Intellectual property has long loomed as a potent element in national security strategies, but with the proliferation of advances in technology in recent decades, it has now become a central focus of geopolitical rivalry, especially between the US and China. Major high-tech powerhouses such as Japan and South Korea, both allies of the US, are also major players in the emerging battle for IP advances. Perhaps no facet of this contest is more significant for the future than the development of artificial intelligence. Margaret Kenney explores the contours of this dynamic as it plays out in the Indo-Pacific region.