiftly enacted into law.”
The full announcement about the bills from Sens. Leahy and Tillis is available here.