Economic policy - IP commercialization as a stand-alone discipline

Below is my opinion piece from Innovation Magazine published by the Irish Times, reproduced with permission:

We need to develop a specialised competency in commercialisation to build this route to the market

HOLLYWOOD has perpetuated the myth that any inventor with a patent is on the road to great riches.

In the UK, James Dyson is a poster-boy for inventors. Many see him as the man who struck it rich with a vacuum cleaner that he started manufacturing in 1993. The romantic image is one of overnight success.

Innovation Dublin 2010

Last week, as part of the Innovation Dublin 2010 festival, I was invited to give a lecture to the MBA class at Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

I spoke on the topic of IP commercialization with the title "Invention or Innovation?"

Now THAT's smart

If I had a hat, I would raise it to the principal of St. Aidan's primary school in Wexford, Ireland.

His contribution to developing young minds is not to just accept the laptop and projector for each class, as offered by the Government. He said he needs to get an iPod into the hands of each pupil. He went about raising the funding and had educational software loaded in each unit.

The verdict of the students is that it is "cooler than laptops and a deadly way to learn." (If you know Irish colloquialisms, you will know that "deadly" is high praise.)

The article in the Irish Independent is here.

No doubt: China is a World Power in Patents

I saw it reported in the Economix blog of the New York Times that China is about to take the global lead in patent application filings.

There is nothing surprising about this.

The case for commercialization

I was asked to write an opinion piece for Ireland's Sunday Business Post with the title "Working smarter, not just harder" making the case for IP commercialization a key element of the Smart Economy strategy.

The edited version is a bit sanitized, but the main message gets through.

As always, I welcome and enjoy your feedback.