A potent mix of bureaucratic red tape and adverse court rulings is deterring U.S. startups and small businesses from investing in cutting-edge technologies -- slowing our tech progress just when America needs to sprint to stay ahead of China.

In fact, thanks to a combination of smart policies and massive investments in advanced technologies, China is rapidly taking the innovation lead. According to a study funded partly by the State Department, America now trails China in 37 of 44 critical technology areas -- from 6G telecommunications and renewable energy to hypersonic missiles.

In particular, China has repeatedly upgraded its intellectual property system -- while for two decades, we've repeatedly downgraded our own. IP protections incentivize investment. So it's no surprise that U.S. investment in advanced technologies has decreased alarmingly as we've weakened these protections.

China, as well as the European Union, has established new, specialized IP courts. By doing so, they strengthened their patent systems and added resources in ways the United States has not. And they routinely stop technology theft with injunctions. American courts used to routinely issue similar injunctions -- but they largely stopped doing so in response to a 2006 Supreme Court ruling that made it difficult for plaintiffs to block such copying, even in cases of proven........

© International Business Times