FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. (a) Findings.—Congress finds the following: (1) Patents and other forms of intellectual property are important engines of innovation, invention, and economic growth. (2) Many innovative small businesses, which create over 20 percent of the total number of new jobs created in the United States each year, depend on patent protections to commercialize new technologies. (3) Universities and their industry partners also rely on patent protections to transfer innovative new technologies from the laboratory or classroom to commercial use. (4) Recent studies have shown that there is a significant gap in the number of patents applied for and obtained by women and minorities. (b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that the United States has the responsibility to work with the private sector to close the gap in the number of patents applied for and obtained by women and minorities to harness the maximum innova-tive potential and continue to promote United States leadership in the global economy.