Drew Berweger

On the current episode of Understanding IP Matters (UIPM), Ruth Vitale, Hollywood producer, founder and co-president of Paramount Classics, and president of Fine Line Features, discusses her efforts to effect U.S. legislation that would allow for site blocking, thereby strengthening the entertainment industry and protecting U.S. consumers. As the entertainment industry is a top cultural exporter in the United States, this added protection and greater retained revenue would ensure this status continues and grows.

The value of intellectual property (IP) rights has decreased in the United States over the past 20 years because large tech companies consider patents and copyrights an enemy, not an ally, and because of the difficulty SMEs and independent creators have generating sufficient economic return. But when different stakeholder groups come together, they can develop an equitable and inclusive IP system that moves society forward while supporting their respective business agendas. These are the beliefs of Daryl Lim, a leader in understanding the global IP community.

The U.S. patent system is facing challenges from many stakeholders, including from groups that believe a weak patent system will result in lower drug prices and more widely available treatments. Such a system would have the opposite effect: fewer treatments being developed due to less research dollars spent. Research and development, and subsequently new drug products, will not occur without a meaningful patent system to provide a level of certainty that investments can be recovered.

Universities have seen their role change since the Bayh-Dole Act was passed in 1980. They have been incentivized for both innovation and economic development, with patents being an important part of that landscape. With impending reductions in government funding for universities, finding new ways to support research has become an incredibly important activity. But replacing the funding is no simple matter and universities will have to find ways to do it.

Fashion is a more highly commercial field than other creative pursuits, such as film or music, which have a much longer shelf life. Fashion is produced to be purchased now. The fashion market relies both on IP protection and creativity in establishing brands and new products, and sometimes it can be difficult to draw a line where “borrowing” morphs from an accepted practice to an improper or illegal use.