Biden easing patent rules in high tech win for China

FPI / April 24, 2022

Team Biden is opening the door for China to pilfer U.S. intellectual property by easing federal patent rules, Republicans in the Senate are saying.

The Department of Justice is making dangerous changes to policy which covers patents on technology key to 5G, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Tom Cotton of Arkansas warned in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Team Biden's proposed patent rules policy change could allow Chinese firms to easily steal inventions from the U.S., the senators said.

“By weakening these remedies, your department’s draft statement also sends a signal to infringers in China and elsewhere that they can simply steal critical American intellectual property with impunity,” the senators said in the letter.

Washington Examiner columnist Paul Bedard noted that "China has made no secret of its desire to lead the world in 5G and other high-tech arenas no matter what it takes" and that the Biden administration is loosening patent policy at a time when "China and other potential foes are outspending the United States on 21st-century technology by a mile."

The senators write in the letter to Garland: “China and other competitors are heavily subsidizing innovation in critical technologies to gain the upper hand. Since 2015, China has outspent the U.S. by approximately $24 billion in wireless communications infrastructure, and China’s latest five-year economic plan calls for $400 billion in 5G-related investment. Industry experts have also warned that China may outpace the U.S. in artificial intelligence in several years, which will then be integrated into their military platforms as part of its Military-Civil Fusion, enabling it to overtake our decades-long technology advantage.”

The U.S. relies more on private investments, and patents should be strengthened to protect those or industry will find other projects, the senators warned.

The DOJ “should refrain from taking any steps that would make it more difficult for Americans to innovate amid fierce competition abroad. Further challenges to American innovation will jeopardize national security by disadvantaging and ceding U.S. technological leadership to China and other foreign competitors actively looking to displace the United States as the world leader in critical technologies,” the senators wrote.

Free Press International