Intellectual Property Rights - Coursework Example

Intellectual Property Rights Introduction: There have been many studies, researches and debates over intellectual property rights for governance in and of innovation systems. Intellectual property rights play a pivotal role in the governance of various innovation systems such as national, sectoral, corporate, university and military systems. The emphasis on the potential of intellectual capital has paved the way for an increased use of patent and licensing oriented measures in all these innovation systems. Intellectual property rights vary from “old types of rights such as patents for inventions, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and design rights” to its new forms such as “breeding rights, mask work rights and database rights” (Andersen 2006, p. 302). The ultimate goal of preserving intellectual property rights is to foster distinctive originality or inventiveness. Whereas the earliest forms of international property rights focussed on tangible assets IPRs on intangible assets have become common place in the modern era where intellectual capitalism plays a significant role in innovation systems. One can also notice that advancements in the field of science, technology and information and communication technologies have also considerably facilitated this growth and emphasis on intellectual capitalism. It is also imperative to understand the design process and the design rights involved in the intellectual property rights debate. This paper seeks to explore the various aspects of intellectual property rights and in doing so special care is taken to evaluate the role of IPRs in the innovation and design process towards achieving a competitive advantage. Intellectual property rights-An overview. To begin with a discussion regarding intellectual property rights, one must have a clear cut idea regarding the concept of intellectual property. According to Merriam Webster intellectual property refers to ‘an idea, invention, or process’ that is derived “from the work of the mind or intellect: an application, right or registration relating to this” (Scudder 2010). Any imaginative inventions of mind or intelligence similar to literacy and artistic works, names, symbols, images or designs can be treated as an intellectual property (What is Intellectual Property?). Intellectual property is the unique outcome of the resourcefulness and imagination, in any ground. Providing legal protection to intellectual property support the building of inventions which sequentially benefit the society; these rights are documented by government and courts in such a way that a balance is ensured so as to outfit the needs of both the user and the creator (Intellectual Property: Source of innovation, creativity, growth and progress 2005, p. 6). The picture is same in the case of developing and developed countries. Influence of IPR on Innovation As Greeenhalgh and Rougers state, “Innovation can be defined as the application of new ideas to the products, processes, or other aspects of the activities of a firm that lead to increased value” (Greenhalgh & Rogers 2010, p. 4). There are two major classifications of innovations: product innovations and process innovations. The former explains a significant qualitative change in an existing product or the introduction of a new product, while the latter tells one regarding the introduction of a new process for making or delivering goods and services. There are still many who purport that an organizational change within a firm constitutes a third category of innovation. One can clearly notice that intellectual property rights are the major factors encouraging innovations and expansion in today’s economic world. By providing a limited ability to keep out others from reproducing, or taking advantage of the protected idea or resources, IPRs provide very important incentives for explorative studies and development leading to new outcomes, innovations and facilitate the dispersion of advanced technology. Factors influencing innovation other than IPR Even though IPR plays the key role in determining innovation, it is also important to have a look at some other factors that influence the innovation process. The relevance of expanding science and technology in innovation cannot be neglected. Innovation gets boosted at par with the arrival of advanced technologies. The role of inter-firm rivalry is yet another factor to be considered. The overall importance of inter-firm rivalry to the innovation process is emphasized by the theoretical economic research done by Schumpeter in his Path Breaking Analysis in capitalism, socialism and democracy (Greenhalgh & Rogers 2010, p. 2). Advantages of IPR A company’s or an individual’s intellectual property is protected by means of the governing laws on copy rights, trade marks, patents, designs and trade secrets. Among these rights patent is considered to be the most powerful, because it prevents companies’ or individuals’ from a purposeful illegal misuse of their inventions by others. As a result, a company having patent on their innovations make better profits out of it. Its competitors will always have threat in mind due to the presence of patent and they will always be scared to take even a single illegal pace (Libecap & Thursby 2008, p. 71). IPRS in Innovation Systems The role of intellectual property rights in innovation systems has long been discussed and majority of such studies focussed specifically on corporate innovation systems. It is imperative for large technology-based corporations to design or develop effective processes and strategies to promote technological, managerial and financial innovations of various sorts. Similarly, there should be creative and effective efforts in universities and military innovation systems to promote such intellectual property rights as patenting, licensing, secrecy and copyright. For Andersen, a corporate innovation system consists of “the set of actors, activities, resources and institutions and the casual interrelations that are in some sense important for the innovative performance of a corporation or a group of collaborating companies, including universities and other organizations” (2006, p. 324). Intellectual property rights play a significant role in national innovation systems in protecting the national interests. The size and growth of the domestic market is a powerful predictor of the development of any national innovation system in the absence of patents. With the rapid spread of globalization and industrializations even small industrializing nations could become powerful through their property rights over innovations. As far as the corporate companies are concerned, the need to generate both minor and major innovations for product as well as processes has posed new challenges. Innovative activities within the organizational setting have been proved to be potential factors that yield competitive advantage to the organization over other competitors. In an organizational setting trade secrets and trademarks are also important as that of patenting. It can thus be concluded that the “IPRs are now increasingly used as a managerial or governance tool for influencing the pattern of trade, competition and cooperation in a larger context than just protecting product and process innovations from price competition, as well as a tool for information and exploitation of intellectual capital” (Andersen, 2006, p. 328). The IRPs have also assumed new dimensions with university innovation systems as universities have become now economic institutions who very often play the roles of knowledge-based corporations. Similarly, IPRs with regard to military innovation systems take into account such factors as secrecy, and various types of controls and sanctions. Today, integration of the various innovation systems and their collaboration across nations, sectors, companies and civilian-military borders have enhanced the significance of intellectual property rights globally. Intellectual Property Rights and design process The design process, the rights and responsibilities of the designers, and the way their rights are being protected assume great significance in preserving intellectual property rights. Competent designers need to produce innovative designs that take into account factors such as the social and aesthetic standards of the community, the need and interests of the organization, the presence of competitors in the same realm, the environmental impact of the design, its manufacture and use, respect towards the intellectual property of others, and the confidentiality of the whole design process. While the term design refers to ‘the shape or appearance of finished products’, registered designs cannot be used or reproduced without the permission of the original designer (Strazzari & Trevallion 2003, p. 185). It is therefore imperative that there exists sound copyright legislation with regard to original designs that can prevent unauthorized commercial and industrial reproduction of the design. Design rights are manifested in the form of copyright, circuit layout rights, trade secrets protection, patents, and guard against plagiarism. An understanding of the term design can be made either in an Engineering sense or in an artistic perspective. But an assessment is possible as Caenegem (2007, P. 130) observes that in both “the term designs concerns the configuration of useful articles and is in that sense distinct from art which is created for its own sake”. Design rights are broadly classified into registered and unregistered designs and it is essential to have a thorough understanding regarding the nature of both types of designs. In U.K, the Registered Design Act 1949 clearly define the registered and unregistered design rights and the Copyright, design and Patent Act 1988 has redefined and established unregistered design rights in the nation. Unregistered design rights take its origin automatically when someone creates a new design. In this respect UDRs are similar to the copyright, but the reach of defence is limited. The protection offered by UDRs never keeps a design completely protected from copying or it never offers an entire ownership of the design. On the other hand RDRs offer a complete protection of rights to a particular design which is registered. The one who owns the rights by RDR is allowed to make the best use of the protected design in a particular region for which the registration has been made, without any interference by the competitors in using the design for a particular period of time. In the case of UK and UE RDRs offer protection on a design for a period of 25 years which is renewable every five years. Design innovation benefits the design right holders in many ways. It helps to improve on the quality of the product. An observable enhancement of the competitive position as well as the formation of an exciting linkage with the customers is achieved by way of design innovation. It shows the importance of the need to protect the design rights as it contributes a lot to the growth and development of the whole industry. Governance, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual property rights presuppose proper governance to foster innovation and design process. From a governance perspective, intellectual property rights addresses not only the incentive aspects but they also seek to incorporate coordination aspects. In this respect, one can notice certain differences between the intellectual property rights and physical property rights. This difference, according to Andersen, “refers to the simple (but important) fact that, in contrast to an exchange of a physical object (resource, artefact) between two agents, an economically motivated exchange of proprietary information new to one of the agents (for example, through a market transaction), leaves both agents in possession of the information” (2006, p. 321). Thus, it is imperative that there exist certain governance patterns to control and coordinate these agents. It can also be seen that intellectual property rights foster post-exchange contractual relations whereas physical property rights results in the exhaustion of the seller’s right once the physical object is sold. Thus, one can conclude that IP based strategies such as large inter-firm technology collaborations, distributed intellectual capital management, and digital rights management schemes seek to manage or govern various productive operations in the modern economy and no doubt these strategies would make the organizations or agents more efficient and innovative. One can also come across a close link between global governance and intellectual property. With the emergence of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the concept of global governance that seeks to address specific issues at the supra-state level has taken new dimensions. The growing number of internet users has made WIPO to intervene in issues such as domain name allocation in relation to trademarks, offering international protection to trademark owners, domain names’ relation to already existing trademarks, distribution of trademark licenses, and the preservation of Industrial Property Rights. Similarly, it is imperative that issues such as cyber-squatting, the ‘misalignment between trademark rights and the possibility of utilizing them for commercial advantage’ (commercial issue of trademark misuse), and international lobbying comes under WIPO’s global governance with regard to the preservation of intellectual property rights (May, 2006, p. 58). It is also worthwhile to consider how TRIPS (Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) has contributed towards the preservation of intellectual property rights. In this respect, Marlin-Bennett (2004) purports member states to “enforce intellectual property rights through civil and administrative procedures and remedies, as well as criminal procedures in the case of intentional violations” (Marlin-Bennett, 2004, p. 64). The other agencies that facilitate the governance of intellectual property rights are the UPOV and WTO. International agreements such as the Nice Agreement (dealing with the classification of goods and services), the Locarno Agreement (dealing with the registration of industrial designs), and the Strasbourg Agreement (concerning the International Patent Classification) amended in 1979 and the Vienna Agreement are some of the notable ventures in the governance of international property rights. Conclusions There is no doubt that the internal intellectual property rights of a nation is comprised of such laws and practices that reflect the society’s own needs, the political goals of the nation, and the historical circumstances. The social, political and economic interests of the nation are reflected in the intellectual property rights priorities of each nation and as such the intellectual property rights system undergoes radical changes with the passage of time and subsequent changes in the socio-economic and political need of the nation. However, the primary purpose of intellectual property rights is to promote originality and innovations. For this, it is essential that competent IPRs are implemented in all the innovation systems. Similarly, there should be proper legislations that support design rights and for this there should be effective national and international governance systems. References Andersen, B 2006, Intellectual property rights: innovation, governance and the institutional environment, Illustrated ed: Edward Elgar Publishing. Caenegem, W.V 2007, Intellectual property law and innovation, Cambridge University Press. Greenhalgh, C & Rogers, M 2010, Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Economic Growth, Illustrated ed: Princeton University Press. Intellectual Property: Source of innovation, creativity, growth and progress 2005, International Chamber of Commerce, viewed 8 December 2010, < http://www.iccwbo.org/uploadedFiles/ICC/policy/intellectual_property/Statements/BASCAP_IP_pub.pdf>. Libecap, G,D & Thursby, M 2008, Technological innovation: generating economic results, Illustrated ed: Emerald Group Publishing. Marlin-Bennett, R 2004, Knowledge power: intellectual property, information, and privacy, Lynne Rienner Publishers. May, C 2007, The World Intellectual Property Organization: resurgence and the development agenda, Illustrated ed: Taylor & Francis. Scudder, R 2010, Definition of Intellectual Property: It May Not Be What You Think, Bright Hub Inc, viewed 8 December 2010, < http://www.brighthub.com/office/entrepreneurs/articles/39140.aspx>. Strazzari, S & Trevallion, D 2003, Design and technology, Illustrated ed: Pascal Press. What is Intellectual Property? WIPO, viewed 8 December 2010, < http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/>. Read More