IP Without Borders: Protecting Innovation in a Fractured Global System

I’ll be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos this January, where Firstboard.io is hosting a private gathering of global technology and governance leaders to explore how boardrooms can shape a safer, more inclusive AI future. As part of this thought leadership series, I’m exploring the legal challenges and board-level responsibilities emerging from today’s global innovation landscape.

Innovation Doesn’t Respect Borders—But IP Laws Still Do

We live in a paradox: innovation is global by nature, but intellectual property (IP) protections remain fragmented, national, and unevenly enforced. The result? A widening trust gap between where ideas originate, where they’re built, and where they’re monetized.

For multinational companies—and the boards that govern them—this creates a legal minefield. Innovation flows across geographies faster than ever, yet cross-border enforcement mechanisms lag behind. The legal frameworks designed to protect innovation often get tangled in regulatory friction, geopolitical tension, and jurisdictional confusion.

The world is innovating globally—but governing locally. That mismatch is now a material risk.

Why This Matters for Boards

IP isn’t just a legal matter—it’s a strategic asset. And in a fractured geopolitical landscape, the risks surrounding IP aren’t hypothetical. They’re already reshaping where capital flows, how talent migrates, and how AI models are trained.

As a board director and legal advisor, I often ask:

• Do we understand how our IP is protected—or vulnerable—in each market?

• Are we overly reliant on bilateral trade protections or national regimes?

• Do we have clarity on where our critical data is processed, stored, and governed?

• Have we stress-tested our IP strategy against shifting regulatory climates and enforcement gaps?

The risks aren’t just legal—they’re reputational, strategic, and existential for companies built on intangible assets.

Beyond Protection: Building for Portability

The most resilient companies—and legal strategies—are those that assume fragmentation is here to stay.

What does that look like in practice?

• Portfolio Diversity: Spreading filings across jurisdictions to reduce dependency on any single enforcement regime

• Contractual Reinforcement: Using cross-border licensing, arbitration clauses, and jurisdictional redundancies

• Decentralized IP Thinking: Exploring models that account for distributed innovation—especially in AI, open source, and decentralized science

• Policy Advocacy: Engaging in the global dialogue around harmonization, data sovereignty, and digital trust

Boards must collaborate with legal, risk, and innovation leaders to shift from reactive protection to proactive portability.

A Call for Public-Private Alignment

When it comes to innovation governance, the public and private sectors can no longer afford to operate in silos.

Drawing on my experience in India, the US, UK, Switzerland, and other countries navigating innovation policy, I’ve seen firsthand how legal clarity, trust, and interoperability form the bedrock of cross-border innovation. It’s time we design frameworks that reflect this reality.

That means:

• Cross-border collaboration on digital infrastructure and legal harmonization

• Incentives for interoperable data governance and innovation-friendly IP regimes

• Global engagement on AI ethics, bias, and digital trust that includes both business and civil society

The World Economic Forum offers a rare platform to advance these goals—not just in principle, but in practice.

Firstboard.io Members Attending Davos 2026

Rita Scroggin Subha Tatavarti Laura Langdon Avital Arora Kanika Radhakrishnan Devi Jarschel Kshama Swamy Paramita Bhattacharya Prathiba David Sullivan Rohinee (Ro) Mohindroo Ekta Sahasi + Shuchi Rana Malina Johnson Betsabe Botaitis Mandy Dhaliwal Tami Rosen Joe Sullivan Richard Slaby We hope you’ll join us at our private gathering to shape the future of AI governance.

A Final Thought for the Boardroom

Boards must act as stewards of innovation, not just protectors of risk. In a world where technology transcends borders, our legal strategies must evolve to do the same.

Let’s keep the conversation going. How is your board preparing for IP risk in a global, AI-driven economy?