LETTERS: It is important to have a robust intellectual property (IP) ecosystem to nurture creativity and drive progress.
A balanced IP ecosystem plays a crucial role in fostering collaboration by providing inventors with the protection and recognition they deserve while also facilitating the sharing of knowledge and ideas for the greater good.
The benefits of a strong IP ecosystem extend far beyond individual inventors. It catalyses economic growth and development, drives investment in research and development and encourages entrepreneurship.
Patents, copyrights and trademarks not only protect the rights of creators but also incentivise innovation by allowing them to reap the rewards of their creativity.
Moreover, by disclosing their ideas to the public, inventors contribute to the pool of knowledge, laying the groundwork for future advancements and discoveries.
Take, for example, the case of Jonas Salk, who famously refused to patent his polio vaccine in order to ensure that it could be distributed freely and reach as many people as possible.
His selfless act not only saved countless lives but also exemplified the power of collaboration and shared innovation in tackling global health challenges.
And Salk was not alone. Marie and Pierre Curie did not patent the process for producing radium, choosing instead to make it available to other scientists and researchers.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web, did not patent it, making it freely available for everyone to use. John Walker, who invented matches but did not patent them, as he wanted to make them available for everyone.
Mikhail Kalashnikov, who invented the AK-47 assault rifle, did not file a patent because he wanted it to become a contribution to the then Soviet Union.
These inventors may not have filed their patents, but their inventions, together with those patented ones, have helped build the better world that we are living in now.
Can you imagine a life without the Internet now if Berners-Lee had decided not to share his HyperText Markup Language (HTML) invention with the world?
In our current so-called knowledge economy, collaboration drives success and innovation by enhancing creativity, fostering diversity, and promoting inclusion by facilitating the sharing of knowledge and skills.
In conjunction with the World Intellectual Property Day, observed annually on April 26, let us foster a culture of collaboration and innovation, be less selfish and more willing to share our ingenuity with others.
DR NAHRIZUL ADIB KADRI
Faculty of Engineering, Universiti
Malaya
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times