In the ancient world the concept of “intellectual property” was not needed. It is not a problem to buy a sack of wheat or a piece of land, because the customer who buys the product knows exactly what he will get for his money. But when it comes to a world built on innovation, the system must encourage trial and error and reward both the failures and the successes that follow. How, then, do you build a system that will encourage trial and error, according to what most people like and just want to succeed? How do you encourage people to try and dare?
A sweet example can be found in Milton Hershey who invented Hershey’s chocolate. Life was not always sweet for Milton, as Hershey’s went bankrupt twice until they reached their phenomenal success. Our friend Milton started a caramel production business and failed miserably. He did not give up, tried his luck again in New York and … failed again.
” Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” wrote Bill Gates.
Let us return to the basic question, how do we create an atmosphere and conduct that also encourages failures, for without failure success will not come. Had Milton Hershey given up, he would not have reached success. Furthermore, if we are discussing success, when it comes, everyone wants to be its “parent,” while failure usually remains an “orphan.” What if the success, of which we dreamed, is completely real? If our idea becames a reality? Who will protect the fruits of our success from others, who would want to benefit from it?
Therefore, the protection of intellectual property must be beneficial, in order for the success to finance the failures that happened along the way and even more!
Thus, the intellectual property system grants a monopoly to innovations, provided they meet the conditions of the law, and the owner of the innovation will be able to enjoy the fruits of his success. The greater the success, the greater the rewards for the owner of the innovation, which can compensate for the failures and the efforts made on the way. Thus, the fruits of success can be more than the price of the failure.
” Capital isn’t that important in business. Experience isn’t that important. You can get both of these things. What is important is ideas. ” (Harvey S. Firestone)
Tips for a successful idea
It is a miraculous ability, to identify an existing need or to discover, in advance, a real change that leads to a successful idea; to identify what no one else has found in order to discover a new invention. A great example can be found in the Wright brothers. Anyone who was involved in the aviation industry at the time knew that sooner or later it would be possible to find a way to get off the ground, as the capabilities of the engines began to improve at a dizzying pace. Even the special ergonomics of the wings were already known then. The common misconception among professionals was that once the plane has lifted off the ground, it would be possible to steer the plane in the air as easily as a train. It turns out that the whole point was not to get up at all, but to control the steering and the direction of the plane. Everyone was preoccupied with the question, how to get off the ground; while the real question was how it would be possible to control the plane, in order to return safely to the ground. Taking off is easy. Landing is hard. This was the problem of the space industry as well. At the beginning of the space age is was already known that to send a man to the moon was much easier than to bring him safely back to earth. It is also an important philosophical principle. It is much easier to start new things, than to finish them.