The United States holds a singular advantage in turning bold ideas into world-changing inventions: a patent system rooted in legal certainty, entrepreneurial risk-taking, and a commitment to promoting the progress of the useful arts.

Today, that system faces a serious threat. A recently adopted treaty could saddle American inventors with vague, burdensome patent disclosure requirements -- injecting unpredictability into the innovation process and eroding the very foundation of U.S. leadership in science and technology.

U.S. policymakers should refuse to join that treaty, and encourage other nations to do the same. To do otherwise would damage America's innovation ecosystem, and diminish innovation and IP rights globally.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty on genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge requires patent applicants to disclose the country of origin of any genetic material used in a claimed invention. While this may sound simple enough, implementation would have serious consequences for innovators, both in the U.S. and abroad.

The problem stems from a lack of clarity. The treaty would require applicants to disclose whether an invention is "based on" genetic resources or traditional knowledge -- but it does not define those terms. In today's complex........

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