What’s an intellectual property blog?

On a number of occasions over the holidays, people said to me: “I hear you’re starting a blog, what’s it about?” When I’m asked this question, I usually say “intellectual property” and the relative/friend/acquaintance nods significantly and we go back to our eggnog. Occasionally, however, a much more inquisitive type follows up with this question: “Oh, what’s that?” And if they’re unlucky, I’ll try to explain.

The truth is, I’m not exactly sure. This statement may come as a surprise to some–not least the CILP who have kindly put this blog on their front page–so let me clarify that statement. I’m not sure about the subject matter of an IP blog. I can rattle off the syllabus for the introduction to intellection property course: copyright; trademark; patent. But that’s not all that this blog is about. In fact, I doubt that you’ll find more than a handful of intellectual property blogs that limit themselves to those three subject areas. It seems to be an accepted rule that in addition to the traditional trio, an IP blog must also at least cover privacy and various Internet issues. Why is that?

The argument has been made that privacy concerns a kind of intellectual property. Privacy is about the control of personal information. Personal information is a concept at least as concrete–so far as abstract concepts go–as a copyrightable work or an invention. Like a work or invention, personal information has instrumental value. As companies collect more information about individuals, they are able to provide better services or conduct their business more efficiently. This, though, is not the nature of the discourse about privacy. When you ask someone why they want to protect their invention, you are likely to get a response involving a desire to profit from their work. But I have never heard someone say that the reason they want their privacy protected is a desire to get more money from companies collecting personal information. The value most people see in privacy is more personal. So while I won’t go so far as to say personal information is intellectual property, it is certainly of a similar type and I can see why IP writers would be interested in both.

What about Internet issues then? This category would include topics like net neutrality, censorship, and social networking. It also overlaps quite a bit with privacy (since the Internet can barely avoid violating privacy). This category does not cover just any Internet issue–you won’t find reviews of the latest cool websites. That said, I find it impossible to give a precise definition of what makes a technology issue appropriate for an IP blog, but I have no trouble spotting one when I see it. The best explanation I can give is that there is some proximity between these issues and traditional intellectual property issues. This is the point at which my relative/friend/acquaintance regrets asking the question: an IP blog isn’t really about  intellectual property, it’s just that “intellectual property and related stuff” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

In the end, though, that’s what this blog is about: intellectual property and related stuff. Over the next few months, the 2009/10 editorial team will be writing on a variety of topics that meet this description. We will also be posting short daily updates on intellectual property news and events. You can follow the blog on the website or subscribe to our latest updates in your favourite feed reader. I hope you’ll find us interesting and informative; I’m looking forward to a great year.