Conventional wisdom is that if something is working then you shouldn’t change it; “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” as an old English saying goes. The IP system works so why change it? Why is continuing change fundamental to the role and function of IP in our society? In fact systems with long cycle [...]

One of the common images used of countries, companies, even families is that in hard times the family silver is brought out of the cupboard where it has lain unused for generations and then sold to fill a short term gap in finances. Looked at the other way, what good was the family silver doing [...]

The insight “Never underestimate people’s intelligence or lack of information” has been attributed to several people, President Lincoln and Lord Reith, 1930’s head of the BBC to name but two. It is an insight that can be appropriately applied to the world about IP, particularly since only a exclusive minority have any formal education in [...]

Often said, “The Devil’s in the detail” is a popular saying without a certain author, though Wikipedia says Gustave Flaubert is the author of the “earlier”, and more positive, “the good God is in the detail”. The “Devil” is more often applied, even by professionals who know their way, to the arcane and obscure details [...]

The ownership of intellectual property by the individual that created it is a fundamental human right. In a sophisticated knowledge economy, owning and trading in our own intellectual capital is as fundamental as trading in our labour was in a manufacturing economy. At least this is one view. Not everyone sees IP that way. Some [...]

It is over thirty years since colour was an issue in patents. Then it was a squash ball which was in the spot light, or rather a blue squash ball, and whether it was fair to be able to get a patent on a squash ball simply because it was blue, when black squash balls [...]

It is usual to complain about the price of insurance, for our health, for our homes, for our vacations. Getting insurance in the world of IP is a different matter. What we know as insurance, a paid for policy to give cash in adverse circumstances isn’t really common in IP, though you can get policies [...]

Despite the persistent few naysayers, it is now clear that there is a fundamental, global environmental, ecological challenge to future of our planet.  Not only the impact of the exploitation on natural resources, but also the consequence of a high-carbon economy.  Resources not only used, but over used.  The environment not only polluted, but also [...]

Small and Medium Enterprises, or companies, along with the even smaller Micro-companies, are often put forward as a key source, some would say the key source of innovation, particularly technical innovation, which drives economic growth.  IP, the embodiment of innovation, technical or business, should then be at the heart of what SMEs do, at the [...]