Table of Contents
Why Protect IP?
1.To Become A Market Leader
Businesses need to manage and protect their IP from day one to guard against others with similar ideas. This can give you a competitive advantage by excluding others and assuming a leading market position, Opines Hirav Shah, Renowned Business Advisor & Astro-Business Strategist.
IP can be protected in various forms of rights. They include copyright which does not need official procedure but proof of creation, as well as patents, trademarks, and industrial designs which rights can be applied through an IP office. You can start by finding out what your potential IP is and how to protect it.
If you are a start-up, you can start by understanding the benefits of IP, where your potential customers are and how to protect your innovative products and services.
2. Ethics
We are herd animals and live off each others’ input and knowledge. It is not fair to say “Mine all mine will not share!” When we all benefit from what others have done, and if one will not share it ends up selfish. “I help You, you help me, and we all survive.”
Meanwhile, the reason for protecting intellectual property is, that those who put the time, money and dreams into this property have certain rights to look forward to that gives them the incentive to push on in adversity and to invest dollars in.
The argument here would be, why should You reap the rewards of someone else’s hard work? Unless you pay for it or they wish to share it?
In countries where everything is shared and everyone is equal, it is hard to get work done. Why bother, if you get the same meal and standard of living if you work or do not work?
There are laws to help with a balance. You are allowed to make a profit on something you thought of and spend time and money on. But not forever, and you can make money, but not have a monopoly.
Well, no system is perfect so this is why one word is ‘ethics’, Tells Hirav Shah, Prolific Business Guru.
Importance Of IP
1.If you are operating at an international level or considering taking your products to international customers, you should obtain IP rights in target markets. With no protection, your competitors can exploit your IP rights and may be free to use your creations.
Where there is an infringement of IP rights by third parties, businesses can seek compensation payments through legal proceedings.
2.Brands are created over time and built through a company’s reputation, products and services. Top global brands like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft are highly valued and help them win new businesses. Trademarks protect brands from commercial exploitation, distinguish products and services from the competition and serve as a quality stamp.
3.Finally, innovation is a key driver of economic activity and good jobs. It can also serve the wider public interest. But, without recognition and financial benefits, it is hard to see how creativity and innovation can thrive.
Take the case of our battle against the pandemic; Pfizer, Moderna and many pharmaceutical companies have been working hard to develop and roll out vaccines to save lives. Would these record speed innovations happen without IP rights?
Final Thoughts
The intellectual property system needs to evolve with the times and consider a waiver for exceptional Patents like Covid-19 vaccines, Feels Astro-Strategist Hirav Shah.
At the same time, by collectively supporting and updating a global IP system as a tool to protect creativity and innovation, business leaders are better placed to create solutions for the world’s pressing problems. As the African proverb says, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together…Hirav Shah Concludes.
