“There appears to be a widespread assumption that intellectual property (i.e., things produced by the mind, such as books, songs and inventions) is less worthy of protection than physical property such as cars, homes, real estate, livestock and jewelry”, – noted Merrill Matthews, Jr. and Tom Giovanetti in their article “Why Intellectual Property is Important?” People who would never walk into someone’s house and take a stereo without permission or paying for it might feel no guilt whatsoever in stealing software or downloading a song from the Internet without paying for it or seeking permission from the artist or recording company. Although people often can get free use of someone’s intellectual property, does that make it right? Does it really hurt anyone? Is intellectual property really all that important?
We live in a society that not only consumes intellectual property; we live in a society that creates it. Undermining intellectual property protections undermines one of the pillars on which our economy (and our global competitiveness) rests.
Intellectual property (IP) rights are valuable assets for business – possibly among the most important it possesses. And many people have already realized how important it is to protect intellectual property.
IP encourages innovation and rewards entrepreneurs, drives economic growth and competitiveness, creates and supports good jobs, protects consumers and families, and helps generate breakthrough solutions to global challenges.