The U.S. Can't Fix a Broken Patent System Alone

When not preoccupied by Department of Homeland Security funding or deals over Iran’s nuclear capacities, a bipartisan group in the House of Representatives has been working on a patent reform bill designed to free innovators from predatory lawsuits. The bill makes it more difficult to launch an ill-defined patent infringement case—a favored technique of patent trolls who collect poor-quality patents to extract license payments from legitimate innovators. It's a good start on an issue that may even unite both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue: In 2013, the White House issued a report that called for clearer patents as well as a higher standard of innovation.

But tackling innovation and patent reform as a solely domestic issue is a mistake: The U.S. remains a world leader in technological innovation, but other countries are catching up. Already, according to almost any measure, most innovation is occurring outside the U.S. And many of the countries that are home to booming innovation are contending with similar, or even more severe, problems with their patent regimes. It's a problem slowing innovation everywhere, and to solve it, the White House and Congress should unite to lead a global reform effort.