Ideas need industry as industry needs ideas

• Author: Maxine Horn
• Position: CEO of Creative Barcode
• Pages: 5-8

>>>

5

who sees openness as a mechanism for cost

reduction. This creates a trust problem. If open in-

novation is to thrive, business trading models be-

tween these two communities must ensure that

professional creators are equitably remunerated.

Safe disclosure at an early stage of innovation is

crucial to support collaborative engagement with

business partners. Professional creators, however,

are extremely vulnerable pre-contract, where dis-

closure of in-depth proposals is a necessary part

of new business activity.

Many in the creative industries and academia

are looking for a new, more protective open

innovation culture that promotes ethical, trust

and permission-based trading of professionally

produced ideas. Without commercial respect

for knowledge-based ideas, experience and the

know-how of professional creators, there is little

incentive for them to participate in open innova-

tion activities.

Many companies are reluctant to sign non-dis-

closure agreements (NDAs), fearing a negative

impact on their own intellectual property (IP).

However, without such a contract, the ideas and

concepts of professional creators are essentially

unprotected. This leaves them vulnerable to their

ideas being misappropriated and risks creating

barriers to innovation in the areas of open inno-

vation and crowd-sourcing.

… and IP protection?

Traditional IP protection mechanisms and laws

do not protect ideas as such. When creative rms

nd that work submitted in response to a genu-

ine business enquiry has been misappropriated

by another party, they are often surprised to nd

themselves in a very weak position with regard to

The source of innovation

Innovation generally starts with an individual – a

designer, inventor (independent or otherwise),

scientist, engineer or entrepreneur. These individ-

uals, however, rarely have the funds or the skills to

single-handedly bring their ideas to market. For

this, they rely on the expertise and resources of

the business community. Their primary interest

is to trade their knowledge, co-creating or col-

laborating with route-to-market partners rather

than commercializing it themselves. This might

seem to make for a complementary and natural

union. In reality, the relationship is often fraught

with problems.

The journey to market is full of twists and turns.

For new ideas or knowledge to have any chance

of commercial success, the individual behind

them has to engage with industry early on in the

process. However, disclosing early stage ideas to

potential industry partners pre-contract can be a

risky business. All too often, creators are uncer-

emoniously cut out of the commercial loop as

their concepts, ideas and propositions are taken

up and used by business investors without per-

mission or recompense.

This is largely attributable to a widespread belief

that “ideas” are bountiful, free, and have no value

until they are commercialized. In the era of open

innovation, professional creators compete with

the crowd for work and are feeling under threat.

While open innovation and crowd-sourcing cre-

ate opportunities for professional creators and

business, they also raise important issues about

models of remuneration in sectors traditionally

engaged on a fee-for-services basis.

For many, the client pitch has given way to a kind

of mini-crowd-sourcing, controlled by the client

IDEAS NEED

INDUSTRY

as industry needs ideas

Ideas are the lifeblood of business. In today’s evolving and highly competitive commercial landscape,

industry depends on a steady flow of ideas for better ways to develop products and services, present brands

and interact with users. These tasks are not rich in research and development (R&D); they are creative in

nature and usually generated by highly skilled solution-led innovative individuals and microenterprises

from within the creative industries and academia. In this article, Maxine Horn, CEO of Creative Barcode

,

1

explores the challenges confronting innovative thinkers in an economy increasingly focused on open

innovation, and explains how open protection mechanisms, such as Creative Barcode®, can support a

more efficient and rewarding open innovation environment.

1. www.creativebarcode.

com