“Intellectual Property” is the topic for Future Problem Solving International Conference 2015

MELBOURNE, Fla. - March 1, 2015 - PRLog -- Students from around the globe will embark on the study of “Intellectual Property” as they prepare to participate at Future Problem Solving Program’s International Conference, hosted at Iowa State University in Ames, June 11-14.  These students have earned a coveted invitation to the conference by displaying expertise in the creative problem solving process and futuristic thinking through competitions throughout the school year in their Affiliate Programs.

Competitors in several of the components offered at IC arrive equipped to tackle potential Intellectual Property problems set 20-30 years into the future.  These teams and individuals must research all aspects of the topic to be prepared for competitive events where a futuristic scene relating to the topic of “Intellectual Property” will be analyzed.

"Working as an intellectual property lawyer, I rely on the critical, creative and futuristic thinking skills I developed as an FPS student every day​.  Over the coming 20 to 30 years, it will be an area that will require the brightest minds in order to address the inevitable challenges that arise as worldwide innovation continues to accelerate." - Simon Casinader, FPS Alumnus from Melbourne, Australia, and Lawyer in the Intellectual Property group at K&L Gates.

Intellectual Property – IC 2015 Topic Descriptor:

Music can be downloaded on the internet without the permission of the musician. “Knock-off” watches, purses, and sunglasses are being sold on city streets. Counterfeit drugs are available in countries around the world, particularly in poorer regions where cost and availability is an issue. All of these things have something in common with a thief: they all involve illegally taking someone else's property.

Intellectual property – literary works, music, names and logos that convey information, designs for inventions – plays an important role in the global economy.  Copyrights, trademarks, and patents are all legal protections that allow creators to exclusively benefit from their innovations, thus encouraging creativity. In the age of globalization and digitalization, these legal protections are being put to the test and pertinent questions must be considered:

·         How can intellectual property be protected across borders?

·         Are the Berne Convention, the Madrid Protocol, and the World Trade Organization up to this task?

·         Are moral or cultural rights, including the knowledge and practice of indigenous people, adequately protected?

·         In specific situations, such as when patents result in life-saving medicines being unaffordable in less developed countries, how should intellectual property rights be enforced?

·         Should patent assertion entities, or patent trolls, have the same rights as creators of intellectual property?

·         Could the inability to protect intellectual property hamper creativity?

About Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI)

Future Problem Solving Program International, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1974, has grown into an international academic program challenging students to think both creatively and futuristically. Since its inception, the program has grown to include students from 42 U. S. states and 16 countries.  It is difficult to say how many hundreds of thousands of students participate each year as the program reaches students who may be involved non-competitively in classrooms or after school programs that use the materials to enhance curriculum through critical and creative thinking.

Future Problem Solving Program International may be contacted at their website http://www.fpspi.org or on Facebook.

Contact:
Marianne Solomon, Executive Director
321-768-0074
marianne@fpspi.org