What does intellectual property actually mean? In ancient times, things were relatively simple. There was a clear barter trade for simple things, which can be estimated by their physical value. The traded object had visibility and weight, size, etc., and also had a known way of buying and selling things. Even if you bought land, you had the option to physically fence it to prove and mark that the land is yours. It was also possible to prove ownership by contracts. On the other hand, intellectual property is complex and complicated.
You can not see, but you can know …
Intellectual property deals with intangible assets. You cannot see, measure or estimate them by conventional means, but their presence is completely felt, because even if they are not physically present in the product itself, they have real value.
In the Western world, the claim is that intangible value represents 80% of the value of the S&P 500 companies. For example, when a person buys jeans, its price reflects much more than its physical value. After all, if we were to calculate, how much would we actually have to pay for the jeans themselves, the expenditure on materials, the work invested in sewing, etc. would amount to much less. Why, then, would a customer be willing to pay a high amount for something intangible? Are customers willing to pay higher amounts because they know they will get quality and social value. That is, jeans have an intellectual value beyond the cost of its production. Another example for this can be found in the pharmaceutical industry. The price of a medicine is typically much more than its production costs, because the price typically includes the knowledge, experiments, research and in general the whole process until the final product – the medicine. These two examples represent the innovation in the developed world, and as the world and the society develops further, the intellectual property assets develop further.
The pyramid is turning
We have made great progress since ancient times, and naturally we are still progressing. The change is evident in all areas of our lives. We have progressed so much that it is almost hard to remember that very recently our basic need was ‘survival’, and only after that came other, less basic, needs. That is, the arrangements of the old pyramid are constantly changing. The “intellectual” pushes the “material” slowly, and as society progresses, it will engage less and less in physical things. Even the newspaper, which until very recently was such a basic and essential item in our lives, is losing its physicality, and in general we are moving away from the physical and material world and progressing into the virtual.
A world without limits
Of course, there will be those who will disagree and argue that there is no point in this progress, because it comes at the expense of human contact. Well, one can understand this argument, however, in my view, progress has an advantage in almost all areas. As we progress from the physical world to the virtual world, we will all have more wealth, both on the personal level and on a social level. We can all benefit, because the virtual world, unlike the physical world, has no limit; it cannot be quantified. If the virtual world is not limited, everyone can enjoy it. It is a fact that we are advancing more and more into the virtual and conceptual world. Will we get there completely? This is an interesting and fascinating question. We will not be able to completely disengage from the physical world, but progress to the virtual world will be crucial, and it will affect us all even at the level of children’s games. In many cases the playground no longer exists in the physical space, but rather exists in the virtual space, and therefore there is no need for quarrels or fights over the territory of the play area. This is just a small example of what can happen, but the really big thing in my eyes is reducing of inequality. Once upon a time the world was divided into the “haves” and the “have nots.” What is starting to happen today is that the world is starting to be divided according to new standards: those who have the knowledge, and those who do not. Today knowledge is becoming available to everyone, so inequality can be reduced. It is now all in the willpower of the individual, who can learn and experiment in order to succeeded and prosper.