In the most recent installment of 60 Minutes, Charlie Rose interviewed Russian leader Vladimir Putin. In addition to the expected questions on the crisis in Syria, and how Russia views the Ukraine, Rose asked Putin a question that I thought said a lot: "What do you admire most about America?" to which Putin responded "I like the creativity...creativity when it comes to your tackling of problems. Their openness...openness and open mindedness. It allows them to unleash the inner potential of their people. And thanks to that, America has attained such amazing results in developing their country."
That exchange says a lot. Vladimir Putin is not known for being a humble man, but when you watch the exchange between him and Rose, you sense the admiration in his tone - and why wouldn't he feel this way? Putin summed up what America is about: Ingenuity.
In no coincidence, President Obama met with Chinese president Xi Jinxing last week, and one major point of discussion was China's theft of U.S. company trade secrets. It is widely known that (for years now) China has been helping themselves to our legally protected ideas, and the economic impact has been staggering. A 2012 report issued by the The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee titled "The Impact of Intellectual Property Theft on the Economy" begins with: "Innovation drives economic growth and job creation. Protection of intellectual property (IP), through patents, trademarks, and copyrights is critical to ensuring that firms pursue innovation."
That's the gist of the entire U.S. economy. Innovation and ideas are the drive behind our economic force - but essential to that is the right to legally protect those ideas; and that has suddenly become one of the main (if not biggest) threats to our economy and society.
The report also addresses how piracy and counterfeiting have become "increasingly pervasive", and says that trade in illegally counterfeited and/or pirated products increased by 7.6 percent between 2000 and 2007. This amounts to over $101.9 million in revenue as well as $1.4 million in added costs to protect intellectual property rights. This all combines for a $46.3 million decline in overall profits.
The concept of valuing creativity and innovation is disappearing...and fast. A 2013 article in The Economist reports how companies now keep new ideas under wraps. Rather than legally protect then manufacture, they sit on them out of fear the idea will be stolen and put into production before they can do it. The Economist article also reports 90% of trade secret thefts are the result of insiders. Employees who have access to ideas (plans, drawings, concepts, etc.) simply lift them from the office "...via flash drive, mobil phone, or email" and sell them off. In essence, the world has become one giant Napster.
I jump on Napster a lot. I do so because (like I've said before) I see it as the catalyst. It was the application that ushered in the If it's on the Internet...it's free! mentality - and we are now seeing its global effects. This is the age of copying. So much so that a New York Times article reported how the number of American students who cheat keeps going up (even the smart ones). Cheating has not only become more rampant, but also accepted. As the article states; "The Internet has changed attitudes, as a world of instant downloading, searching, cutting and pasting has loosened some ideas of ownership and authorship." For a society whose socio-economic structure depends on new ideas - this is bad news.
I am not a "Luddite". I am typing this entry on a laptop computer, and uploading it the an Internet based Blog. How ever, I do get scared that someone will lift my words and use them as their own (it's not a crazy idea). After all, this is the world we live in now. You don't need to be smart, creative, or critical with your thoughts. Just log on; cut, paste, download, and claim it as your own. Don't pay for it...just steal it! That has (sadly) become the new normal.
