WHY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IS ESSENTIAL TO STEM EDUCATION THE COST OF NOT Gould’s story is a cautionary one. “Intellectual property, and PROTECTING AN INVENTION Had he taken the proper steps to particularly the protection patent technology, decades of inventions, is a complex On a cool November night in 1957, of legal battles would have been subject. It is full of legal National Inventors Hall of Fame® avoided. Because he lacked a working (NIHF) Inductee Gordon Gould, a knowledge of intellectual property (IP), jargon, and even though graduate student at Columbia he lost out on early ownership for his intellectual property is University, realized that by using a laser, and a potential Nobel Prize.5 literally all around us, it isn’t combination of chemicals, electrical in mainstream conversation currents and mirrors, he could While Gould should have double- manipulate into a concentrated checked the patent application or pop culture. It should be beam. He spent the following weekend procedures, it’s curious that the taught in any art, creative compiling nine pages of calculations fundamentals of IP were not taught to writing, music or STEM- into his laboratory notebook. These the inventor in school. based course so that people pages contained the first known will have a basic awareness THE SURPRISING LACK OF occurrence of the word “laser” — an about when they should acronym for light amplification by INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY stimulated emission of radiation.1 EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS seek protection.” - Maggie Petrush, Vice President and Though Gould notarized his laboratory Unfortunately, little progress has been General Counsel for NIHF notebook, demonstrating his made since the 1950s to inject IP into contributions to laser technology, this the classroom. Despite the push to was not enough to provide complete promote STEM (science, technology, protection. For this, he needed a utility engineering and mathematics) patent. education at the national level,6 IP — Unfortunately, Gould mistakenly which includes utility, provisional and believed he needed to build a working design patents, as well as trademarks, prototype before starting a patent copyrights and trade secrets — is a application. This decision would topic largely absent from K-12, college 7 prove costly; for the next 30 years, he and even graduate school curricula. fought to win approval of 10 patent Short of attending a law program, applications related to laser technology there are few reliable ways to learn first submitted in 1959.2 about IP within the confines of our Gould finally began to receive traditional educational system. royalties in 1988 when the United States Patent and Trademark Office According to Maggie Petrush, vice accepted his claim for inventing the president and general counsel for optically pumped laser. However, legal NIHF, one of the reasons IP is rarely expenses forced him to sign away 80% taught in schools is due to the of these earnings to companies who subject’s complexity. financed his lengthy court battles.3

“I was disappointed in myself because I had done this stupid thing of not simply sitting down and writing a patent application,” Gould said. “If I had done A Camp Invention® program participant shows off her new invention that, I would have had that first patent.”4

1. Maugh, T. H., II. (2005, September 21). Gordon Gould, 85: finally got 3. Chang, K. (2005, September 20). Gordon Gould, 85, figure in invention of the 5. Ibid. his due for the laser. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes. laser, dies. . 6. U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Science, technology, engineering com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-21-me-gould21-story.html Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/gordon- and math: Education for global leadership. Retrieved from https://www. 2. Ibid. gould-85-figure-in-invention-of-the-laser-dies.html ed.gov/Stem 4. Hall, C. (1987, December 17). Inventor beams over laser patents: After 30 years, Gordon Gould gets credit he deserves. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-17/news/vw-29544_1_patents the cost of filing a patent to a mere 5% of what Great Britain charged its citizens at the time, in America, anyone had the potential to become an inventor.11

This policy allowed people such as Matthias Baldwin (locomotive), George Eastman (roll film), Elias Howe (sewing machine) and Thomas Edison (electric light and phonograph) — all of whom possessed very little formal education and came from humble beginnings — to invent technologies and industries unique to the United States.12

By drastically simplifying the patent

The inside of a Camp Invention Inventor Log application process, and publicizing successful patent applications to inspire innovation and the evolution Beyond the complexities of the subject inventions, companies and sometimes of ideas, by 1865, “the U.S. per capita matter is the fact that often, teachers even entirely new industries. In fact, patenting rate was more than triple simply have not been introduced to IP America can attribute much of its Great Britain’s.” By 1885, America was in their own education. patenting at a per capita rate over economic growth to our founding quadruple Great Britain’s output.13 A recent study from The Center of fathers’ steadfast belief that Never before had a nation tied its very Intellectual Property Understanding every citizen owns the products sense of national identity so closely found “a lack of compulsory education of their physical and mental wi t h I P. related to intellectual property,” and labor.9 for teachers specifically, “there is little Even George Washington in his or no formal IP education and the This stance was as philosophical as first annual Address to Congress in level of awareness and understanding it was pragmatic. Though America 1790 highlighted the importance of appears to remain low.”8 possessed vast natural resources, if inventions to the growth of America. our fledgling nation was to sustain Given the scarce amount of resources itself economically, its citizens needed “The advancement of agriculture, available to educators when it comes the freedom to both create and have commerce and manufactures to both learning about and teaching IP, guaranteed protections for their by all proper means will not, I the subject’s absence in the classroom creations. trust, need recommendation. is unsurprising. So important were these protections But I cannot forbear intimating However, with IP becoming ever that they were written into the U.S. to you the expediency of giving more essential in the contemporary Constitution, where in Article 1, effectual encouragement to the workplace, sending students into Section 8, Clause 8, Congress is introduction of new and useful the world without an understanding granted authority to “promote 14 of how ideas are protected places inventions.” them at a great disadvantage and the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for It was this entrepreneurial spirit that leaves them unprepared for potential drove Americans from all walks of life opportunities. limited times to authors and to invent tools, such as the spinning inventors the exclusive right to A NATION OF INVENTORS jenny, power loom, steam engine, their respective writings and cotton gin and internal combustion From the bottled water we drink to discoveries.”10 engine — technology that transformed our favorite song on the radio to the nation’s economy during the the car we’re driving, IP and legal Though we take such protections for Industrial Revolution and helped protections are all around us. These granted today, it is important to note establish the United States as a global protections give individuals the that in 1787, America’s IP policy was economic leader and eventual incentive to transform their ideas into revolutionary. By drastically lowering world power.

7. Villasenor, J. (2014, August 4). Intellectual property: Valuable to every 9. Kline, D., Michelson, G., Krupka, R., Kahnke, R., & Bundy, K. (2016). The 12. Ibid. discipline. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Intellectual- intangible advantage. Los Angeles, CA: Michelson Institute for Intellectual 13. Ibid., 17. Property-/147985 Property, 12. 14. Washington, G. (1790, January 8). First annual address to Congress. 8. The Center for Intellectual Property Understanding. (2018, March). The state 10. Madison, J. (1787, September 7). The Constitution of the United States: Retrieved from https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/first-annual- of IP education worldwide: Seven leading nations. Retrieved from http:// A transcription. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/ address-congress-0 www.understandingip.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/CIPU-State-of-IP- constitution-transcript#toc-section-8- Education-Worldwide.pdf 11. Kline et al. (2016), 12. THE VALUE OF companies listed on the S&P 500 was Without this knowledge, their work is INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN an incredible 87% of their total value.16 susceptible to theft, misappropriation STEM INDUSTRIES Pairing this information with a 2017 and potential legal attacks. Equipping study from the MIT Sloan School of students with even a basic knowledge Today, equally transformative changes Management, which found a direct of IP can go a long way in avoiding are occurring in California, where correlation between a company’s much larger problems. companies like Intel, Google, Apple willingness to innovate and its net and Facebook are inventing new ways profit over a two-year span, it becomes One way parents can supplement a for people to work and communicate. clear that IP is an essential component child’s IP knowledge is to enroll them This pocket of innovation is so of contemporary business.17 in interactive programs that prioritize concentrated that eight of the top the subject in their curricula. This type 50 patent-producing companies On Sept. 26, 2016, the U.S. of learning can even begin at the PreK worldwide are headquartered in Department of Commerce released a level, as research from the National California and accounted for a report which found that “IP-intensive Institute for Early Education Research staggering 13,570 new patents in industries support at least 45 million has found that a young child’s natural 2017.15 U.S. jobs and contribute more than $6 curiosity makes them uniquely suited trillion dollars to, or 38.2% of U.S. gross to explore STEM topics.20 Programs Simply put, the more a company domestic product (GDP).”18 such as NIHF’s STEM Maker Lab® innovates, the more valuable it and Camp Invention® programs becomes. It is no coincidence that This financial impact exists at demonstrate the power of IP to these eight companies are some the individual level as well, and students at a young age and ensure of the most successful in the world. Opportunity Insights found that that children remain engaged in what According to research from Ocean the average patent holder earns they’re learning as they grow. Tomo, an increasing amount of a approximately $256,000 per year company’s value is composed of its beginning in their mid-forties. For Early exposure to innovation is critical, intangible assets, which include brand patent holders who produce the and according to recent research recognition, IP, patents, trademarks most highly cited patents and have from Opportunity Insights, this early and copyrights. In 2015, the estimated made discoveries that have the introduction increases the likelihood market value of intangible assets for largest scientific influence, the market that children will become inventors compensates their contributions, and in the future.21 Equally important, these inventors earn more than $1 however, is that IP education is million on average per year.19 similarly introduced at a young age to ensure students understand how 88 PREPARING STUDENTS FOR to protect what they make, and as a ofof the top 50 THE FUTURE way to combat the culture of internet patent-producing piracy. companies Given IP’s continued importance to the economy and world around For educators to provide the best us, how can we ensure that the possible STEM instruction for are headquarted in children of today will be prepared their students, the inclusion of IP CCaliforniaalifornia for the jobs of tomorrow? While fundamentals is a must. Programming These 8 companies accounted for current STEM education techniques that shows teachers how to best continue to improve by incorporating incorporate IP in their day-to-day 1313,,570570 hands-on activities and lessons in lesson planning is very valuable and United States patents in entrepreneurship, the lack of IP can benefit the instructor throughout 20172017 instruction is a glaring oversight that their entire career. CA companies must be addressed. It is not enough 2017 patents to simply teach students how to Intel - 3,023 Cisco - 967 code, design and invent; they Qualcomm - 2,628 Global Foundries - 853 Google - 2,457 Oracle - 753 must also learn how to protect Apple - 2,229 Facebook - 660 what they create.

15. 2017 top 50 US patent assignees. (2018). Retrieved from https://www. 18. U.S. Department of Commerce. (2018, January 3). 2016 update. Retrieved 20. Milgrom-Elcott, T. (2018, July 24). STEM starts earlier than you think. Forbes. ificlaims.com/rankings/rankings-top-50-2017.htm from https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2016/09/us- Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/taliamilgromelcott/2018/07/24/ 16. Ocean Tomo. (n.d.). Intangible asset market value study. Retrieved from department-commerce-releases-updated-report-showing-intellectual stem-starts-earlier-than-you-think/#66812ce348b6 http://www.oceantomo.com/intangible-asset-market-value-study/ 19. Bell, Alex, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova, and John Van Reenen. 21. Bell, A., Chetty, R., Jaravel, X., Petkova, N., & Van Reenen, J. (December 17. Brook, P., Bernoff, J., & Minor, D. (2017, December 28). Are innovative “Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to 2017). Who becomes an inventor in America? The importance of exposure to companies more profitable? MIT Sloan Management Review. Retrieved Innovation - Executive Summary.” Opportunity Insights. 2018. http://www. innovation. DOI: 10.3386/w24062 from https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/are-innovative-companies-more- equality-of-opportunity.org/assets/documents/inventors_summary.pdf profitable/