Intellectual Property Rights Topic Lecture - Part 1

Summary

This three-part series by Maggie Berthume delves into the 2024-2025 policy debate topic focusing on intellectual property. The first part introduces the resolution advocating for the U.S. federal government to enhance protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and trademarks. The lecture also touches on current events related to intellectual property, such as college athletes' name, image, and likeness rights, the Scarlett Johansson vs. Open AI dispute, and international issues with China. It further explains the concept of intellectual property as a state-granted exclusive right, distinguishing it from real property and highlighting its importance in fostering innovation and preventing monopolies.

Takeaways

• 📝 The 2024-2025 policy debate topic focuses on the United States federal government significantly strengthening its protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
• 🎓 The concept of topic lectures is considered somewhat redundant as the entire topic should be learned throughout the year, not just from introductory videos.
• 🏫 NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rights for college athletes have evolved, allowing them to benefit from their intellectual property, a change from previous restrictions.
• 🎭 A controversy involving Scarlett Johansson and an AI chatbot highlights the complexities of voice replication and intellectual property rights in AI technology.
• 🌐 Intellectual property disputes between the U.S. and China have been a point of contention, with China becoming more protective of intellectual property rights over time.
• 🌿 Biopiracy refers to the patenting of indigenous knowledge, such as traditional cures, by external companies, raising questions about the ethics and legality of such actions.
• 🏛 Intellectual property is a creation of the mind, distinct from physical property, and includes intangible assets like music, literature, and inventions.
• 🛡️ Intellectual property rights are negative rights granted by the state to exclude others from using one's creation, balancing the encouragement of innovation with the prevention of monopolies.
• 📜 The origin of intellectual property law is traced back to Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing the promotion of scientific and artistic progress.
• 💡 Arguments for strong intellectual property protection include the encouragement of research and innovation, while opponents argue it could lead to less access to essential goods like medicine.
• 🔄 The stance on intellectual property protection can vary depending on the industry's maturity and a country's economic status, with newer industries often favoring weaker protections.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the 2024-2025 policy debate topic?

The main focus is on the United States federal government significantly strengthening its protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and/or trademarks.

What is the speaker's opinion on the concept of topic lectures?

The speaker thinks the concept of topic lectures is a bit silly because the whole topic is a topic lecture, and learning about the topic should come from the entire year's research, not just from videos at the beginning of an institute.

What is an example of intellectual property in the news discussed in the script?

One example is the change in NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rights for college athletes, allowing them to benefit from their intellectual property by earning money for their name, image, and likeness.

What controversy is mentioned involving Scarlett Johansson and Open AI?

Scarlett Johansson was approached by Open AI to be the voice of a new chatbot but declined. Later, a chatbot was released that sounded very similar to her, leading her to sue Open AI for using her voice without permission.

What is biopiracy and why is it a concern in intellectual property discussions?

Biopiracy refers to companies patenting cures, medicines, or treatments that are based on indigenous knowledge, potentially selling these back to the originating communities at high prices. It raises ethical and legal issues about who owns the rights to such knowledge.

What are the two main types of property according to the script?

The two main types of property are real property, which refers to physical items, and intellectual property, which refers to creations of the mind.

What does the script suggest is the purpose of intellectual property law as stated in the US Constitution?

The purpose of intellectual property law 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.

What is the balance that intellectual property law aims to achieve?

Intellectual property law aims to balance encouraging and rewarding inventors and creators with preventing monopolies, by granting them exclusive rights for a limited time to promote innovation.

What are the three major types of intellectual property mentioned in the script?

The three major types of intellectual property mentioned are patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

What is the difference between trade secrets and the other types of intellectual property?

Trade secrets are based on the idea of keeping information secret from other companies, unlike patents, trademarks, and copyrights, which depend on disclosing the thing that one wants to protect.

What are some of the arguments for and against intellectual property protection?

Arguments for intellectual property protection include encouraging research and innovation, ensuring consistency in products, and preventing monopolies. Arguments against it include increased access to existing drugs at affordable prices, the potential for governments to fund research, and the promotion of local products with smaller distributions.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Intellectual Property Debate Series

Maggie Berthumé introduces a three-part lecture series on the 2024-2025 policy debate topic focusing on intellectual property rights. She emphasizes the importance of learning about the topic throughout the year, not just from introductory materials. The 2024-2025 debate resolution is presented, which calls for the U.S. federal government to significantly strengthen its protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and trademarks. The lecture will cover the resolution, intellectual property in the news, and a background on intellectual property.

05:00

📰 Intellectual Property in the News and Its Relevance

The script discusses recent news related to intellectual property rights, including college athletes' name, image, and likeness rights, the controversy surrounding Scarlett Johansson and an AI chatbot's voice, and the evolving U.S.-China relationship regarding intellectual property. It also touches on biopiracy and how international treaties are addressing the issue of companies patenting indigenous knowledge. These examples highlight the evolving nature of intellectual property rights and their impact on various sectors.

10:01

🏛️ Understanding Intellectual Property as a Concept

This section delves into the definition of property, distinguishing between real property and intellectual property. Intellectual property is described as a creation of the mind, such as songs, tweets, pictures, and videos. The script explains the economic concepts of excludable and non-excludable, rival and non-rival goods, and how intellectual property fits into these categories. It also discusses the origin of intellectual property law from the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing the balance between encouraging innovation and preventing monopolies.

15:01

🛡️ Arguments for and Against Intellectual Property Protection

The script presents arguments for and against intellectual property protection. Proponents argue that without it, there would be less research, less innovation, and less consistency in products. Opponents believe that less or no intellectual property protection could lead to more access to drugs, government-funded research, and a focus on neglected diseases. It also highlights the differing interests of upstart industries, established industries, and creators regarding the strength of intellectual property protections.

🚀 Overview of Intellectual Property Rights and Their Types

The final paragraph provides an overview of the three main types of intellectual property mentioned in the resolution: patents, trademarks, and copyrights. It also briefly mentions trade secrets as a type of intellectual property that relies on secrecy rather than disclosure. The paragraph sets the stage for a more detailed discussion in the subsequent parts of the lecture series and invites viewers to join for further exploration of the topic.

Keywords

💡Intellectual Property

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. It is a crucial theme in the video, as it discusses the importance of protecting IP rights in copyrights, patents, and trademarks. The script uses the term to explore various debates and real-world examples, such as the NIL rights for college athletes and the Scarlett Johansson vs. Open AI controversy, illustrating the practical implications of IP rights in different contexts.

💡Policy Debate Topic

The policy debate topic for 2024-2025, as mentioned in the script, revolves around the U.S. federal government significantly strengthening its protection of domestic intellectual property rights. This topic is central to the video's educational purpose, aiming to inform viewers about the importance and complexities of IP in contemporary society. The debate topic sets the stage for the discussion on the various aspects of intellectual property rights and their enforcement.

💡Copyrights

Copyrights are a form of intellectual property that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and distribution, typically for a limited time. In the script, copyrights are one of the three specific areas, along with patents and trademarks, where the U.S. federal government is urged to strengthen protection. The video discusses the impact of copyright on creative works, such as music, literature, and software.

💡Patents

A patent is a form of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period, usually 20 years. The script emphasizes the need for the U.S. federal government to strengthen patent protection, which is vital for encouraging innovation and rewarding inventors for their contributions to society.

💡Trademarks

Trademarks are distinctive signs or features used to identify goods or services of a particular seller or provider. They are a key component of the video's theme on intellectual property rights. The script discusses the importance of trademark protection to prevent consumer confusion and to protect the reputation and goodwill associated with a brand.

💡NIL Rights

NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness rights, which are a subset of intellectual property rights. The script discusses the recent changes allowing college athletes to benefit from their NIL rights, a significant shift from the previous restrictions. This example highlights the evolving nature of intellectual property and its impact on individuals' ability to capitalize on their personal brand.

💡Scarlett Johansson vs. Open AI

This refers to a real-world controversy mentioned in the script involving actress Scarlett Johansson and the AI company Open AI. The dispute centers around the alleged unauthorized use of Johansson's voice for an AI chatbot, raising questions about the boundaries of intellectual property rights in the context of AI and voice replication. This example is used in the video to illustrate the complexities of IP in the digital age.

💡Biopiracy

Biopiracy is the practice of patenting traditional knowledge, biological resources, or traditional cultural expressions without the consent of the people who developed them. The script touches on this issue as an example of intellectual property rights being debated in an international context, particularly concerning indigenous knowledge and the ethical implications of patenting natural remedies.

💡Property Rights

Property rights, as discussed in the script, are the legal rights granted by the state that allow individuals to control and use their property, including both physical and intellectual property. The video explains the concept of property rights in the context of intellectual property, emphasizing the balance between the rights of creators and the public interest in access to ideas and inventions.

💡Public Goods

Public goods are non-rivalrous and non-excludable goods that can be consumed by multiple people without diminishing the availability to others. In the script, the concept of public goods is contrasted with intellectual property rights, which are designed to make certain creations excludable, thus transforming what would otherwise be public goods into something that can be commercially protected and exploited.

💡Trade Secrets

Trade secrets refer to confidential business information that gives a company an advantage over competitors. Unlike patents, copyrights, and trademarks, which require disclosure, trade secrets involve keeping information secret. The script mentions the famous example of Coca-Cola's recipe being a trade secret, highlighting the strategy of protecting valuable information from competitors.

Highlights

Introduction to the three-part series on the 2024, 2025 policy debate topic focusing on intellectual property.

Meta-comment on the concept of topic lectures and the importance of ongoing learning throughout the year.

The 2024-2025 policy debate resolution emphasizes strengthening protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and trademarks.

Discussion on the recent changes allowing college athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness rights.

Controversy involving Scarlett Johansson and Open AI over the use of a voice resembling hers in a chatbot without permission.

The evolving US-China relationship concerning intellectual property rights and recent developments.

The issue of biopiracy and the international treaty addressing the patenting of indigenous knowledge.

Definition and explanation of property, distinguishing between real property and intellectual property.

Economics of property types: excludable vs. non-excludable, and rival vs. non-rival.

Intellectual property rights as a means to move creations of the mind from public goods to club goods.

Historical origins of intellectual property law from Article 1 Section 8 of the US Constitution.

The purpose of intellectual property law to promote the progress of science and useful arts through exclusive rights.

Balancing the encouragement of innovation and the prevention of monopolies through limited-time exclusive rights.

Arguments for and against intellectual property protection, including impacts on research, production, and access to goods.

The different stances on intellectual property protection among upstart industries, established industries, and creators.

Overview of the three major types of intellectual property mentioned in the resolution: patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

Introduction to trade secrets as a type of intellectual property based on secrecy rather than disclosure.

Anticipation of the second and third parts of the video series for further exploration of intellectual property topics.

Transcripts

hi Debaters my name is Maggie berthume

and this is a three-part series um

providing you information on the 2024

2025 policy debate topic this is part

one which is a background on

intellectual

property there will be three parts to

this lecture first we will talk about

the resolution then we will talk about

intellectual property in the news and

finally we will discuss a background on

intellectual

property but first I want to give a meta

comment on top lectures which is that

although I've done a lot of them and I

really like doing them I also think that

the concept of the topic lecture um is

in some ways a little bit silly because

the whole topic is a topic lecture you

should be learning about the topic not

just from this video or from a series of

videos that you get at the beginning of

a an Institute but from the entire

Year's research so I really hope that by

the end of the first semester you could

give um a better version of this topic

lecture and by the end of the school

year um we would give a totally

different topic lecture as topic

develops so this is the 2024 2025 policy

debate resolution the United States

federal government should significantly

strengthen its protection of domestic

intellectual property rights in

copyrights patents Andor trademarks what

that means is that all debates on the

2024 2025 topic that are um attempting

to be about the topic will be about

intellectual property rights um and

strengthening them in those three

specific areas copyrights patents and

our trademarks and we will talk talk

about what that means over this video

and the subsequent

videos but first let's look at what

we're going to be looking at this is uh

a little brief intellectual property in

the news the first one which you may

have heard about is college athletes um

doing nil rights name image and likeness

rights College athletes um used to not

be able to be paid for their uh use in

other areas so colleges could use their

name and image and they were not allowed

to use their own name and image or or

they were allowed to use it but they

were not allowed to sell it um and it

also meant that um things like video

games could use a college athlete's name

or image or their statistics um without

compensating them um that college

athletes by being considered amateurs

were not allowed to benefit um from the

intellectual property frankly of their

own self um and that has changed um over

about the last year year and a half um

so now College athletes can um get

benefits and earn money for their name

image and likeness they you may have

seen a billboard with a college Athlete

on it or a commercial with a College

Athlete on it maybe you've seen um the

Caitlyn Clark sneakers um those are all

examples of things that are use of a

person's intellectual property um that

were not uh happening even just a few

years

ago another example you might have heard

of the controversy with Scarlett

Johansson an open AI um basically what

happened is that chat gbt approached

Scarlet Johansson and asking her if she

was willing um to be the voice of its

new voiced uh AI bot um it's it's

chatbot um Scarlet Johansson was in a

movie the movie her where she played a

chatbot um and the open AI approached

her about being the voice of its new

chatbot she declined and then a few

months later the chatbot came out and it

sounds a lot like Scarlett Johansson um

she says her family and friends cannot

tell that it is not her so she has sued

them um saying that it is they used her

voice without her permission um whether

uh they Ed clips of her voice or whether

they had um the AI itself replicate her

voice um open AI has responded and say

no we hired someone else just because

you know it sounds a little bit like you

doesn't mean it's exactly you um and my

guess is that this will be winding its

way through the courts for for quite a

while um but if you do use that voice in

um op if you use the chat GPT um and you

use their voice bot you can assess for

yourself whether you think it sounds

just like Scarlet

Johansson another example um where

intellectual property rights come about

is in our relationship with other

countries um typically China and the

United States have disagreements about

intellectual property um in the past the

United States has accused China of

violating intellectual property rights

on a regular basis um now China has

become more protective of intellectual

property rights so this is an article

from um just a little bit ago a couple

weeks ago from the center for strategic

International Studies um talking about

how uh intellectual property rights have

changed the US China relationship um and

and how that is

evolving the final example is about

biopiracy the idea that um companies can

uh come in and patent um cures or

medicines or treatments that have been

typically uh indigenous knowledge it's

it's been knowledge in an area for a

long time and then a company will come

along and and patent it and maybe even

sell people their own um their own group

so their own um you know intelle their

own histories cures um and so there is

now a new international treaty um that's

looking into the question of you know

how the um country should deal with the

the question of biopiracy

so that's what it was like those are

some things that we'll be seeing in the

News That's those are some things that

you might um encounter as you just sort

of Google around on intellectual

property but let's spend a little bit of

time to figure out what intellectual

property is so we're going to start with

what is property um and property is an

exclusive right granted by the state um

and it is um means that you can use

something and you can generally prohibit

someone else from using those things um

there are sort of two types of prop one

is real property that's a physical item

that's your land a h a car a house your

iPhone um and that is a a physical item

intellectual property is a creation of

the mind so it's the song you wrote this

morning it's the Tweet you composed it's

the uh you know picture you took it's

the Tik Tock video that you created

those are all creations of the mind um

rather than physical

items if you've ever taken an economics

class you may have seen this chart about

property but the idea um is that there

are different kinds of property um

excludable and non-excludable and rival

and non-rival a rival risk property

means that if I have it you do not so if

I take your phone from you um you no

longer have your phone you you

physically do not have it um and most

physical property is rivalrous um

nonrivalrous property um are things like

I write a really cool song and if you

copy that song it it doesn't mean that I

don't still have the song I still have

the song and you have the song too

and so um nonrival risk property it

means that um two people can have it um

but it does not necessarily mean um that

that you know one having it takes away

from the other the other two types of

property in this category are excludible

and non-excludable excludable property

means how easy is it and this is this is

sort of a gradation rather than a yes no

question but how easy is it to prevent

someone else from having access to the

thing um non-excludable items it is it

is difficult or impossible to prevent

someone else from having access

excludable items it is it is very easy

to prevent someone else from having

access so a rival excludable um type of

property is is something like they're

they're known as private Goods it's your

house your car your phone obviously you

know someone could steal those things um

but it is generally relatively easy to

prevent someone else having access to

those things an excludable

nonrival um type of thing are are often

called Club Goods it's things like cable

TV or satellite radio or a private park

um you uh have to pay a fee in order to

participate you know you know I the fact

that I have cable TV doesn't mean you

don't have cable TV but we're both

paying the fee to the cable company um

non and and other people who did not pay

that fee are excluded non-excludable

rival Goods um are also known as common

goods and that's things like mines or

fish stocks or Timber it's really hard

to prevent someone else um from getting

access to a fish um you know or or

getting access to a tree um but the

person who fishes that fish you know is

the only one who has that fish um and

then finally non-rival non excludable

goods are are public goods so it's

things like the air I can't prevent you

from breathing the air you can't really

prevent me from breathing the air n

National Defense um you can't have a

situation where you know one person is

excluded from National Defense um and

street lights are another example um

they are it is impossible to exclude

someone else from getting the you know

light benefit from the street light and

the fact that I get a benefit from the

street light um does not mean you can't

also get a benefit from the street light

intellectual property would start in

this category the fact that you know I

wrote a poem um and I wanted to read

that poem you can then have that poem I

can't really prevent you from having

that poem um and uh that that without

intellectual property rights without the

excludability from the state um they

would just be public goods but the

concept of intellectual property rights

comes in and that's where someone is

able to move something from a public

good to a club good which means that you

know if I wrote that poem um and you

then copied that poem and started using

it I would enforce my intellectual

property rights over that poem in order

to prevent you from being able to

distribute it um it's still uh non-rival

um I would still have it even if you

have it but I would be um demonstrating

the um prevent the the ability to

prevent someone else from using it so an

intellectual property right is a

negative right created by the state to

exclude others from using an item

created by a person or a group um and

the owner must Grant

permission where does intellectual

property law come from it's really old

it comes from Article 1 Section 8 of the

US Constitution which says the Congress

shall have power 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 um

there's there's a lot there um and we'll

break down some of these phrases over

the the rest of this series um but some

things to notice here the power was

granted to the congress not to other

branches of the government um that they

put the purpose right there in um

Article 1 Section 8 which is that the

purpose is to promote progress of

Science and useful Arts by useful Arts

it means things like Books and Music um

now it means things like movies um

things like software um but the idea is

that in order to promote progress or

innovation um they are granting a

limited amount of time for authors and

inventors to have the exclusive right to

their things so it says you know you get

access to your thing um no one else can

have access to your thing unless you

offer them access but it is for a

limited amount of time and the goal

there is is to promote

Innovation so why did the Constitution

do that well there is fundamentally a

balance between encouraging and

rewarding inventors and creators and

preventing monopolies the idea here is

that we want to encourage people to

invent things or that's what the framers

believe they wanted to encourage

inventors and creators to invent and

create and so by giving them an

exclusive right um they would be

encouraged to invent and create by know

the capitalist impulse to own your own

thing and be able to sell it on the flip

side um they also wanted to prevent

monopolies and so if there was um you

know an infinite amount of time that you

were granted uh the right to your thing

then you know whoever discovered a thing

or created a thing would have that

forever and so the limited amount of

time is is to prevent

monopolies if there was no intellectual

property protection um some people argue

it would be very bad to not have any

intellectual property uh protection

their arguments are that there would be

less research because companies um

wouldn't be willing to do new

innovations that might not pan out

because they would not get the exclusive

right to those Innovations um that

creators would probably you know they

would focus on live shows they would not

have high cost Mass Productions um there

would probably not be movies or TV

because people could just reproduce them

um you know like a a giant budget movie

doesn't get created um because you know

everyone could have it immediately for

free um and so they would never spend

that money um and then there would be

less consistency uh you know products

wouldn't necessarily be guaranteed uh

theoretically you could you could buy a

Coca-Cola out of a machine and it would

look like a Coca-Cola but it would not

be a coke maybe it's sugar water or and

maybe it's nothing maybe it's you know

poison um or your medicine you could buy

go to the you know Pharmacy buy some

medicine or go to the you know CVS and

you're going to go buy what you think is

Tylenol and then you take it and it's

it's just a sugar pillar there's no

Tylenol um in the medicine so um the the

arguments for intellectual property

protection are that you know there would

be less research less ation and less

consistency um if there was uh no

intellectual property protection on the

other side there are a lot of people who

argue that less or no intellectual

property protection would be good um

certainly people would have more access

to existing drugs um because they would

drop to affordable prices if you've ever

um you know gone into a store um and

there are two drugs on the Shelf there's

like you know Advil brand Advil and then

you know Target brand Advil and you're

looking at the prices and you know the

Target brand Advil is is way cheaper

than the Advil brand Advil you are

experiencing a situation where

intellectual property has expired um you

know ibuprofen which is the active

ingredient in Advil um has has expired

its uh patent protection its IP

protection which means that you can now

produce generics and so generic drugs

tend to be a lot cheaper um and um you

know the people who argue against

intellectual property protection say

that governments would step into fund

research rather than um you know letting

the market fund the research we might

have more research for drugs than that

you know might not seem like they would

be uh effective right away or you might

have research for drugs that wouldn't

help a lot of people but would help that

small group of people very much um there

are certainly people that argue that our

current system of of drug production

rewards um you know big Blockbuster

drugs for um less important diseases

whereas the diseases that only affect a

few people but might be life-saving tend

to be neglected so that's the that's the

drug access argument um in terms of

music and and

um you know fans would probably uh pay

less attention to you know who got the

big label production um and you'd

probably see a lot more live shows

rather than uh in in um you would not

fewer CDs and more live shows fewer

albums and more live shows um and then

finally in terms of um protection of a

good um we would probably have fewer

large corporations products would be

local and probably have smaller

distributions so as you might be

figuring out there you can probably

figure out who wants uh weak or no IP

protections and who wants strong IP

Protections in general um upstart

Industries and non-industrialized or

newly industrialized countries want uh

weak or no IP protections because they

would like to be able to piggyback on

the research of others in order to start

doing their um own goods and and build

their Industries um established

Industries and Wealthy countries tend to

want strong IP protection because then

they can prevent others from using their

goods and inventors creators and artists

tend to you know sometimes want strong

IP or sometimes want weak IP when

they're inventing and creating um they

tend to want weak IP once they have

invented and created then they want

strong IP over over their product um and

the same company can be on opposite

sides of different um IP battles so if

you know if you have a company like

apple once they've created the iPhone

they really really want um strong IP

protection they have hundreds of patents

on on things like the iPhone but also

there are times where they argue for

Less patent protection um if you

remember before last U Before Christmas

of last year Apple had to stop selling

the Apple watch briefly um because they

lost a patent case with um the company

who H came up with the idea of the heart

monitor and a wearable and so um at that

moment Apple was arguing really strongly

for weak IP protection in that

particular area and so um it just sort

of depends on where a company or

industry or Creator is at at that moment

whether they want strong or weak

IP briefly um we're going to go over the

types of intellectual property um the

three major types of intellectual

property and we will talk about these in

detail in the next uh part of the

lecture is patents trademark and

copyright those are the three biggies

that are in the resolution um and then

Trade Secrets which is not in the

resolution um but is um also sort of a

major type of intellectual property

right um based on the idea of just

keeping your information secret from uh

other companies the um patents and

copyright right and trademarks all sort

of depend to various degrees on

disclosing the thing um that you want to

protect trade secrets are the opposite

they are about non-disclosing of things

so if you've ever heard about cocacola

and the Vault with the Coca-Cola recipe

in it um that is a trade secret rather

than um a trademark or a copyright or a

patent um so that one is not part of the

AF part of the resolution but may be

debated by the

negative I look forward to seeing you in

the second and third parts of this video

in the meantime thanks for watching