A salesman for a US pump manufacturer, who was a neighbour of the author some years ago in upstate New York, noticed while visiting customers that a certain type of pressure valve would be useful. Although his wife was sceptical, he took time at night and weekends to design such a valve and applied for and was granted a patent on the design. He placed a second mortgage on his house and later obtained a bank loan, largely on the strength of the patent. He created a small business, employed a dozen people and contributed to the multiplier effect before the valve was superceded some 20 years later by other types of valves. The man never thought much about intellectual property. He simply took for granted that he could get a patent and build a business from it.
In Lima, Peru, young Carlos (a fictional proxy for much of the developing world) earns a meager living welding replacement mufflers under trucks and cars. He thinks of a clamp for simplified muffler installation. His wife is sceptical. Should he spend his nights and weekends to design and develop the clamp? He will need help fabricating the prototype. Should he involve his friend, the metal worker? He needs money for metal and tools. Should he use the money saved under the mattress? Should ge take a bus across town to ask his sister's husband for a loan? The answer to each question is strongly biased towards the negative by weak intellectual property protection. Without thinking much about intellectual property, his wife, the brother-in-law and Carlos himself each knows from community wisdom that his idea is vulnerable and likely to be taken by others. He cannot take for granted that his idea can be protected. In this story, lack of confidence that his idea can be protected would in all probability lead Carlos to a negative decision at each of these decision points.
If the story of Carlos is multiplied many times across a landscape, that country's opportunity loss is devastating. When an effective protection system becomes a reality, confidence grows that intellectual assets are valuable and protectable. Then the inventive and creative habit of mind, which is at the heart of an intellectual property protection system, will spread in the minds of people.
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