Washington, DC (September 12, 2024) – Invent Together commends Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Representatives Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Young Kim (R-CA) for reintroducing the bipartisan, bicameral Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement (IDEA) Act (S.4713/H.R.9455). The bill would allow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to create a mechanism for inventors to share their demographic data directly and voluntarily with the USPTO.
“Passing the IDEA Act will help us obtain the information we need to expand our innovation talent pool and compete globally,” said Invent Together Executive Director Holly Fechner. “While China and other global competitors work to increase their innovation capacity, we are leaving talent on the table. A 2023 World Intellectual Property Organization and Invent Together study found that the United States has fallen behind other countries in our rate of women inventors, and that China is growing its capacity of women inventors at a substantially higher rate than the United States. Having information about who is inventing and patenting will help us address the gaps.”
The IDEA Act answers a call from the USPTO to allow it to collect more data on who is inventing and patenting. The legislation previously passed both the House and the Senate as part of other bills—the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and the America COMPETES Act. In the Senate, the bill received a strong bipartisan floor vote of 71-27 as an amendment to USICA.
Invent Together looks forward to working with Congress to enact the bill into law.
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Invent Together is an alliance of universities, nonprofits, companies, and other stakeholders dedicated to broadening participation in inventing and patenting. www.inventtogether.org.
Contact: Katie Castillo, Katie.Castillo@bcw-global.com
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