Fireside Chat with Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC) | LeadershIP 2026

Why It Matters

Strong, bipartisan IP reforms and AI‑focused education are vital to preserving U.S. innovation leadership and ensuring startups can thrive in a competitive global market.

Key Takeaways

• Ross champions bipartisan IP reforms to boost U.S. innovation.
• Prevail Act aims to overhaul PTAB and strengthen patent fairness.
• AI poses both opportunity and threat to intellectual property protections.
• Value‑based patent fees would harm startups and local economies.
• Collaboration with educators and ethics groups essential for AI future.

Summary

In a CSIS‑hosted fireside chat, Rep. Deborah Ross (D‑NC) outlined her agenda to safeguard America’s innovation engine through stronger intellectual‑property (IP) protections and bipartisan legislation. As chief deputy whip and a member of the House Judiciary Committee’s IP subcommittee, Ross highlighted the Unleashing American Innovators Act and the Prevail Act, which seek to reform the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and curb value‑based patent fees that could cripple startups.

Ross warned that recent administration policies—research funding cuts, restrictions on high‑skill immigration, and attacks on higher‑education institutions—are eroding the United States’ global competitive edge. She emphasized that robust IP rights, from patents to copyrights, are essential incentives for creators, entrepreneurs, and scientists, especially in her district’s Research Triangle, a hub of biotech and tech startups.

Notable moments included Ross’s analogy that patents are “property rights” akin to land ownership, her recounting of AI‑driven sepsis detection at Duke, and her candid exchange with Sam Altman about the lack of AI ethics oversight. She also praised the National Humanities Center’s work teaching AI ethics to K‑12 educators, underscoring the need for a future‑ready workforce.

The discussion underscored that bipartisan cooperation, sensible reform of the patent system, and proactive education on AI ethics are critical to maintaining U.S. leadership in innovation. Failure to act could drive talent and investment abroad, while effective policy could reinforce the American Dream for inventors and investors alike.

Original Description

Representative Deborah Ross (D-NC) joins LeadershIP for a fireside conversation on the future of U.S. patent policy and its relationship to U.S. national and economic security. As a representative of North Carolina’s Research Triangle—one of the nation’s leading innovation hubs—the conversation will explore the relationship between IP and innovation, along with ongoing legislative efforts.

Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC), Member, House Judiciary Committee

Dr. Kirti Gupta, Executive Director, LeadershIP; Senior Adviser (Non-resident), Renewing American Innovation, CSIS

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