Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) released its inaugural Congressional Innovation Scorecard. The Scorecard assesses the record of every member of Congress on pivotal issues related to U.S. innovation and assigns a grade to each based on the extent to which they are working to advance strong and effective intellectual property rights that promote American innovation, creative output, and industry.
“Every member of Congress owes it to their constituents to seriously engage with and prioritize policies that promote innovation, which is at the crux of the American economy and national security,” said Andrei Iancu, former Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Co-Chair of the Council for Innovation Promotion. “The Innovation Scorecard will bring, for the first time, clarity and transparency to each legislator’s actions on innovation, and their dedication to a strong and reliable intellectual property system.”
IP-intensive industries generate nearly half of U.S. GDP, comprise 90% of the value of S&P 500 companies, and support approximately 44% of total U.S. employment for workers across all levels of education. Despite the critical importance of intellectual property, a supermajority of Congress received Innovation Scorecard grades of “C” or “C-,” indicating only a passing interest in national IP policy.
“Any member of Congress who is pro-innovation must support robust intellectual property rights,” said David Kappos, former Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Co-Chair of the Council for Innovation Promotion. “Innovation simply does not happen without the catalyzing effect of policies that safeguard creators’ IP.”
C4IP considered members’ voting records, bill sponsorship and co-sponsorship, and national leadership and advocacy efforts on IP during the 116th, 117th, and 118th Congresses to determine a score for each legislator currently in Congress, on a simple academic “A-F” grading scale commonly used in schools and universities.
In the Senate, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) distinguished themselves as champions for U.S. intellectual property rights, receiving Innovation Scorecard grades of “A+,” “A+,” and “A,” respectively. In the House, nobody received an A, with Representative Ben Cline (R-VA) receiving the highest grade of “B+.” Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Deborah Ross (D-NC) were among 81 members who received grades of “B.”
Unfortunately, a number of legislators have recently been antagonistic to IP rights to the detriment of future American innovation, including Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), who all received Innovation Scorecard grades of “F.” Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Valerie Hoyle (D-OR), Joe Neguse (D-CO), and David Schweikert (R-AZ) all received grades of “D-,” indicating a similarly concerning disregard for IP rights.
“Now more than ever, we need Congressional IP champions to support the intellectual property policies that drive innovation across all economic sectors,” said Frank Cullen, Executive Director of the Council for Innovation Promotion. “C4IP is committed to continuing to work closely with members to ensure they support strong, predictable, and reliable IP rights, just as our founders envisioned. We encourage constituents to use our Scorecard as a resource and encourage their representatives to focus on these critically important issues.”
To view C4IP’s 2024 Congressional Innovation Scorecard and your member’s ranking, click here.
C4IP plans to release an updated version of the Innovation Scorecard every year, and will consider members’ actions during the current and prior two congresses when assigning grades. C4IP also plans to publicize in advance how it views key IP bills and their likely impact on scores in the next edition of the Scorecard.
