With countries around the world struggling to jumpstart economic progress, government officials in the United States and United Kingdom are focusing on creating intellectual property frameworks capable of inspiring innovation.

According to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, the recent "Patent Box" proposal from British legislators is being viewed as a direct attempt to attract pharmaceutical companies and other traditional innovators to the country. By reducing corporate taxes on income derived from patents by approximately 15 percent, firms from all across the European Union could be convinced to establish or migrate operations to the U.K. However, establishing the terms and intellectual property standards that would govern such a system could prove to be sticking points.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration's restructuring of the Department of Commerce may have significant implications for American patent strategy, according to IP Watchdog.

In accordance with the America Invents Act, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was given new authority to set and authorize patent fees as long as it remained part of the Commerce Department. Although improbable, according to IP Watchdog, a government-wide reorganization could be fast-tracked to go into effect prior to the November elections and put the future jurisdiction of the USPTO up in the air.