Intellectual Property: the key to your success

In the video in the previous Step, Dr Marrisa explained that the reason we have a legal entity called ‘Intellectual Property’ is so that you can protect your idea while you turn it into a commercial success. So it’s vital you understand it.

Intellectual property (IP) law has been part of society for centuries. It has supported innovation and creativity, ensuring that knowledge is shared whilst recognising the rights of the creator. IP law has allowed individuals to turn the rights in their ideas into the foundations for global technology companies and media franchises. Let’s take a look at some examples.

Copyright

The origin of copyright law dates back to when authors’ rights were first recognised in the UK with the ‘Statute of Anne’ in 1710. This was the first time authors were fully recognised in the creative process and modern copyright law is built on this eighteenth century legislation. Copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works.

An example of some very successful work protected by copyright law is that of Author, Executive Producer and Writer, Shonda Rhimes. As a script writer, Rhimes developed her ideas into some of the most popular TV dramas in history, including Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and her most recent work, Bridgerton, on Netflix. In 2014, Rhimes was bestowed with the title ‘Queen of Thursday Nights’, as her shows ran one after the other on the ABC network in the United States; Grey’s Anatomy, then Scandal, followed by How to Get Away with Murder. Rhimes has created a media empire, founding her own production company – Shondaland – which creates and produces her TV shows, and now exclusively produces entertainment for Netflix.

If you’re interested, you can watch this optional video where Rhimes reveals that one of her secrets of success is as simple as saying ‘yes’.

Patents

Patents are also an important part of intellectual property law. They help to foster innovation, ensuring that inventors are recognised in the creation of new technology and providing them with a time-limited monopoly (usually limited to 20 years) to fully exploit their ideas. Patents date back to the Middle Ages with the first recorded patent being granted in Florence, Italy in 1421.

James Dyson is one of Britain’s most famous inventors. He is the founder of the Dyson company and has built an international business and brand on the foundation of patented inventions that have transformed appliances both in domestic and commercial settings. Since the company was launched in 1979, it has filed thousands of international patent applications to prevent copycat products being brought to the market, a level of protection that has enabled Dyson to become a global leader of innovation.

If you’re interested, you can watch this optional video which outlines the extraordinary success of Dyson’s instinct for invention.

Confidential information

Intellectual property law recognises that intellectual labour, creativity and intangible creations of the mind have significant value. This can include secrets. Proprietary or confidential information (also known as trade secrets) has turned some companies into global organisations worth billions of dollars, as their products are built on secret recipes that have become synonymous with their brand.

One of the most famously guarded secrets is the recipe for Coca-Cola. In 2023, the Coca-Cola company generated revenues of over $43billion (USD), meaning that the recipe could be considered a billion-dollar secret. Dr John S Pemberton (1831–1888) devised the recipe for Coca-Cola back in 1886 and, according to the company, the formula has been kept in secure vaults ever since. This mysterious secret has become part of the company’s story, their history. You can even visit a tourist attraction based on the famous secret vault at Coca-Cola World in Atlanta, Georgia, in the USA.

If you’re interested, you can watch this optional video on how Dr John Pemberton developed his world-famous soft drink from a medicinal concoction called ‘French Wine of Coca’.

These are just some examples of how ideas which are protected by IP law have grown and developed into leading global companies. They highlight that strong protection from the outset enabled the creators, Rhimes, Dyson and Pemberton, to develop their ideas into commercial success, and that ideas are the foundation of any commercial strategy.

Learning Journal

In just a few words, note down the idea (or ideas) that you want to develop as you progress through the course.