Legal and intellectual property text books typically describe intellectual property and patents in particular in somewhat negative terms. For example, a patent is not a right to practice or use the invention, rather, a patent provides the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale or importing the patented invention for the term of the patent, which is usually twenty years from the filing date. A patent is, in effect, a limited property right that the government offers to inventors in exchange for their agreement to share the details of their inventions with the public.
However, the legal aspects of intellectual property sometimes get too much attention, while the business aspects suffer. It is as if when looking at a tree, all we saw were the roots. Yes, the roots of a tree serve an important role to anchor it to the ground and gather water and nutrients to transfer to all parts of the tree, and for reproduction defense, survival, energy storage and many, many other purposes. However, it is the trunk, the branches and especially the leaves of the tree which capture our attention.
This more enlightened view describes intangible assets and intellectual property in particular as a means to build innovation as opposed to block. Innovation including collaborative innovation with a supplier is reliant on some form of management and control. Intellectual property is the means to manage this process as knowledge and technology needs to be managed as transactions of objects in the development stages as these objects may now be as valuable as or even more so than the resulting products and services. Intellectual property in this regards can be seen as a means to objectify knowledge so it can be properly managed. Without an understanding and appreciation of intangible assets and intellectual property, technology development becomes prohibitively difficult.
This is a fresher way of viewing intellectual property, namely as a management system for knowledge-based business instead of a legal right to exclude others.
Author: Donal O’Connel
Managing Director, Chawton Innovation Services Limited
