Patent News


Dec. 1, 2015

The Washington Times Opinion: Intellectual property and the national security issue, by Maureen Ohlhausen and Dan Schneider

This post originally appeared in The Washington Times on December 1, 2015.


America faces an increasingly complex security environment. Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria pose immediate challenges, of course, but China’s rise, Russian foreign policy, and inharmonious relations with countries like Iran and Venezuela raise larger questions. Fashioning a responsible national security agenda requires a multipronged approach.

One facet of American national security that has been largely overlooked is the issue of intellectual property policy. One might think that intellectual property issues are far removed from national security matters, but that it is not the case. Our strength as a nation flows in large part from our economy. Our economy depends on technological progress and our ability to innovate. And our ability to innovate is linked directly to strong intellectual property rights. Thus, intellectual property and national security are two critical issues that are joined at the hip.

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