Post 1: Ayesha Syeda
There is a strong argument that the different types of intellectual property rights should be protected. Intellectual property rights allow a person to create unique works of art. Some of these works may have a tangible impact on the world and culture, including in ways that make them important to the overall value of our world (Brander et al., 2017).
The opposite situation is a condition where the creation of a certain type of public commodity or good is protected, but the creation of a particular type of private commodity or good is not. One might say the creation of public good does not count as tangible because it is in the realm of the public’s ability to consume and buy, that is whether they are able to actually purchase the goods that constitute it (Brander et al., 2017). If a person creates a public good that is not only invisible to people’s ability to consume, but may not even have value to them, then they are not creating a good that will have an immediate impact (Brander et al., 2017).
One important advantage of intellectual property protection rights is that intellectual property is relatively easy to create and enforce and is not subject to other copyright or trademark enforcement. As such, it is easier to enforce intellectual property from which to choose to exclude other properties from the market (Davoudi et al., 2018). As it currently stands, those who want to use intellectual property generally must register their creations with an appropriate licensing agency, and those who want to engage in commercial activity, usually do not. Some other types of intellectual property are generally not covered by copyright, and many are protected by patents, copyrights, trademarks, domain names, or trade secrets (Davoudi et al., 2018).
The list of intellectual property is often quite long, and can include the content of websites, software programs, books, movies, music files, games, images, videos, documents, web pages, news stories, and so on, and so on. In addition, one should consider that not all IP that has been assigned to them is theirs, as there may be several entities in ownership of that particular IP (Davoudi et al., 2018). There are a lot of cases which may lead people to suspect that their IP is owned by a company or organization, as this is not a good idea. They are all created by one man as a way of managing rights over other people’s intellectual property. They do not take place under the management of some government agency, or a public entity (Davoudi et al, 2018).
References
Brander, J. A., Cui, V., & Vertinsky, I. (2017). China and intellectual property rights: A challenge to the rule of law. Journal of International Business Studies, 48(7), 908-921.
Davoudi, S. M. M., Fartash, K., Zakirova, V. G., Belyalova, A. M., Kurbanov, R. A., Boiarchuk, A. V., & Sizova, Z. M. (2018). Testing the Mediating Role of Open Innovation on the Relationship between Intellectual Property Rights and Organizational Performance: A Case of Science and Technology Park. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(4), 1359-1369.
Post 2: Cathrine Johnson
Intellectual property (IP) is the intangible creation of the human intellect. In simple words, it is a creation of the human mind that gives the owner economic benefit. For example, art, music, design, symbols, literature, and images are various types of intellectual property created by humans that need to be protected. Businesses need to be aware of IP law to protect their creations and ideas from their competition. IP is protected by copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. Copyrights apply to authorship and art such as literature, film, music, and fine art. Its protection begins from its creation and ends after the life of the author plus 70 years under copyright law. Trademarks protect the name, logo, symbol, and slogan of the business. Protection of trademarks starts at its initial use, and when registered, it can be renewed every 10 years with unlimited renewals. Patents protect novel inventions such as design, utility, and plant patents. The utility and plant patent lasts for 20 years, and the design patent lasts for 15 years. “A trade secret is any practice or process of a company that is generally not known outside of the company” (Frankenfield, 2021). It never expires and is valid as long as it’s secret and the owner uses it. It is critical for every business to foster innovation and ideas to help it grow. Additionally, IP contributes to the nation’s economy. “America’s IP is worth $6.6 trillion, more than the nominal GDP of any other country in the world” (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2019). Therefore it is essential to allow the above-mentioned protections to IP.
Intellectual property is a key source of innovation and creativity in society. IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) protection faces various challenges with the emphasis on laws in developing countries where IPR law has not been made compliant with international treaties or adapted to the technology-driven society (Olubiyi et al.,2022). To combat IP crime, the Department of Justice plans to develop relationships with foreign law enforcement. Furthermore, the guidelines provided and their interpretations are relatively subjective.
In my opinion, developing laws and regulations that are accessible and effective to the owners is vital. The government needs to look at the entirety of the legal framework and the types of violations to develop new tools to tackle new methods of noncompliance. Apart from the above-mentioned legislation challenges, other factors such as technology, enforcement, internet, awareness, economic infrastructure, and lack of IP culture can hinder IP protection.
References
Frankenfield. J. 2021. Trade scret. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trade-secret.asp#:~:text=A%20trade%20secret%20is%20any,of%20internal%20research%20and%20development.
Olubiyi. I, Emeroli. U and Adetula. A. 2022. Contemporary challenges to intellectual property rights in developing countries: looking beyond the laws (Nigeria as a case study). Springer Link. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40319-021-01138-7
U.S. Chambers of Commerce. 2019. Why is IP important? U.S Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center. https://www.theglobalipcenter.com/why-is-ip-important/
