Much has been made of the demise of U.S. manufacturing. Once the U.S. was a manufacturing powerhouse, but much of its industry has now moved overseas or south of the border to low-cost countries such as China, India, and Mexico. Seventy percent of the U.S. economy is now serviced based. But, despite the loss of manufacturing jobs, the U.S. still has the world's largest gross domestic product (GDP) at about $23 trillion.

How does the U.S. maintain its economic edge? One way is through innovation, and protecting innovation using legal mechanisms, particularly patents. An estimated 90% of the value of publicly traded U.S. businesses is now in intangible assets. The total value of U.S. intellectual property is estimated at $6.6 trillion, which exceeds the entire GDP of any other nation except China