FUTURE OF INNOVATION AND THE ROLE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP)

Introduction

Innovation has always been a key factor in societal advancement, supporting economic
expansion, enhancing quality of life, and tackling global issues. As the world steps into the
future, the significance of innovation to the growth and sustenance of this future will only
become even more pronounced. While the continued growth in importance of innovation is
unquestionable, the role of intellectual property in nurturing and safeguarding these ground-
breaking concepts is also accentuated. Think of intellectual property like a sophisticated safety
net for creativity: it ensures that brilliant minds can share their insights without fear, while
maintaining the integrity of their groundbreaking work. This article briefly highlights the
interconnection between innovation and Intellectual PropertyP, and the role of the latter in
fostering the growth of innovation.

Nature of Innovation

Innovation is the fuel of development and sustainable growth. It includes the creation and use
of novel concepts, procedures, products, or services that result in constructive change.
Innovation encompasses more than just new technologies; it also includes imaginative thinking,
the capacity to solve problems, and the capacity to see new possibilities in all facets of life.

Innovation has been categorised into various types; In terms of types they include:
technological innovation, product innovation, business model innovation, and social innovation.
In terms of methods, the kinds of Innovation include Incremental Innovation, Adjacent
Innovation, Disruptive Innovation and Radical Innovation. These different types of innovation
hashave overtime, collectively propelled global growth and led to the economic development of
nations whose social structures are receptive and protective of innovation. For instance,
experts estimate that the United States of America (USA), the largest economy in the world

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owes 50% of its annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to increases in innovation. 1 In
essence, 50% of America’s annual GDP growth is tied to innovation in different sectors and
industries of its economy. It is the realisationrealization of the positive potentials of innovation
to a nation’s GDP growth that incentivized ambitious nations to devote significant investment
to its research and development sector. For example, reports estimate that China spends 2.44
trillion Chinese Yuan ($378 billion)2 annually on its research and development industry, in order
to boost massive innovation in its economy. Analysts highlight that this cost represent 2.4% of
China’s GDP.3 In Switzerland, investment on encouraging innovation is 3% of the nation’s
annual GDP rate.4 Germany also invests 3% of its annual GDP on innovation, while UK sits at the
bottom of the ladder with 1.74%.5 However, developing nations such as India invests 0.7% 6 of
its annual GDP to the innovative sector, while Nigeria spares 0.5% 7 of its share of annual GDP to
the industry. In light of these statistics, it can be rightly argued that the amount of a nation’s
investment in growing and protecting its innovative sector has direct effects on the pace and
rate of its economic growth.

Furthermore, the landscape of innovation is changing due to the quick development of

technology and the growing interconnection of the world. Emerging industries including
nanotechnology, biotechnology, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence (AI) are pushing
the limits of what was previously thought to be impossible. The speed of innovation has also
quickened due to globalisationglobalization and the emergence of emerging economies,
resulting in a highly competitive environment. This competitive environment as engendered by

1
Harold Evans, Gail Buckland, and David Lefer, They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine
– Two Centuries of Innovators (New York: Little Brown and Company, 2004).
2
Arjun Kharpal, ‘China Spending on Research and Development to Rise 7% Per Year in Push for Major Tech
Breakthroughs’ CNBC (2021) available at https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/05/china-to-boost-research-and-
development-spend-in-push-for-tech-breakthroughs.html/# accessed 25 June 2023.
3
Ibid
4
Alois Zwinggi, ‘How A Small, Landlocked Country Can Serve As A Global Model for Innovation’ World
Economic Forum (2023) available at https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/how-a-small-landlocked-country-
can-serve-as-a-global-model-for-innovation/#: accessed 25 June 2023.
5
Business & Innovation, ‘Innovative Economy’ Business & Innovation (2021) available at https://www.tatsachen-
ueber-deutschland.de/en/germany-glance/innovative-economy#:text= accessed 25 June 2023.
6
Amit Kapoor and Rishi Jain, ‘Unlocking Potential: India and its Innovation Journey’ The Economic Times (2022)
available at https://m.economictimes.com/news/economy/policy/unlocking-potential-india-and-its-innovation-
journey/articleshow/92420931.cms# accessed 25 June 2023.
7
NAN, ‘Research, Innovation to Get 0.5% of Nigeria’s GDP – Buhari’ The Guardian (2021) available at
https://guardian.ng/news/research-innovation-to-get-0-5-of-nigerias-gdp-buhari/# accessed 25 June 2023.

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the current fast paced innovative industry further accentuates the need to protect the works of
innovative businesses and individuals.

The Role of Intellectual Property (IP)

As the pace and shape of innovation grows, intellectual property rights will be crucial in
promoting innovation, defending inventor’s rights, and ensuring a fair and competitive
environment despite the changing nature of the innovative ecosystem. Patents, trademarks,
copyrights, and trade secrets are just a few of the legal rights that fall under the umbrella of
intellectual property, which rewards inventors and innovators by giving them exclusive control
over their works.

One of the integral roles that intellectual property rights play in shaping and protecting the
future of innovation is encouraging innovation. Intellectual Property rights create a common
goal, with different interests. For the State, Intellectual property rights operate to encourage
learning and innovation that in turn betters the economy of the state. This is represented in the
Legislative instruments that provide intellectual property rights. For Example, the United States
Constitution states that the goal of copyright is “to promote the progress of science and useful
arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective
writings and discoveries”. On the Other hand, Intellectual Property rights vest the owners of
those rights with the possibility of an economic interest. Intellectual property rights grants
investors and producers a momentary monopoly over their works, enabling them to recoup
their investments and profits from certain financial risks taking to create products out of mere
ideas. This encourages people and businesses to spend money on research and development,
pushing the boundaries of knowledge and fostering innovation. However, while intellectual
property rights give brief monopolies, it also fosters competition by fostering a culture that
promotes creative and original solutions. For instance, by allowing others to expand on
previously developed concepts, the publication of patented inventions adds to the body of
knowledge around the world.

Further, the court is creating and recognisingrecognizing new intellectual property rights that
seek to expand protection for creators and innovators. For instance, in the case of Star
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Athletica LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc. 8 the Supreme Court of USA, established that design
elements in fashion arecan be copyrightable, opening up a new avenue of registration and
giving fashion designers more time to protect their intellectual property. More recently, the
Beijing Internet Court in Li v. Liu9 ruled that an image generated with Artificial Intelligence was
copyrightable and the user of the AI was entitled to authorship of the work under Chinese
Copyright law.

However, while intellectual property inherently possesses certain merits that propel the growth
of innovation,has its merits, it is also fraught with a number of challenges and limitations.is not
without its challenges. For instance, there is the danger that granting exclusive intellectual
property rights to an invention might stifle other innovative endeavours that should pose
favourable competition essential for the growth of an economy. Nevertheless, Consider this
paradox: exclusive intellectual property rights could inadvertently create barriers to further
innovation. An overly protective system might discourage competitive development, potentially
stifling the very creative ecosystem it seeks to nurture. Recognizing this risk, legal frameworks
have strategically implemented safeguards to prevent monopolistic innovation landscapes.to
eviscerate the potency of this limitation, the law has set limits for the duration of some
intellectual property rights. For instance, Section 7 of the Nigerian Patents and Designs Act (the
“Act”),10 stipulates that the duration of a patent shall be 20 years, after which it can either be
renewed or not. The law also sets out some criteria that must be met before a patent can be
granted to a product or invention. Section 1 of the Act states that a design or invention must be
new or an improvement of a patented invention before a patent can be granted. Cases like KSR
International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc.11 and Graham v. John Deere Co.12, further add a new dimension
to the conditions by stating that the invention sought to be patented must be not “obvious.”
According to the case of Darcy v. Allin,13 “obviousness” in this case means that if an invention is
obvious to either experts or the general public, it cannot be patented. Also, the case of Google

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(2017) 137 S. Ct. 1002.
9
2023 Jing 0491 Min Chu No. 11279
10
Patent and Designs Act, Cap. 344 LFN 1990.
11
(2007) 550 U.S. 398.
12
(1966) 383 U.S. 1.
13
(1602) 74 ER 1131.

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LLC v Oracle America Inc. where the United State Supreme Court ruled on fair use of
Thesecode. These limitations are structured to protect the public from stifling growth inflicted
by over-ambitious businesses and individuals.

Furthermore, important ethical questions will also be raised by innovation in the future, notably
in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and data-driven technologies. Currently,
intellectual property laws are bereft of moral guidelines that guarantee ethical innovation,
safeguard individual rights, and solve societal issues. Thus, there is an urgent need to strike a
balance between intellectual property rights of businesses and overall protection of the society
from the predatory instincts of ambitious individuals and businesses.

Conclusion

While innovation is the bedrock and fuel of modern civilization, IP rights play significant integral
roles in shaping and sustaining its growth. Nevertheless, IP rights must be subjected to constant
evolution so as toto reflect the evolving socioeconomic standards..

Intellectual property (IP) rights, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks, are often argued
to promote innovation in several ways. Here's an overview of how IP can drive innovation:

1. Incentivizes investment:

IP rights provide creators and inventors with exclusive rights to their creations for a limited
time. This exclusivity allows them to potentially profit from their innovations, incentivizing
individuals and companies to invest time, money, and resources into research and
development.

2. Encourages disclosure:

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Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., 593 U.S. 1 (2021

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Particularly in the case of patents, IP rights encourage inventors to disclose their innovations
publicly. In exchange for temporary monopoly rights, inventors must provide detailed
descriptions of their inventions, which can spur further innovation by others.

3. Facilitates commercialization:

IP rights can make it easier for inventors to commercialize their ideas. The ability to license or
sell IP rights allows innovators to partner with established companies that have the resources
to bring products to market.

4. Attracts venture capital:

Startups with strong IP portfolios are often more attractive to venture capitalists and other
investors, as IP can provide a competitive advantage and potential future revenue streams.

5. Promotes competition:

While IP rights create temporary monopolies, they can also drive competitors to innovate
around existing patents, potentially leading to improved or alternative solutions.