By Chris Borges
Although patents are territorial, meaning they are limited to the jurisdiction in which they are granted, the networks spanning innovation and commerce are global. U.S. inventors routinely seek patent protection in markets abroad to safeguard their innovations, facilitate exports, and access new customers. By requiring member states to treat foreign and domestic patent applicants equally, the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade‑Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), seeks to safeguard this right. Protected by TRIPS’s nondiscrimination principles, U.S. innovators can take their best ideas to global markets—and they do so at unmatched scale.
Data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) show that U.S. inventors were granted over 146,000 patents outside the United States in 2023, more than any other nation and more than double China’s 69,000 foreign patent grants. While comparative patent data should be interpreted with some caution, this substantial disparity nonetheless demonstrates the United States’ leadership in the international patent system.
This strong footprint in foreign patenting is an innovative and competitive asset for the United States. A U.S. company that patents its innovations overseas can expect to safely license its technology and export its products, encouraging commerce and boosting U.S. trade revenue. Indeed, multiple studies have linked overseas patenting with increased exports, because IP rights help companies enforce contracts, protect their know-how, and compete fairly abroad. The benefits extend to small firms and startups as well, who utilize foreign patents to raise capital and enter global supply chains. Each foreign patent, in short, enables American ideas to earn revenue abroad and bring economic returns home.
This advantage, however, depends on a rules‑based international framework that remains open, predictable, and nondiscriminatory. Were that framework to fracture—whether through unilateral patent bans, selective discrimination, or erosion of TRIPS—American inventors could find themselves locked out of key markets or forced to navigate a risky and uncertain patchwork of politicized barriers. The result would be fewer exports, higher legal risk, and diminished returns on the research investments that underpin U.S. technological leadership.
U.S. policymakers have a clear interest in defending and strengthening the global patent system. By championing TRIPS principles, supporting transparent patent procedures abroad, and resisting measures that restrict filings by nationality, the United States can ensure that its inventors continue to turn world‑class ideas into world‑wide economic gains.
Data visualization by Sabina Hung
This piece was originally published on May 27th with the Renewing American Innovation Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
