Shining the spotlight on intellectual property in law
It might not be obvious at first sight, but intellectual property (IP) is part of our daily lives and all around us.
Copyright protects the output of students and staff, the music we listen to, and the movies we watch. The brands we love (and those that we don’t) align to logos, names, colours and shapes as trade marks. Much of the tech we use involves patents, designs, and trade secrets. Oh, and then there are local and regional products that are protected as geographical indications – from Arbroath Smokies and Stornoway Black Puddings to Scotch Whisky and beyond. Tasty!
The discussion around what should or should not be protected as intellectual property is always fresh and controversial, especially when technology, developing at a rate of knots, keeps on throwing spanners in the works. Should text or art created by Artificial Intelligence entities benefit from protection? How should we handle AI in education? And don’t mention ChatGPT… there are few dull moments in IP and creativity!
The World Intellectual Property Organisation, which oversees many of the international treaties and conventions that impact on what our local IP law looks like, has earmarked 26 April (the day of its creation in 1970) as ‘World Intellectual Property Day’.
It invites us to learn about how the law can promote and protect innovation, something that is integral to many personal and business activities. This year’s motto is ‘Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity’ to celebrate the can-do attitude of women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs around the world as well as their ground-breaking work and wider careers in intellectual property.
At RGU, we have had an annual World IP Day event since 2011. Intellectual property plays a role in many undergraduate and postgraduate courses (even though it sometimes requires a little digging to find it!), and RGU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group (EIG) play a vital role in ensuring our budding innovators keep an eye on IP as a key business and strategic asset.
This year’s event, organised jointly by the Law School and the Law Students’ Society, is scheduled for Tuesday 25 April 2023 via Zoom from 12.30 – 14.00 and hosted by myself and Mia Agnew.
We have three exciting speakers lined up: Caroline Pigott, Trade Mark Director, HGF; Jacqueline Morrison, Founder and Director, Napkin Innovation; and Dr Titilayo Adebola, Lecturer in Law, University of Aberdeen University.
They will talk to us about their respective journeys and experiences around trade marks, patents and lots more. If you are interested in finding out more about the interaction and connectivity between innovation, creativity, and law while also getting ideas for your next career move or building on your network, it would be great to have you join us.
The event is free and open to all. If you’ve any questions please feel free to reach out via email to myself, Thorsten Lauterbach of RGU’s Law School.
