Protecting America's Innovation Advantage: An IP Month Conversation with ITIF's Stephen Ezell

In recognition of Intellectual Property (IP) Month, We Work For Health's Executive Director Dan Leonard sat down with Stephen Ezell of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) to explore the state of America’s innovation ecosystem.

Their conversation covered pressing topics such as rising competitive challenges from China and how misguided policy choices could impact the U.S.’s global standing for generations.

Ezell, who directs ITIF’s Center for Life Sciences Innovation, also highlighted findings from ITIF’s recent report which illustrates how the United States successfully turned its universities into powerful drivers of economic growth and scientific discovery.

Check out the highlights of the discussion below.

How the Bayh-Dole Act Made America a Global Life Sciences Leader

Ezell outlines how the Bayh-Dole Act – a landmark 1980 law that gave universities ownership of intellectual property rights from federally funded research – transformed the United States into an innovation powerhouse.

China's Rapid Acceleration in Life Sciences Innovation

While the U.S. has been the world’s biotech leader for decades, China is now executing a focused, coordinated strategy to overtake us – and it's making serious strides. Ezell breaks down how we arrived at this critical moment.

The Risk of Undermining America's Competitive Advantage

Against this backdrop of intensifying competition, Ezell highlights how some policymakers are considering policies that could undermine the incentive structures that made America so successful.

The choice facing policymakers is stark: continue supporting the intellectual property protections that have made America the world's life science leader or adopt policies that could hand that title to China.

Catch the full interview with ITIF’s Stephen Ezell for more insights into America's innovation ecosystem, the scale of China's competitive challenge, and what's at stake if we get the policy wrong.