The United States Patent and Trademark Office says a patent “grants the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling an invention.”

IP Made Easy says a patent “is like a superhero cape for inventors … a ‘Do Not Steal My Genius’ sign.” It adds: “Think of getting a patent like trying to join an exclusive club. There are three bouncer requirements at the door [utility, novelty, non-obviousness], and your invention needs to claim all three to get in.”

Which characterization would most people find more relatable?

One description provides the precise legal definition, while the other is designed to make the idea approachable for a general audience. That balance is the purpose and theme of a new, free, online tutorial produced by the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation.

The easily accessible IP Made Easy helps demystify the workings of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Its numerous short videos and anecdotal, real-world, identifiable examples encompassing those four IP tentpoles provide a motivational, fun journey designed to show why IP is not just something inventors need to learn—but something everyone should want to learn.

Christine Lawlor-King, a 20-year invention and IP educator who had a major role in creating IP Made Easy and narrates the course, has firsthand knowledge of the challenges of making IP relatable and digestible.

“As a teacher, I used to be afraid of teaching IP,” she told Inventors Digest. “I did not understand it myself, so I did not teach it—even though I was teaching invention and entrepreneurship, two subjects that truly need IP at their core.

“Once I started learning more, I discovered that IP is fun, engaging and deeply relevant. I realized I was interacting with IP every day—and that my students would love it, too. And I was right!”

Making IP digestible

Intellectual property: 20 letters over two words—ponderous, lawyerly, intimidating for many.

IP Made Easy: just 10 letters in three words—simple, easily digestible, inviting.

Creations of the mind protected by law, IP can be misunderstood, even shunned because of the ways many people think about it and talk about it. Maybe that’s a reason, according to a U.S. Intellectual Property Alliance survey, that 70 percent of Americans are unable to differentiate between the four types of IP.

But IP Made Easy shakes up the narrative.

Conventional, dry, mind-numbing legalese is replaced by stories about why Bruno Mars’ publishing company sued Miley Cyrus for allegedly duplicating one of his songs to create her hit “Flowers.” How the recipe for the Oreo cookie, Coca-Cola and KFC are all closely guarded trade secrets. How even the shape of a Coke bottle can be and is trademarked. How IP is an ongoing part of every day of our lives, from the moment we turn off our smartphone alarm.

As Lawlor-King tells viewers: “It’s in your pantry, your Netflix queue and in your game day gear. It is also in the music you listen to.”

IP Made Easy is designed to get you thinking more about what you can do with IP, not so much about what others are doing with it: “Knowledge is power, and you are on your way to having the tools to use, respect, teach and even create your own IP.”

IP awareness also entails knowing what you can’t do from an IP standpoint. Who would think, for example, that a model could be violating copyright law by posting photos of herself on social media? (If the photos were taken and owned by the paparazzi who shot them, she could be doing exactly that.)

“What are you posting on social media?” she asks, before adding another question that few of us consider: “Do you own it?”

The program begins on the webpage with a Start Learning tab, a click leading to a consolidated gateway to IP education via seven sections and 25 lessons—highlighted by an overview of IP and lessons on the four major IP components in a measured, organized path.

The patents section, comprised of short, conversational videos, discusses the three types of patents: utility, design and plant. Much is presented in an anecdotal context, even showing an actual patent and choosing a decidedly non-vanilla example: “an innovative way to scoop and store ice cream so that it will not run down the sides of a cone when it melts.”

There is also information about resources for new inventors that include IP Buddy, IPOEF’s recently launched, AI-powered digital assistant designed to help users understand and navigate IP.

Essential momentum

But IP Made Easy is more than a tutorial. It provides the “why” that goes with the “what.” It’s a mind-set, an energy that can inspire educators—who can pass that on to students.

“For more than 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with student inventors, and about a decade ago I launched the California Invention Convention,” said its executive director, Brenda Payne. “Through all of that, I managed to remain blissfully unaware of many of the ins and outs of intellectual property. Recently, I decided it was time to change that and deepen my understanding.

“That’s when I discovered IP Made Easy. It turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. The tutorial is engaging, easy to follow, and packed with the essentials of IP law, while also weaving in fascinating anecdotes that really bring the subject to life. Now, I can’t help but notice every trademark, registered trademark, or copyright symbol I see!

“I highly recommend this resource to anyone curious about inventing. Whether you’re mentoring young innovators, developing your own ideas, or just an invention enthusiast, IP Made Easy will, I’m sure, help you gain a better understanding of what IP is all about.”

Payne’s delayed IP journey underscores the fact that for intellectual property to become more widely understood and appreciated, educators at all levels will have to play a major role. One key attraction will be reinforcing the notion that IP protection and leverage can turn creativity into a lucrative career without mastering the traditional subjects taught in school.

Thomas Edison’s mother took him out of school after one of his teachers referred to him as “addled.” Leonardo da Vinci didn’t have a formal education. Albert Einstein frequently struggled throughout his school years and was criticized for not paying attention. Our current world is full of similar examples of actors, musicians and others who built a livelihood on creativity. 

IP provides another avenue of opportunity. It is “real-world knowledge, which makes students lean in,” says Lawlor-King. “It brings out every student’s gifts, because no matter who you are—an inventor, artist, poet, or athlete—you need to understand IP.

“The best part is, when I teach IP, I never hear the question, ‘Why do we have to learn this?’ Students see the value instantly.”

IP Made Easy aims to not only add interest but emphasize the value of rightful protection of our works. Denise Heneggler, an invention and IP educator, said that “After teaching a unit on invention, one of my students came to school with new shoes. The students realized they looked like Crocs but they were not really Crocs. In fact, they were a knock-off sold at a popular retail store.

“The kids had lots of questions as to how that could happen. Some of the students were quite angry that something like this could happen. We looked up the original patent for Crocs, and then we compared that patent with the knock-off brand.

“This led to discussion about ‘buyer beware’ and why knock-off brands thrive. The students spent the rest of the school year bringing up examples of brands that ‘copy’ a more expensive brand.”

IP Made Easy promotes more IP dialogue and understanding—which lead to more interest, more protection awareness and more information that is easy to grasp.

Details: www.ipoef.org/ip-made-easy