Democrats and Republicans work together on Patent Reform

Years of research in social psychology and a read of human history tell us that one way to combat incivility in politics is to focus on shared goals.  Democrats and republicans can agree about rewarding people who build businesses and not rewarding patent trolls.  Given that, this is certainly an area where cooperation over shared objectives, as opposed to competition, can breed civility.

From this Politico article

But just as Democrats and Republicans came together to pass the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which brought the most comprehensive change to our nation’s patent laws in 60 years, we again are working in a collaborative, bipartisan way. Our legislation will make it harder for bad actors to succeed, while preserving what has made America’s patent system great.
 

We can only hope that in other areas such as reducing the deficit, improving our nation’s healthcare, improving the economy, and promoting peace, we can also focus on our shared goals, as opposed to our conflicts.

– Ravi Iyer