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Intellectual property: who needs it and why?

Intellectual property: who needs it and why?

In today’s competitive world, almost every business thrives on innovation and ownership. Genuine business assets including ideas and concepts are protected with the help of intellectual property or intellectual property.

Is today’s competitive business world very different from the days of the past? The honest answer would be both yes and no. Although it is obvious why many would have chosen yes, there are reasons why it is not an answer. Well, it’s a NO for the economy. Is the economy the same as it was 30 or 50 years ago? It didn’t have the same potholes and dips or driving forces as today.

What is different in the economy and why are companies paying more attention than ever to IP?

We see that many companies create their R&D departments, hire exclusive engineers and designers, include programmers and researchers to allocate a large part of their budget to invest in inventors who bring IP. On the other hand, there is an explosion of innovation and creativity among many ordinary people who become inventors of products and business models. Often these ordinary people have no experience or knowledge in business or technical training.

Why do companies show interest in IP? The answer is simple and direct. It is because IP country back. It pays both the investor and the inventor. It doesn’t matter if the company buys the invention or finances it, it pays for everything. In business, supply and demand are two closely related forces. Demand creates more supply and vice versa. Consider this: when it comes to a new business, they will want to display their product on supermarket shelves. These shelves are also stocked with products supplied by various other companies. There is usually no option to expand the shelf in the supermarket. This is when there is a dispute. The new company will catch the attention of the public only if it has some special features than the reputable company selling the product. The special feature could be anything: a lower price, a special ingredient, better looks, better value, improvised quality, eco-friendly materials or ingredients, or simply any feature that the customer would appreciate now or in the future. Now, it is time for the existing business to protect itself from the competition. They have to maintain their shelf space to stay in business. How do they help themselves? They do the same as new companies. They keep updating their features. They use innovative technology to make them sound and feel better than their competition. Intellectual property and patents. Patents are the best way to keep products on the market for a long time.

Years ago, when I was Director of New Product Development at a company in New Jersey, I was asked to design a new infant seat that could be installed in shopping carts at major US and Canadian retailers. The company was the best in the field of developing commercial equipment and products for the retail environment. I still consider the president of the company to be one of the smartest businessmen I have ever worked with. He was confused. I asked him, “Our company is the best in the market and we lead the industry with the baby seats we have designed before. Why would you want to invest money, effort and time in a new product when your company already has the best of them?” ?” He calmly replied, “Taking care of a business is like taking care of a plant. You cannot revive a plant that has dried up due to drought. You have to water it regularly to keep it alive and thriving. In fact, reviving a half-dead plant is much harder than keeping it healthy.” For me, it was a very valuable lesson. I was lucky to learn another important lesson from him. One day, he announced that he was making an offer to buy one of the competing companies that went bankrupt. It was about to close completely. I was shocked. I asked him, “Why would you want to buy a dying company? I guess they don’t have anything you want or need. Am I missing something?” The president replied, “Yes, I understand that this company is almost dead. It may be gone, but they have something that I want. They have several patents. This would open up more market opportunities for the owner of these patents. I am very interested in this dying company just because of its valuable patents. So this made me realize that the demand for innovation and inventions creates a supply of new ideas. New ideas give new solutions, which in turn give new proposals that eventually become commercial offers.

Modern technology and advanced communication techniques have helped a lot in the demographic aspect. There are a number of TV shows like “Shark Tank” that feature people from different social, professional, and educational backgrounds meeting potential investors. Viewers of these shows soon realize that you don’t have to be rich to make money. You don’t always have to come from an influential family to make more money or invent new things. The critical factors that help you make an invention would be observation, creativity, skills or abilities, and the willingness to act on the perceived idea. The logical idea for getting your business idea off the ground is to address the financial needs and initial investment of many independent inventors. Many crowdfunding websites like Quirky.com, fundanything.com, Ulile.com help you raise the money needed to start your business. I know some of the inventors on a personal level, who have managed to make money from these websites. They have been successful with their approach and finance their own project. The development of their ideas has led them to manufacture products based on their ideas. I must admit that crowdfunding does NOT work for everyone. It is not a permanent solution!

If you ask me how I see the future in the field of intellectual property rights – invention and innovation – I would say I see it as a river that gets more water, gets stronger, wider and wilder!

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