I am taking this class for 3 units so here is my additional blog post for Assignment #3.
I just wanted to add a little personal experience on the topic of patents.
So I sometimes watch SharkTank, a TV show on ABC, where representatives of a startup (usually the founders) give a pitch of their company and their product to a panel of 5 extremely successful investors. These investors include Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban.
I personally find this show very entertaining because I get to see new products that other people design, and how these top notch investors think when they see something new. It has taught me to be more critical of items, and more importantly, how to pinpoint problems to criticize.
There are a number of inventions and startups who present at the show and get funding. However, there are also those who get rejected. And what I have found is that these investors always ask one main thing when a new invention is presented: "is this patented?". This question made me realize that when you know you have created something amazing, it is so crucial to get a patent. It is an extremely important factor in maintaining your competitive advantage. Investors want to see something unique, something that cannot be easily replicated. Patents will ensure this safety the investors need.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, China is a country that lacks this respect for patents. We all know that Chinese products are known to be fake. We know that companies in the West looking for expansion sometimes avoid China, because they know the chances of the Chinese replicating their product is extremely high. I hope China will in the future develop into a society that do respect patents. It is not fair for the inventor to have spent so much time on something and just have it replicated the next day, for maybe at even a cheaper price.
Overall, I hope my personal experience with patents will only further drive my interest in this class.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteGreat points on what makes a patent important. I totally agree that the lack of patent protection in China is egregious. Patents are very important because it does allow us to be critical of ideas and it pushes the standards for what goods our society is capable of producing.