How can we expect the public to adhere to IP laws, if they don’t understand what IP is? asks Borealis patent attorney Eric Björkman

How many times do we have to read that Harley-Davidson has ‘patented’ the sound of its motorcycle engines (when, in reality, it has sought to register a trademark to protect the distinctive ‘tut tut’ sound) or that Apple has patented the iPhone (when, in reality, it has bought the right to use the name)? How many times do we have to read that an inventor has filed a ‘world patent’, as if such a thing exists? As innovation continues to drive forward the global economy, the media is increasingly covering how intellectual creations are protected and can be protected; however, all too often these articles contain errors that confuse and mislead the public.

We are already seeing the consequences of the misuse of IP terms. For a start, many now believe that IP law protects everything and anything, so long as you’re a multinational corporation with enough cash and power behind you to buy yourself a monopoly. And, if that’s the case, then what’s the harm of downloading a few songs illegally on the internet or purchasing a pirate DVD at the market?

Only by using correct wording in these cases and correcting misconceptions where they occur will we be able to make some headway into altering false preconceptions about the right to property in modern society.

Yes, the rise in the copying of music and movies and the downloading of pirate information is due to advancements in technology, but it’s also due to a lack of understanding of copyright laws, and who they have been put in place to protect. And once you begin to believe that it’s OK to copy music and movies, then it’s only a matter of time before this thinking spreads to all types of innovation protected by IP law.

Patently obvious?
Who, then, does it fall on to help unravel these misconceptions? I would say that it falls on us all. The IP profession needs to educate and inform the public about the rules of IP – not just in terms of what can be protected and how, but also how this protection provides positive impacts for their daily lives.

The easiest way to do this is to ensure that our media carries an accurate assessment or description of IP. That means highlighting errors when they occur, offering to write for, or appear in, the media itself, and passing the right messages to the editors in the first place. Only by using correct wording in these cases and correcting misconceptions where they occur will we be able to make some headway into altering false preconceptions about the right to property in modern society.

We, as a profession, have the responsibility to reinforce this message, but we also have a reason to do so. After all, by ensuring that patents, trademarks, designs and copyright become more respected, we’ll also be reducing the battle needed to enforce them.


This article first appeared in IP Review, issue 18

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