The State of Intellectual Property Education Worldwide

The importance of intellectual property (IP) in today's world cannot be overstated and, indeed, it is receiving a great deal of attention worldwide. To advance the cause of the rights and wrongs of the laws that promote and protect intellectual property at the national and international levels, education in intellectual property is required and must be advocated. We must make individuals, industries, and governments aware of the concept of intellectual property, and only then can they take positions on the issue in order to effect change. This paper explains the concept of intellectual property rights and provides a detailed overview of the state of IP education worldwide. The discussion divides the globe on the basis of economic distinctions between nations and studies the question in the context of their developmental levels: developed, developing, or underdeveloped. The State of Intellectual Property Education Worldwide Intellectual property (IP) consists of any ideas, concepts, insignias, and symbols that are unique and original to the owner. IP has various broad categories: copyright, trademarks, patents, designs, and other types of information. The concept is best thought of as a bundle of rights protected by law. Trade secrets, expertise, and know-how, are instances of confidential company information that are also covered by IP laws. These ideas and concepts are assets to an organization or country and can be extremely valuable. It has been estimated that IP, as intangible assets, constitutes around 75 percent of the assets of publicly-listed U.S. businesses (Economist 2005). Technologylicensing revenues are estimated to amount to $45 billion in the U.S. and over $100 billion (and growing) worldwide. This demonstrates the importance of protecting IP. While IP rights are intangible, the law will enforce them only if the creative work is fixed in tangible form. This means the work has to be fixed in a medium of expression, such as on paper or an audio CD. In the past, a tendency to overlook IP rights existed, but it is emerging as one of the most important areas in the commercial and academic world today. As mentioned, businesses have an ever-growing portfolio of IP, and inventors are working to create more, as investors rush to put their money into the next round of R & D efforts. Science and technology are constantly changing our world, and their applications to our everyday lives make a significant contribution to our comfort. Isn't it warranted that we seek to protect the creations of the scientists, technologists, and artists who enrich our lives? The idea behind intellectual property rights is to provide creators with the right to control their works. Individuals or groups inventing the work have put their genius, hard work, and resources into its creation. Inventors should be rewarded for their efforts and reap the benefits of their research. Eliminating the incentive of reward discourages creativity. This is the capitalist ideology and, in practice, creativity and reward are inextricably The State of Intellectual Property Education Worldwide Lakhan SE, Khurana MK