Intellectual Property - The Lifeblood of Innovation

By: R. Steven Justice - Executive Director, Georgia Center of Innovation

Innovation, defined here as the translating of new ideas and technologies into commercially viable products and services, is key to the growth of every size business, in every industry sector, and in every community. And the lifeblood of innovation is intellectual property (IP).

Why is intellectual property, or IP, so important to innovation?  

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, IP is any idea, work or invention that can be protected under the law to “enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish.”   Under the current system there are four types of IP covering inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce: namely Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Copyrights.  This legal protection is critical to companies to be able to realize a financial payback from their investments in research and development, or in the arts for a creator to earn a living from their efforts.  Without that protection, investment and creatively would dry up negatively affecting our economy and social well-being.

IP Fuels the Economic Engine

Georgia’s public and private universities conduct approximately $2.3 billion annually in research, much of which generates IP. University IP is used by researchers and students to start new companies. In addition, this treasure trove of knowledge is available to industry through licensing agreements that help accelerate innovations to keep those companies competitive in the challenging global marketplace. In both cases, IP brings new jobs, investments and tax revenues into the marketplace. Therefore, having a strong and effective IP ecosystem in Georgia is critical to our continued economic success.

An Alliance to Make Georgia an IP Leader

Several years ago, a group of business and IP leaders, led by Scott Frank and Keith Cowan, began talking about the creation of an alliance of key organizations and companies to make Georgia a leader for the creation, protection, and enablement of IP.  The Georgia Center of Innovation got involved very early in the discussion due to the importance of IP to innovation.  In 2018, the journey toward that vision reached a major milestone with the formation of the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance, or GIPA, dedicated to making our state a global model for the creation, protection, and enablement of intellectual property for the economic and social well-being of our citizens.  From just a few people talking about a grand vision, GIPA now has hundreds of people collaborating daily across a range of programs to build a world-leading IP ecosystem in Georgia.

Connecting to IP in Georgia

Georgia is blessed with many resources to help companies innovate, so many in fact that it is sometimes hard for a company to find just the right resource that fit their needs.  That’s where the Georgia Center of Innovation can help by using our industry knowledge and expertise to listen and do the “deep dive” to understand your challenges, then connect your company with an “integrated solution” tailored to those needs.   Many times the needed knowledge and resources are located in our universities, so we partner with the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Research Alliance, and private universities to help bring the technology out of the lab and into the marketplace.  The Centers facilitate collaborative Innovation Projects between companies and universities that generate new IP, or to take existing IP and apply it to the company’s needs.  Connecting to Georgia’s IP environment can give our local businesses a distinct advantage!

An old adage is knowledge is power, but in our economic system, the real power is in an effective IP ecosystem that helps everyone to create, protect, and enable that knowledge to fuel innovation.  The Center of Innovation, partnering with GIPA, is working hard to create that world-class IP ecosystem to help Georgia companies connect, compete and grow.