STEP's 20th Anniversary Marked by the Passage of the America Invents Act and Reauthorization of the Nation's SBIR Program
On September 16, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which introduces some of the most significant reforms to the U.S. patent system in decades. The law enacts key recommendations of a 2004 STEP report, A Patent System for the 21st Century, by a panel chaired by Yale President, Rick Levin. These recommendations include enabling third parties to challenge recently issued patents before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office administrative judges and converting to a first-inventor-to-file priority system to reduce disputes over inventorship and bring the U.S. patent system into conformity with other countries' systems. Several other recommendations in the 2004 report were previously addressed in administrative actions and federal court decisions intended to raise patent quality, reduce litigation costs, and improve USPTO efficiency.
In December, Congress reauthorized the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, the nation’s leading early-stage finance program for small high-tech companies focused on bringing to market new products and processes to meet national objectives in health, energy, space, manufacturing, the environment, and national security. The new legislation introduces a wide range of changes recommended in the National Research Council’s ten-volume study of the program, led by former Under Secretary of Defense Jacques Gansler. It extends the program for six years, increases the percentage set-aside for the program over that period, increases the amounts of the awards, and provides funding for program management and evaluation.
Measuring the Impacts of Federal Investments in Research
The enactment of the America COMPETES Act in 2006 (and its reauthorization in 2010), the increase in research expenditures under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and President Obama's general emphasis on the contribution of science and technology to economic growth have all heightened interest in the role of scientific and engineering research in creating jobs, generating innovative technologies, spawning new industries, improving health, and producing other economic and societal benefits. Along with this interest has come a renewed emphasis on a question that has been asked for decades: Can the impacts and practical benefits of research to society be measured either quantitatively or qualitatively?
Measuring the Impacts of Federal Investments in Research examines a variety of complex and interconnected issues, such as the short-term and long-term economic and non-economic impact of federal research funding, factors that determine whether federally funded research discoveries result in economic benefits, and quantification of the impacts of research on national security, the environment, health, education, public welfare, and decision making.
Building the 21st Century: U.S. China Cooperation on Science, Technology, and Innovations
Improving national innovation systems is critical to global economic growth. Building the 21st Century U.S.-China Cooperation on Science, Technology, and Innovation examines selected foreign innovation programs and compares them with major U.S. programs. This analysis includes a review of the goals, concept, structure, operation, funding levels, and evaluation of foreign programs designed to advance the innovation capacity of national economies and enhance their international competitiveness. The analysis focuses on key areas of future growth, such as renewable energy, to generate case-specific recommendations where appropriate.
In May 2011, STEP collaborated with the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy, the OECD, Athena Alliance, The Conference Board, and the Kauffman Foundation to host "New Building Blocks for Jobs and Economic Growth: Intangible Assets as Sources of Increased Productivity and Enterprise Value" featuring Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, as the keynote speaker. Watch the keynote address.
