What would be the difference between policies set in place now, and in years to come?

To understand the future for intellectual property we must first understand the past, and where we stand now.

The past:

In America the intellectual property law has a long history, in fact the 13 colonies before the constitution was signed had some sort of patent law. The problems that arose later was that a copyright or patent in one state would not be valid in another. As intellectual property slowly expanded through the years, technology changed and the laws needed an update. (Kh, 2015)

This link goes on further to explain the timeline of how intellectual property rights came about: http://www.business2community.com/strategy/future-intellectual-property-law-01359635#GiV1hwGvbBURl1Az.97

Present time:

Everything as mentioned in the previous sections is applicable to todays society, there is levels to intellectual law. Patents, trademarks and copyrights fall under the umbrella of intellectual property law. Most websites, companies, social media, have stated somewhere in their user terms and agreements that subscribers own the right to all original data and are protected under the intellectual property law.

What does the future hold?:

The future for these policies seem to be a push towards a more community based sharing of ideas and content, while attempting to still respect the original content creator. This is where our current system is very rigid and tightly holding on to the reigns of people going through the legal motions for intellectual property rights such as copyrights and trademarks. Yet the internet is a never ending cycle of stealing, reclogging, reproducing, without giving the proper recognition to the original owner. Tumblr comes to mind where there is a surplus of online accounts doing just that.

This website has a very interesting, though fairly abstract and theoretical, point of view about the future for intellectual property law, even suggesting that in the future it might be criminal to stop an idea before implementation:

https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/10/copyright-and-intellectual-property-change-is-coming/

By: Christina Bulic, 2016

References:

Copyright and Intellectual Property: Change is Coming. (2016). WIRED. Retrieved from:

https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/10/copyright-and-intellectual-property-change-is-coming/

kh, R. (2016). The Future of Intellectual Property Law. Business 2 Community. Retrieved from

 http://www.business2community.com/strategy/future-intellectual-property-law-01359635#klI8TtFSz9FvZRK3.97