The exodus of much software development has proven to be a lightning rod in the U.S. debate over outsourcing. But an expert at the symposium said the U.S. remains the clear innovation leader in terms of patents. Chris Forman of Carnegie Mellon University said software services are being outsourced, mostly to India, while innovative database and office automation software continues to be written here.

That could change, however, if the steady decline in federal research dollars continues along with the decline in U.S. computer science graduates, Forman said.

For now, the experts concluded, America retains the keys to innovation. The question, they added, is for how long?