ABSTRACT
The realm of intellectual property (IP) covers more than just innovation and extends into many areas of art, culture and commerce. Equally the breadth of innovation is increasingly moving beyond the established arenas of product and technology development where IP has traditionally had a major role to play. Today we can see shifts taking place in areas such as business model innovation, open collaboration and social- and community-based innovation where, for many, the role of IP has become increasingly stretched and even marginalized. Equally, with ever-growing interest in patent protection of such areas as business methods, software-enabled experiences and plant biology, the boundaries of what is being covered, or not, by IP protection, at least in some regions, are also being pushed. If we are to be successful in innovating in the years ahead, we need to understand how changes in the future may impact, and be impacted by, shifts in IP.
