Good Report About Patents And Intellectual Property (IP)

Intellectual property refers to products of the mind conjured from creativity and imagination. Examples of intellectual properties include literature, music, art, inventions, and discovery. Intellectual property rights assign exclusive rights to the originator of a piece work or an idea. A patent, a form of intellectual property rights, gives exclusive rights to an inventor for a limited duration of time. Patents awarded by relevant government agencies ensure that inventors benefit from their work in exchange for public disclosure. Most patents offer solutions to technological problems and are a form of intellectual property rights. This is a paper on the concepts of intellectual property and patents.
Intellectual property refers to the tangible product resulting from an individual’s mental capabilities. On the other hand, a patent defines the rights that product’s creator holds over the public use and exploitation of the product. A patent enables an inventor to enjoy special benefits such as monetary gains from the use of his product for the given duration of time. The patent itself is a form of an intangible product.
The owner of an intellectual property indefinitely holds control over his work. Only the owner of an intellectual property, such as music, should benefit from any monetary gains resulting from the use of the property. A good example of an intellectual property claim is the case between the Marvin Gaye estate and Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. The two musician were accused of infringing copyright laws by sampling pieces of Gaye’s classic song “Got to Give it Up” in their recent song “Blurred Lines”. The defendants were found guilty and the claimant, Gaye’s estate, was awarded $7.3million in damages (Roberts, 2015). Even though the song was made decades ago, it is still an intellectual property of the Gaye estate. Hence, sampling of the classic song without express permission from the estate contravened copyright laws and thus the hefty penalty. In contrast, patented intellectual property is open for public use after expiration of the exclusivity period as outlined in the patent.
Patents enable inventors to benefit and gain acknowledgment from their invention while the public enjoys the invention. Most inventions cannot be enjoyed without mass production of the invented products. Also, technological inventions are always part of a product or a process that increases the utility or efficiency of the whole product or process. In such a case, the inventor liaises with the producer of the whole product for mutual benefit between the two parties. Otherwise, the inventor does not gain anything if his invention is not incorporated into the larger product, of which it is a component.
An example of a patented invention that improved the utility of an even bigger product is the steering wheel. Invented and patented in 1926 by Francis W. Davis, the power steering system was first introduced to General Motors to improve ease of navigation in vehicles (Kodama,1988). General Motors deemed the system as too expensive to produce at that time, so Francis never earned any pecuniary benefits during the patent lifetime. Chrysler Corporation produced the first vehicle with a power steering system in 1951, long after the expiry of the patents. The expiry of the patents meant that other companies could freely use the power steering system without seeking licensure from Francis. Conversely, an intellectual property cannot be freely used no matter when it was created. Any use of the property without permission or licensure could lead to contravention of copyright laws.
Intellectual property rights define the ownership and usage of an intellectual property. Intellectual properties such as artistic work are under the sole ownership of their creators for the entire time that the product is in use. Inventors relegate their rights over their inventions after the expiry of the patent period, after which the product is free for public use.

References

Kodama, K., & None. (1988). Assisting power controller for an automotive power steering device. United States.
Roberts, R. (2015, March 10). 'Blurred Lines' verdict a blow to creative expression. The L.A. Times Music Blog. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-blurred-lines-verdict- reaction-20150310-column.html