The damaging impact of tariffs on intellectual property

April 30, 2025

This article was originally published in IAM on April 24th, 2025

By Kirti Gupta

Economic statecraft has reached new levels with the United States levying the steepest increase in tariffs on foreign goods in the last 150 years. While the focus of these tariffs in popular media is consumer goods, we all live in the knowledge economy.

A few decades ago, 80% of the market value of S&P 500 firms was explained by their labour and capital assets. Today, that has reversed: 80% of their market value is explained by intangible assets – ideas, know-how, and intellectual property (IP).

What is the impact of the impact of these tariffs on IP? Some economists have been analyzing this question lately. The brief answer is that IP licensing revenues of US companies are likely to decrease, and IP enforcement abroad is likely to weaken, unless specific action is taken to counteract these effects proactively.

Read the full article in IAM.

How Counterfeit Drugs Threaten U.S. Health and Innovation

November 19, 2025
By Anne Pritchett According to the Department of Homeland Security, counterfeit drugs “threaten national security and public safety directly when introduced into government and critical infrastructure supply chains, and indirectly if used to generate revenue for transnational criminal organizations.” Furthermore, counterfeit drugs harm pharmaceutical innovation by eroding profitability and investor
Read More

U.S. Universities: Engines of Economic Growth

November 13, 2025
By Sujai Shivakumar, Charles Wessner, Chris Borges, and Shruti Sharma Universities are among the United States’ most enduring sources of competitive advantage and a key pillar of the nation’s innovation system. Home to more than 35 of the world’s top 100 research universities, the United States owes many of its most
Read More

Andrei Iancu – Congressional Testimony: Hearing on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA)

October 13, 2025
On October 8th, 2025, Andrei Iancu testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property during the Hearing on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA). Iancu, Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, former Under Secretary of Commerce for IP and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and
Read More