According to studies by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), there exists a wide gender gap in the intellectual property realm , where women authors, inventors, and creators are under-represented in every area of innovation. Whereby a large segment of profitable intellectual property portfolios are owned and controlled by their male counterparts .
This has led to a host of negative consequences for women, in terms of wealth access , to ownership of valuable IP rights, and an ability to enhance their existing trade with modern IP best practices.
The IP Challenge for women:
Although the barriers to women inventors and innovators in terms of cultural and commercial practices are myriad. Often there is a pipeline problem in terms of attribution and conflict between stakeholders , allowing for a gender gap in intellectual properties. Moreover, skills traditionally associated with women, such as culinary arts, makeup, gardening, interior design, and hairstyling, remain largely ineligible for IP protection due to the factors of perishability; accruing to the problem of underfunding and under-representing of women in IP.
Hence, here are some alternatives for women to pursue to make advantageous moves in terms of intellectual properties.
1. Setting IP Registration and Infringement Budget:
There is a cost for both registering some forms of IPs, known as registered rights, as there is to manage IP infringements. Hence, for women it is advisable to make an IP budget that caters to a cost-effective IP portfolio offering maximum protection to your business case and a war chest for your IP defence.
Having an effective budget solves the issue of intersectionality in cases of gender bias in IP. Intersectionality is types and nature of IP conflicts faced by individuals that overlap various existing social identities. For instance, as Oxford Scholar Ann Bartow illustrated in her study, Feminist Methodologies and Intellectual Property, that existing humanoid robotic patents are subjected to gendered values. Whereby patents subjected to robots conforming to feminine appearance are favoured over androgynous robots. Therefore, having a balanced IP budget solves such issues of product identity conflicts that can favour the women to bridge existing gender gaps in IP laws.
If you would like to know how to effectively build an IP portfolio and budget. Connect with Nicomedia IP, as our valuation professional can offer you budget design and valuable consultation to suit your needs.
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2. Offer and Seek out Mentorship and Sponsorship:
Ignorance is never a good thing, especially when trying to surf the waves of the legal domain. In our daily operations we come across young and bright female professionals who are unsure of how to monetise their creative pursuits and start out with their IP rights journey. Hence, it is always advised to reduce the scale of separability bias in IP law, by networking with fellow women inventors, authors, and creative professionals; essential for women-led businesses and artists when starting out.
Often women in the space of copyrights, designs, and patents are seen to face a gender bias due to female-sounding and gendered-design stereotypes, such as the famous case of apparel design at the US Supreme Court on the copyrightability of fabric print, specifically, chevrons, zigzags, and stripes for cheerleaders or J.K. Rowling and her initial novel rejections due to her name. Although industry players and legal professionals like Nicomedia are endeavoured to advocate against deeply set stereotypes. It is highly recommended that women seek out mentorship and sponsorship with women in their field or with existing IP-registered women to enable them with professional networking specialising in IPR support and opportunities to monetise their creations. This is also backed by a 2019 report by the US Patent and Trademark Organisation (USPTO) called Progress and Potential, which showed that women who have patented before tend to patent again when there is homogeneity and a lack of separability as a bias within their innovation ecosystems.
To aid young females, we at Nicomedia Legal Associates also run a Kapital Program for young creative beginners and innovators who are new to this complex legal environment and offer them consultation fine-tuned to their immediate needs. Besides, we also have philanthropic endeavours where we sponsor and support groundbreaking innovation that can be of use to humanity. For more information
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3. Personal Branding:
Women leaders and young female innovators who start out with professional pursuits often face the problem of gender asymmetry in criminal law and IP infringements. This suggests that even in this time and age, there remains a bureaucratic inclination toward unequal support for infringement or criminal cases requested by female innovators, in addition to an issue of IP rights rejection due to perceived violation of free speech or cultural norms, especially in the Global South.
Hence, it is recommended for women innovators to seriously work on building a strong personal brand. Personal branding ensures increased visibility and engagement within their innovation ecosystem and industry, which lays credence to their cases. Moreover, women with strong online presence and an active participation in industry events aid them in seeking out authentic and specialised legal counsels and advisors.
Overall, it is vital for women to beat stereotypes and make intellectual properties work for them.
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