Officials from across the Commonwealth and beyond gathered to discuss the potential future for patents and intellectual property (IP) law in April. The ‘Blueprints For Innovation: Intellectual Property in the Bluegrass State’ forum, hosted by the Kentucky Intellectual Property Alliance and the Council for Innovation Promotion, opened discussions about what patent laws do at state, national, and international levels.
US House Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky’s fourth congressional district spoke alongside Andrei Iancu, former Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office. Other IP law experts from Kentucky and beyond rounded out the events as keynote speakers and panelists.
Representative Massie said his time as an inventor and engineer taught him the importance of patents for advancing industry across the state and beyond. A key way to prevent brain drain in the region, he said, is to strengthen laws protecting IP and patents.
“The story that’s told over and over in eastern Kentucky, where somebody figures a way out but they don’t figure a way back. And we need to figure a way back. Intellectual property is an important part of that because we’re innovative people here in Appalachia,” said Massie.
Intellectual property encompasses a wide range of creations, from engineering inventions and new medicines to artistic works like music compositions and graphic designs. Massie added he aims to accomplish the passing of national legislation which would take more IP cases to federal jury trials, as well as creating pathways for injunctions to firmly halt proven cases of copyright infringement.
Iancu, a current partner at Sullivan and Cromwell as well as the former Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, said one of the biggest misconceptions in his field is that patent and intellectual property laws monopolize invention and problem solving.
“Patents are just temporary protections, for just a few years, for the inventor- for the specific way they’ve solved a particular problem,” said Iancu. “If someone else comes up with a different way they’ve solved the same problem, then they can do it on their own. And then when the patents expire, anybody can have access to that information.”
Iancu also said though the national and international effects of patents might appear more obvious, strong IP and patents laws help strengthen local economies by driving innovation and creating jobs for members of the community. Without the ability to secure their works and ideas through patents, Iancu argues fewer independent inventors or small businesses will choose the Commonwealth or the United States to construct industry.
Massie added patents, which can also act as symbols of accomplishments for inventors, help those smaller entities compete.
“If you’re in your garage and you invent something and you mortgage your home and quit your job to pursue this idea, that patent is what lets you go up against Apple. It’s what lets you go up against Google or Microsoft. They can’t steal your idea if the government is protecting your idea,” Massie said.
More information on patent law and future events through the Kentucky Intellectual Property Alliance is available on their website.