Publication
Australia: The disrupted workplace and intellectual property
A series of four articles on the opportunities and challenges relating to intellectual property in the current disrupted workplace environment.
Australia | Publication | April 2021
“Culture” is one of those words which, in its application to the operations of a business, can conceal more than it reveals. It is easy to say, but not easy to define and not so easy to instil. Properly understood “culture” in this context refers to the instinctive or reflexive decisions of employees: what they are disposed to do or not do. A good culture is one where the staff are disposed to act in ways that align with the interests of the business, avoiding things which cause detriment to the business or which cause loss/liability. Good culture turns on an organisation’s values and employee behaviours.
In relation to the intellectual property (IP) of a business, a good culture is one where employees inherently recognise the value of the IP and the need to protect/maintain it. This matters as much in relation to the IP of an employee’s home business as it does in relation to the IP of a third party. In your organisation, do the values of the company and the behaviours of your employees create this good culture in relation to your IP?
How can “good culture” at this level be created and maintained? The following elements are crucial:
The second item is the area where things most usually fall down. Good ‘rules’ that sit on a shelf can only go so far. How your employees understand those rules and what constitutes useful training is key. Training can so often fall victim to being the subject of fairly fixed ideas, given in circumstances of time pressure and where is an abiding suspicion in organisations against giving up more information than is necessary according to the narrowly defined objectives of the training.
We want organisations to challenge that orthodoxy. We encourage you to convey through training a narrative that covers the practical circumstances of the employee in relation to the creation and/or protection of IP and which builds outwards from the rules towards encouraging particular feelings about IP as an asset of a business, be that their business, or someone else’s. Doing so will ensure that the day-to-day actions by the employees that are faithful to the employer’s interests in the area of IP.
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