Are Intellectual Property Rights The Answer?

Dr. Mark Esper writes that the strengthening of Intellectual Property rights was the answer to the last great economic recovery in his post called Innovation and the next great recovery.

He goes on to argue that we need to tighten the reigns on intellectual property laws and rights once again to get out of the current economic situation.

I’m just not sure that I agree with him.

Some Great Stats

I love a few well placed stats to make an argument just as much as the next guy, but the stats that Dr. Esper cites seem to border on hyperbole. Here’s two examples:

The counterfeiting and piracy of American goods cost the U.S. economy over $200 billion annually, and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

By definition, this is an enforcement problem and not a problem with the way the law is currently written.

At the same time, workers in IP-based industries are projected to earn approximately $7,000 more than their counterparts in non-IP lines of work.

This sounds legit, but first off… what is an IP-based industry? Second, is it easy to prove how similar the jobs are between IP and non IP-based industries? Third, how much IP does an organization need to turn into revenue to be part of this exclusive list?

For some stats from actual studies that illustrate Intellectual Property Rights negative correlation with R&D and Innovation, check this post by Mike Meurer and Jim Bessen called: Do Patents Promote Economic Growth? .

Economy’s Lifeblood

Dr. Esper states that our ideas are the lifeblood of our economy. But when was the last time that an idea employed somebody? Ideas don’t do anything by themselves. People come up with and implement ideas. People bend reality to their will to create something where there was once nothing.

The average American is the lifeblood of the economy.

Now that the average American has an internet enabled distribution capability, why is a nearly unenforceable protection of ideas still needed? If I am able to come up with ideas, develop them and distribute them through my networks and my networks’ networks until I’m either profitable or I find out that my idea isn’t worth much, then how much protection do I really need?

How Long Does It Take Again?

The truth of the matter is that it takes a long time and costs a lot of money to “protect” a business idea. And these are ideas that may not even amount to anything. That’s enough to make protecting ideas nearly inaccessible for the small entrepreneur. Plus does an archaic filing process really even make sense in a world that has evolved into a real time network of idea sharing? Or is this some sort of elaborate ruse to hide Government revenue generation?

Seriously asking here…

What Do You Think?

Apparently this is an on-going debate at the Capitol. But what do you think? Are intellectual property rights good, a necessary evil, or horrible? Please let me know in the comments below.