By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
President Trump signed the “Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017” (S. 791) into law. Senator Gary Peters’ (D-MI) legislation directs the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to enter into a partnership agreement to develop an intellectual property (IP) protection training program and educational materials. The law also requires the training program to educate small businesses on domestic and international IP protection when developing business plans and growth strategies. Additionally, the bill directs the agencies to use existing materials to develop the training program, which may be provided either online or at physical locations, including at an SBA Small Business Development Center and the USPTO headquarters and regional offices.
For more information, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.