Title 15Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73

§648c SBA and USPTO partnerships

Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 14A— - AID TO SMALL BUSINESS › § 648c

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

No later than 180 days after October 9, 2018, the Administrator, working with the Director, must create partnership agreements to teach small businesses how to protect their inventions and other intellectual property in the U.S. and abroad. The agreements must set up good training (in-person or in smaller modules), use training materials already made, include a nongovernmental organization, and deliver training online (like webinars) and in person at small business development centers and at USPTO headquarters or regional offices.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §648c

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Beginning not later than 180 days after October 9, 2018, the Administrator, in consultation with the Director, shall develop partnership agreements that—
(1)provide for the—
(A)development of high-quality training, including in-person or modular training sessions, for small business concerns relating to domestic and international protection of intellectual property;
(B)leveraging of training materials already developed for the education of inventors and small business concerns; and
(C)participation of a nongovernmental organization; and
(2)provide training—
(A)through electronic resources, including Internet-based webinars; and
(B)at physical locations, including—
(i)a small business development center; and
(ii)the headquarters or a regional office of the USPTO.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the Small Business Innovation Protection Act of 2017, and not as part of the Small Business Act which comprises this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Findings Pub. L. 115–259, § 3, Oct. 9, 2018, 132 Stat. 3664, provided that: “Congress finds that— “(1) the USPTO and the SBA are positioned to—“(A) build upon several successful intellectual property and training programs aimed at small business concerns; and “(B) increase the availability of and the participation in the programs described in subparagraph (A) across the United States; and “(2) any education and training program administered by the USPTO and the SBA should be scalable so that the program is able to reach more small business concerns.” Definitions Pub. L. 115–259, § 2, Oct. 9, 2018, 132 Stat. 3664, provided that: “In this Act [see

Short Title

of 2018 Amendment note set out under section 631 of this title]— “(1) the term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator of the SBA; “(2) the term ‘Director’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO; “(3) the term ‘SBA’ means the Small Business Administration; “(4) the term ‘small business concern’ has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)); “(5) the term ‘small business development center’ means a center described in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648); and “(6) the term ‘USPTO’ means the United States Patent and Trademark Office.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 648c

Title 15Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73