LeadershIP 2026

Please join CSIS LeadershIP on March 25 for LeadershIP 2026, the premier conference on intellectual property (IP), innovation, and national security policy. This year’s program will feature conversations with The Honorable John A. Squires, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and Representative Deborah Ross (D-NC), a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, alongside other leading policymakers and industry experts.

In this era of great power competition, technology and innovation have never been more critical. Yet the policies that promote innovation and technology leadership are often misunderstood. Secure IP rights incentivize the investment and risk-taking required to innovate in a broad range of critical industries, from semiconductors to artificial intelligence (AI) to pharmaceuticals. Healthy market competition drives innovation, as companies vie to offer superior products and services to their customers. How can these core pillars of innovation be harnessed to ensure our economic and national security?

Join experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to analyze and debate the pressing topics in IP, innovation, and national security policy - including the geopolitical competition for technology leadership, innovation in critical and emerging technologies such as AI, biotechnologies, and integrated communication and networking technologies, and the intersection of IP and competition policy with economic and national security. 

Additional speakers and the full agenda will be announced in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.