research
Topic: Creativity and Innovation: Intellectual Property
The term intellectual property refers to products of the intellect, including ideas and artistic works. Patents, copyrights, and trademarks are types of protection for intellectual property granted by the federal government.
For more than 200 years, laws in America have sought a balance between rewarding creativity and permitting borrowing from creative works—from which new creativity springs. New digital technologies present significant concerns and opportunities in that balance. Accordingly, intellectual property and its protection is a hotly debated issue in today’s information age.
According to research by Creative Commons, an initiative of the Stanford Law School Center on Internet & Society, the debate over creative control tends to be polarized at one of two extremes. One is a vision of total control, where all creative work is regulated and all rights are reserved and the other is a vision of anarchy, where creators enjoy a wide range of freedom but are left vulnerable to exploitation.
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