S. 2773 · 117th Congress

Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022

Introduced on Sep 21, 2021 by Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT). 2 cosponsors, 1 of them from another party. Latest action (Dec 7, 2022): Held at the desk.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Sep 21, 2021
Cosponsors
2
1 from the other party
Policy area
Commerce
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

A bill to amend the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to address satellite offices of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Community life and organization
  • Congressional oversight
  • Economic development
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Intellectual property
  • Minority and disadvantaged businesses
  • Small business
  • User charges and fees
  • Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed Senate, Dec 6, 2022). Public domain.

Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022

This bill modifies the responsibilities of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) satellite offices and addresses related issues.

The bill increases the discount on patent-related fees for small and micro entities. An entity that falsely claims such a discount shall be subject to a fine, in addition to any other existing penalties.

The bill also modifies the statutory purpose of PTO satellite offices to include (1) outreach activities targeting certain groups, such as low-income populations, veterans, and geographic groups that are underrepresented in patent filings; and (2) targeting patent examiners and administrative patent judges from economically, geographically, and demographically diverse backgrounds in the PTO's retention activities.

For each satellite office established after January 1, 2023, the PTO must consider the office's proximity to anchor institutions (e.g., hospitals primarily serving veterans and institutions of higher education) and certain groups, such as low-income populations, veterans, and geographic groups that are underrepresented in patent filings.

The PTO must establish (1) a satellite office in the southeastern United States within three years of this bill's enactment, (2) at least four community outreach offices throughout the United States within five years of this bill's enactment, and (3) a pilot program to help prospective first-time patent applicants assess the strengths and weaknesses of a potential patent application.

The PTO must also (1) conduct and report to Congress a study on patent pro bono programs, including whether such programs are sufficiently serving prospective and existing participants; and (2) use the study's findings to update such pro bono programs.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Patrick J. LeahyD-VTSponsor

Democrats · 1

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Sep 21, 2021Introduced in Senate
  2. Sep 21, 2021 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6589)
  3. Dec 1, 2022 · SenateCommittee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
  4. Dec 1, 2022Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Durbin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  5. Dec 1, 2022 · SenateCommittee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Durbin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  6. Dec 1, 2022 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 571.
  7. Dec 6, 2022Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  8. Dec 6, 2022 · SenatePassed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7006-7007)
  9. Dec 7, 2022 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  10. Dec 7, 2022 · HouseReceived in the House.
  11. Dec 7, 2022 · HouseHeld at the desk.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. High Tech Inventors Alliance5 reports
    $570K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2023, 2024.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.