IP is an abbreviation of Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property laws deal with laws to protect and enforce rights of the creators and owners of inventions, writing, music, designs and other works, known as the “intellectual property.” Unlike real physical property, such as real estate, carpet, shirt, or cashmere, IP is intangible personal property. IP law protects what the brain makes. IP rights protect creator’s right to use his or her original creation, such as sculptures, music CDs, DVD movies etc., but does not protect the idea itself. Some IP rights last for a specific amount of time, while others can, in theory, last forever.

There are several areas of intellectual property including copyright, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets, as we discussed in my other blogs.

1. Why is Intellectual Property important?

 Intellectual Property means money—IP Rights Encourage Innovation and Reward Entrepreneurs

• Risk and occasional failure are the lifeblood of the innovation economy. IP rights incentivize entrepreneurs to keep pushing for new advances in the face of adversity.
  • IP rights facilitate the free flow of information by sharing the protected know-how critical to the original, patented invention. In turn, this process leads to new innovations and improvements on existing ones.
  • American Founding Fathers recognized the importance of innovation and ensured that strong IP rights for authors and inventors are protected in the U.S. Constitution, thus making America the world’s entrepreneurial leader— a fact borne out by the overwhelming number of patents, copyrights and trademarks filed by the U.S. annually.

Intellectual Property Drives Economic Growth and Competitiveness

• America’s IP is worth trillions, more than the nominal GDP of any other country in the world.
  • IP-intensive industries account for over 33%– or 38%– of total U.S. GDP.
  • These industries also have 72.5% higher output per worker than the national average, valued at $136,556 per worker.
  • IP accounts for 74% of all U.S. exports- which amounts to nearly $1 trillion.
  • The direct and indirect economic impacts of innovation are overwhelming, accounting for more than 40% of U.S. economic growth and employment.

 Strong and Enforced Intellectual Property Rights Protect Consumers and Families

• Strong IP rights help consumers make an educated choice about the safety, reliability, and effectiveness of their purchases.
  • Enforced IP rights ensure products are authentic, and of the high-quality that consumers recognize and expect.
  • IP rights foster the confidence and ease of mind that consumers demand and markets rely on.

Intellectual Property Helps Generate Breakthrough Solutions to Global Challenges

• Nearly all of the 300 products on the World Health Organization’s Essential Drug List, which are critical to saving or improving people’s lives around the globe, came from the R&D-intensive pharmaceutical industry that depends on patent protections.
  • Innovative agricultural companies are creating new products to help farmers produce more and better products for the world’s hungry while reducing the environmental impact of agriculture.
  • IP-driven discoveries in alternative energy and green technologies will help improve energy security and address climate change.

Intellectual Property Creates and Supports High-Paying Jobs

• IP-intensive industries employ over millions of Americans, and hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
• Jobs in IP-intensive industries are expected to grow faster over the next decade than the national average.
• The average worker in an IP-intensive industry earned about 30% more than his counterpart in a non-IP industry
• The average salary in IP-intensive industries pay more per worker compared to the national average.
Bringing all of these important and diverse points together is the fact that protecting IP is a non-partisan issue that is shared by a broad coalition of interests. These rights are embraced by all sectors of industry—small, medium and large companies alike—and by labor organizations, consumer groups, and other trade associations we bring together.
If you have questions about patents and trademarks I am happy to provide a free 1/2 hour call. Please choose a time on my calendar