Dallas Morning News: How to keep our most valuable weapon from China by Lamar Smith
America is the most technologically advanced superpower in history, but China is nipping at our heels.
A recent 20-month investigation by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation concluded that Chinese innovation is “much stronger than previously understood.” The report describes China as “a fire-breathing dragon on government-provided steroids,” poised to conquer the world’s tech industry within a decade.
U.S. policymakers have not been blind to China’s rise, or the need for smart reforms to maintain our economic lead. In 2011, I co-authored the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, the most significant reform of the U.S. patent system in decades. Our goal was to modernize the patent system so that it would more efficiently and more effectively incentivize innovation in the United States.
I believed strongly then, and I believe even more strongly today, that the patent system is a critical tool not just for the American economy, but for American national security as well. But as ITIF’s investigation demonstrates, our patent system must be made even stronger in order to match China’s growth.