Posted by Nadia Haddad.
“Intellectual Property law works, until it is stretched.” According to a New York Times article, the problem with intellectual property law is that lawyers try to push the idea of I.P. too far in other areas, like software development, because they believe more the better. The article states that a software patent is a good example of a failed “experiment” because no one today can name a major software innovation whose investments relied on a patent. Some software innovations such as Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet, Netscape’s browser, or Google’s search are not responsible for their existence because of a patent. The article mentioned how software patents are expensive, threaten competition, and are occasionally used for accounting fraud.
Intellectual Property plays an important role for all humans in society. In general terms, intellectual property is any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by others. Intellectual property is important because it drives economic growth and competition, as well as creating and supporting high paying jobs.
The mind is the most important thing a human possesses, because that is the root of who you are and what you want to do. We live life through people’s intellectual properties or inventions, which is why we need to protect them.
Nadia is a business administration major with a minor in international business at Montclair State University, Class of 2016.