Intellectual property is a term many are familiar with, but despite being included in the US Constitution, is not well understood. Legislation, and perhaps more importantly, enforcement always falls behind culture and technology. Intellectual property looks far different in a modern landscape than our founding fathers were capable of imaging. Knockoff designer bags, illegally downloaded music, or even reposted photography is theft of someone else’s property. A new debate is emerging around whether the use of AI generated artwork, which blatantly draws from the work of existing artists online, is a violation of intellectual property rights.
The US Intellectual Property Association (USIPA) asked Response:AI to conduct a baseline survey to measure the understanding of core intellectual property concepts — patents, trademarks, and copyrights — to form the basis of a new public education initiative. The findings of this survey of 1,000 Americans were presented at the annual meeting of the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding in May 2023.
The survey found that while two-thirds of Americans believe they are thoroughly confused about what copyrights, patents, and trademarks actually are. When asked to provide examples of IP, 70% of those surveyed could not.
“Intellectual property encourages creators to provide what people want and need.” said Scott Frank, USIPA Founder, President and Chair. “The survey findings indicate that there is a serious need to raise Americans’ IP awareness. USIPA was created to inform and educate the public. Millions of jobs and billions of dollars are at stake.“
The survey indicated that about half of those responding, 52%, felt IP definitely had a “positive impact” on society. Another 26% said the impact was more positive than negative. As it relates to copyright and trademarks, less than half, 41%, believed IP definitely has a positive impact. Survey respondents were highly uninformed about the rules involving IP. Less than one-third of those surveyed knew that the USPTO can invalidate an issued patent previously upheld by a federal judge. Approximately four in five, 81%, said they had not read or heard anything about patent law in the media or were unsure if they had.
This study provides a good example of how market research can deliver critical data to drive public policy initiatives.
In this case, data is a two-way street, first to empower the CIPU with high-quality data around public awareness and understanding, so then in turn, the public can aid in policy change, self-advocacy, and avoid potential criminal actions themselves.
This survey is just one example of how Response:AI can utilize our advanced tools and our hands-on team to assist your company with all your data needs. Want to learn more? Click here to set up a demo of our services and start your market research journey with Response:AI.
The CIPU presentation is available here: IP Awareness Survey: What 1,000 Americans believe about IP – YouTube