Reference no: EM131178906

Intellectual properties are protected so that the person who creates an intellectual property can benefit from that intellectual property and so that those who did not contribute to the development of the intellectual property cannot use that intellectual property to unjustly benefit themselves.  That seems only fair.  However, it has been suggested that the protections given to intellectual properties can and do have the effect of discouraging others, who did not contribute to the creation of a particular intellectual property, from improving on an existing idea or developing new ideas.

How can intellectual property protection discourage others from improving on an existing idea or developing a new idea?  Is this a serious problem?  What can be done to protect intellectual properties without discouraging improvement of existing ideas or development of new ideas?