Political Platforms and Innovation

The Republican Party

Stance on Innovation

Reince Priebus, the chief of staff under Donald Trump and former Republican National Committee Chairman, supervised the documentation of the party's platform. Innovation and "intellectual property" are cited as being specifically protected by the Constitution of the United States. The Republican party's perspective protects entrepreneurs.

The Fifth Amendment:
Intellectual Property Rights
Private property includes not only physical
property such as lands and homes, but also
intellectual property like books and patents. Article
1, section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the
power to safeguard intellectual property rights
for “Authors and Inventors.” By protecting the
proprietary rights of creators and innovators, the
Constitution promotes the general welfare by
providing incentives for investment in all sorts of
technology and artistic works. Intellectual property
is a driving force in today’s global economy of
constant innovation. It is the wellspring of American
economic growth and job creation. With the rise
of the digital economy, it has become even more
critical that we protect intellectual property rights
and preserve freedom of contract rather than
create regulatory barriers to creativity, growth, and
innovation.
Protecting intellectual property is also a
national security issue. We must guard against
counterfeit parts that can compromise the
reliability of our weapons systems and the safety 
of military personnel. Today, the worst offenses
against intellectual property rights come from
abroad, especially in China. We call for strong
action by Congress and a new Republican president
to enforce intellectual property laws against all
infringers, whether foreign or domestic. 

The full Republican platform can be found here: https://prod-cdn-static.gop.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL[1]-ben_1468872234.pdf

The Democratic Party

Promoting Competition by Stopping Corporate Concentration
Large corporations have concentrated their control over markets to a greater degree than Americans
ave seen in decades—further evidence that the deck is stacked for those at the top. Democrats will take
steps to stop corporate concentration in any industry where it is unfairly limiting competition. We will
make competition policy and antitrust stronger and more responsive to our economy today, enhance the
antitrust enforcement arms of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
and encourage other agencies to police anti-competitive practices in their areas of jurisdiction.
We support the historic purpose of the antitrust laws to protect competition and prevent excessively
consolidated economic and political power, which can be corrosive to a healthy democracy. We support
reinvigorating DOJ and FTC enforcement of antitrust laws to prevent abusive behavior by dominant
companies, and protecting the public interest against abusive, discriminatory, and unfair methods of
commerce. We support President Obama’s recent Executive Order, directing all agencies to identify
specific actions they can take in their areas of jurisdiction to detect anticompetitive practices—such as
tying arrangements, price fixing, and exclusionary conduct—and to refer practices that appear to violate
federal antitrust law to the DOJ and FTC.

The full Democratic platform can be found here