Property Rights and Fair Use Protect Innovation 8.0
A commitment to intellectual property rights must go hand-in-hand with our focus on Innovation. In our very first blog, we defined innovation as ”a process of creating, diffusing and applying knowledge by firms and other stakeholder groups.”
The US NIC report defines a National Innovation System similarly as “the process by which intellectual concepts are moved towards commercialization for the benefit of the national economy”. The same report identifies legal systems to protect intellectual property rights as one of the nine pillars of an NIS. In this pillar, the U.S. leads China and India by a wide margin. The report does not see a closing of the gap in the near future.
Innovation, whose provenance is knowledge, will not flourish if its originators of new knowledge are not protected. And the only protection is by a (a) legal system that is (b) enforced in practice.
As an innovator himself, SYNTHESiST is committed to intellectual property rights.
In referencing the intellectual property of others, we undertake our commitment to the doctrine of “fair use”. The doctrine has four elements which are sometimes taken by part or as parts of one whole..
- In the purpose and character of use, we will move towards a transformative goal that stimulates creativity and enriches the general public;
- In the nature of copyrighted work, we will focus on facts, ideas and insights rather than on the presentation;
- In the amount and substantiality used, our quotations will be brief and citation will be given as needed; and
- On the effect of the use upon the market of the copyrighted goods, our own annotation, discussion or citation, in fact, increases these works’ value.
Note that, especially between #2 and #4, there is some overlap among the four. I will exercise judgment to balance and maximize the protection of these others in publishing SYNTHESiST.
If you agree or disagree that for rich or poor the guarantee of property rights, whether real or intellectual, is a needed foundation for innovation and wealth creation, SHOUT! Add your comments.
Note: I based the bottom half of this post mainly on the Wikipedia article on Fair Use. I absolve Wikipedia of any accountability relating to this interpretation. I acknowledge that Wikipedia articles are updated as expert readers find changes that need to be made. Finally, please note that above reference is on U.S. Copyright Law while this undertaking is in the spirit of British-style common law.
