Thought leadership to move us forward

Examining the latest topics and news related to innovation policy.

Protecting Intellectual Property for National Security: A Transition Report for the New Administration

By Kirti Gupta, Andrei Iancu, Walter G. Copan, and Chris Borges This report was originally published on March 26th with CSIS. Download the full report here. Executive Summary The United States is undergoing a generational shift in how economic policy intersects with national security. Decades of globalization have exposed
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The United States Cannot Afford Disarray as China Strengthens Its Biopharmaceutical Industry

By Sujai Shivakumar, Charles Wessner, and Julie Heng For years, China has played a leading role in manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients and generic drugs. While securing the supply chain for active pharmaceutical ingredients is increasingly recognized as a national security priority by policymakers, China’s growing role in biotechnological innovation has
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Explainer: A Brief History of the International IP Regime

By Julie Heng, Arrizka Faida, and Chris Borges In a globalized economy, businesses rely on rules protecting intellectual property (IP) to safeguard their ideas and products against counterfeiting, piracy, and theft and to forge international partnerships. To this end, the United States and its partners have long invested in a system of multilateral treaties and international
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ChinaTalk: Innovation Emergency with Trump 1.0’s Patent Director

On February 19th, CSIS Senior Adviser Andrei Iancu appeared on the ChinaTalk podcast to discuss how patents influence emerging technology innovation, how far AI and DOGE could push the current U.S. IP regime, if it matters that China issues more patents than the United States, and more. Listen to the
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Dr. Walter G. Copan – Congressional Testimony: The State of U.S. Science and Technology: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership

On February 5th, 2025, Dr. Walter G. Copan testified before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on the State of U.S. Science and Technology: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership. Copan, Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer at the Colorado School of Mines, former Director of the National Institute
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(Transcript) Protecting Intellectual Property for National Security: A Conversation with Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX)

This transcript is from a CSIS and LeadershIP event hosted on December 3, 2024. Watch the full video here. John J. Hamre: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome. We’re delighted to have you here. My name is John Hamre. I’m the president at CSIS. And this is going to be one
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Generic Drugs, Property Rights, and the Orange Book

By Chris Borges Intellectual property (IP) rights secured through patents facilitate the introduction of dozens of new brand-name drugs and hundreds of generic drugs annually in the United States. However, proposals advanced by the Biden administration have mistakenly singled out patents as the cause of high drug prices, potentially harming the dense networks
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Intellectual Property Rights and the Future of U.S. Technological Leadership

By Dr. Kirti Gupta This commentary is part of a report from the CSIS Economic Security and Technology Department, titled Staying Ahead in the Global Technology Race. The report features a set of essays outlining key issues on economic security for the next administration, including global technology competition, industrialization
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Understanding the U.S. Biopharmaceutical Innovation Ecosystem

By Sujai Shivakumar, Tisyaketu Sirkar, and Jeffrey Depp Introduction The biopharmaceutical innovation system—which brings novel, life-improving, and life-saving therapies from the researcher’s bench to a patient’s bedside—is a major engine powering health improvements, economic output, and wealth creation in the United States. But while the commercial and national security competition with China has
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