Washington, DC (November 14, 2024) – Invent Together applauds the Senate Judiciary Committee for advancing the bipartisan Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement (IDEA) Act (S.4713/H.R.9455) at today. The bill, led in the Senate by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and in the House by Representatives Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Young Kim (R-CA), answers a call from the USPTO to allow it to collect additional data on who is inventing and patenting.
“We’re grateful to Senators Mazie Hirono and Thom Tillis for their leadership on the IDEA Act and to the Senate Judiciary Committee for advancing this important bill,” said Invent Together Executive Director Holly Fechner. “The IDEA Act will help us obtain the information we need to expand our innovation talent pool and compete globally.”
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 toward the enactment of the IDEA Act.
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ABOUT INVENT TOGETHER
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, [email protected]