Representatives Thomas Massie and Deborah Ross Receive “Champion of the Inventor” Awards from Innovation Alliance
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Deborah Ross (D-NC) last week received “Champion of the Inventor” awards from the Innovation Alliance in recognition of their support for American inventors and work to strengthen the U.S. patent system.
The Representatives, both members of the House Judiciary Committee’s IP Subcommittee, received their awards at an April 30 reception in the U.S. Capitol in celebration of World Intellectual Property Day. U.S. Representative Nathan Moran (R-TX) made introductory remarks.
“A strong U.S. patent system is essential to maintaining America’s global technological leadership and ensuring we can compete with China,” said Brian Pomper, Executive Director of the Innovation Alliance. “Representatives Massie and Ross understand this and have been tireless advocates for defending the intellectual property rights of America’s innovators. As an inventor himself, Representative Massie has long been a leader in promoting strong patent protections to incentivize American innovation. And Representative Ross has been a trailblazer for patent rights by sponsoring critical legislation like the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership Act (PREVAIL) Act and the RESTORE Patent Rights Act. They are both well deserving of ‘Champion of the Inventor’ awards.”
“Our founders were wise to put patents and copyrights in Article 1 of the Constitution,” said Representative Massie. “They entrusted Congress to implement and oversee a strong and beneficial Intellectual Property system that encourages innovation.”
“Our rights to intellectual property were put in our Constitution,” said Representative Ross. “They are the foundation of this country, and it is our responsibility to protect and preserve them and make sure that North Carolina and the whole country are as welcoming as possible for innovators.”
“We can generate a whole lot of economic growth by just letting innovators free, and giving them a chance,” said Representative Moran.
