Government Proposals Threaten Innovation & Prevent Economic Progress

Article by Peter C. Lando published in Innovation & Tech Today

Innovation has always been a key driver of economic growth, productivity, and human progress toward better and healthier lives. The 2023 Global Innovation Index (the Index) prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has reported that several factors influence each of the leading innovative countries in the world. These factors include well-developed R&D networks, cooperation between educational institutions and industry, financial networks for investors, manufacturing infrastructure, regulatory policies encouraging investments, and strong intellectual property laws and procedures. It is then odd that recent U.S. government proposals and legislative inaction appear to work against these very factors.

Two of the most problematic proposals from the past year include: a federal ban on non-compete agreements and other restrictive covenants; and the government’s consideration of exercising “March-In” Rights on technology developed with federally funded research. An additional concern is the Congressional failure to restore full expensing for R&D and ending the five-year amortization requirement for such expenses.

Read the full article at Innovation & Tech Today.