It is time to confront the danger and complexity that plagues IP by committing to education and awareness, says Scott Frank at AT&T and the Georgia IP Alliance.

by Scott Frank, originally published at Managing IP

Intellectual property is powerful. Critical advancements in healthcare, technology, communications, and even the food we eat would probably not be made without IP.

If there was no IP protection, the compensation to the creators of these advancements would be negatively affected in a significant way. People and companies would be free to copy, take, and use innovative ideas without regard for the creators.

The major incentive to develop these advancements would be lost and a material decline in innovation would result. IP is crucial to our economy and society at large.

But IP is thought by many to be an overly complicated maze of laws that inhibit innovation. While there is some truth to this complexity, IP itself is not to blame. The problems stem from current IP laws and how those laws are applied.

A WORLD WITHOUT IP

Without IP, ideas would essentially have no economic value. IP is what turns an idea into an asset with economic value. And without economic value, key innovations and big ideas that are essential to our expansive knowledge economy would probably stall or even cease altogether.

A world without IP would result in a chilling effect on innovation. Very few people and companies would be willing to spend significant time and money to develop an idea if they couldn’t profit from it.

Most creators, such as scientists, engineers, and artists, need an appropriate incentive to spend significant hours on advancing their ideas. Most enablers, such as corporations, investors, and venture capitalists, need a strong incentive to spend the necessary money for moving ideas forward.

IP is a crucial incentive that provides an opportunity for a fair return on their investment so that society can continue to move forward and get what it needs to thrive.

The cure for COVID-19, the new super healthy apple we eat, and the driverless car will probably be chock full of IP. However, the IP inside these inventions is invisible to us and generally taken for granted. Just because you don’t see it or think about it, doesn’t mean it’s not fundamentally important.

POLLUTION OF IP

And yet, IP has become polluted in a way that can be very problematic to our future existence. We have a need for a significant increased understanding of IP, reduction of costs, improvement in the IP laws, and more changes for the good of our economy and society.

A good idea often leads to a mix of patents, copyright, proprietary information, and trademarks that are all covered by laws and can be complicated and confusing. Often it is only the IP protectors, such as the IP attorneys, patent agents and IP strategists, who understand these.

A patent for an invention often costs tens of thousands of dollars. The patent owner often must then spend tens of millions to enforce it. Many inventors trying to advance ideas simply don’t have this kind of money.

Today’s IP laws do not provide enough certainty of IP rights and fair compensation to innovators while protecting those who seek to improve on innovations.

IP protections do not provide enough business certainty for those who bring products or services to market without fear of extortive IP litigation fuelled by high legal fees and exorbitant penalties associated with such litigation.

These issues must be taken seriously to support and accelerate the advancements that we need in our global society. If we don’t take proactive action, these pollutions within our IP ecosystem will stall rather than spur innovation.

A COMMITMENT TO ENHANCE IP

Addressing the critical shortfalls within the IP ecosystem is not a simple task. It is important enough to the future existence and advancement of society to make it a priority. It may not be possible to get pollution-free IP, but there are ways we can come together to make critical improvements that foster, not inhibit, innovation.

It all starts with awareness and education. We must partner to raise awareness and educate citizens of the important role IP plays in society, how it affects their lives, and how they can help influence their local and national governments.

We can also invest in educating the next generation of creators, protectors, and enablers in universities, and even K-12 (from kindergarten to 12th grade) schools, which would prove very impactful for our future.

Finally, we can support collaboration by forming local groups of IP creators, protectors, and enablers to educate them and foster a strong and collaborative ecosystem.

In the US, the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance has made awareness, education, and collaboration a top priority. The newly formed United States Intellectual Property Alliance plans to do the same by helping other states, regions and the nation come together for this important course.

The future Global IP Alliance will attempt to do the same for countries around the world.

It is up to us. We can stand by and be complicit in the danger and complexity that plagues the IP ecosystem, which is so important to the advancement of society. Or we can do something about it to help ensure the best possible future for our families, communities, and everyone.

Scott Frank is president of the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance® and president and CEO of AT&T Intellectual Property.