College students have been gravitating toward the idea of digital textbooks for several years, but copyright protection has been one of the few issues standing in the way of widespread acceptance in the academic publishing community. University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras professor Joseph Vogel believes he may have a solution that serves all sides, however, with the debut of a new incentive-based system.

The technology sector has long been regarded as a crucial engine of American innovation, but many fear that recent intellectual property disputes could compromise industry progress. In an effort to bring sanity and civility to the patent litigation landscape, professors Jason Schulz and Jennifer Urban from the University of California - Berkeley recently outlined a new approach to addressing stakeholder concerns.

At the recent D10 conference hosted by All Things Digital, Apple CEO Tim Cook was the latest voice from the software development community suggesting that the current U.S. patent system is "broken" and could be standing in the way of innovation. But although most regulatory bodies will concede that there is room for improvement, the intellectual property management incentives embedded in the current system still have plenty to offer savvy software developers.

As bright, young startups expand to become established market players, intellectual property management should be part of the discussion each time they extend an offer of employment to a new hire. Far too many companies, according to Corporate Counsel, don't realize the intellectual capital they have invested in an employee until that worker moves on to another opportunity.

Following the surge of corporate data breaches reported in recent months, companies across industries have been revising data protection protocols to keep a tighter grip on sensitive customer data. However, it appears that a number of organizations are still leaving their intellectual assets without the benefit of similar security measures.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers in Ireland are preparing to learn a hard lesson regarding the relationship between patent management and employment prospects. As Pfizer continues to sort out the implications of its impending patent cliffs, the drugmaker has decided to eliminate nearly 180 positions from plants across the European country.

As a greater proportion of commercial activities migrate to digital platforms, companies are quickly realizing that trademark management strategies must be as vigilant online as they have been offline. But according to the latest survey conducted by branding experts from Melbourne IT DBS, the legal community is not yet fully prepared to advise potential clients on the risks that could await them on the digital frontier.

As prescription drugs from major manufacturers like Pfizer and Merck prepare to come off patent, stakeholders on all sides of the healthcare community are coming to understand the relationship between intellectual property and the economics of the industry. However, following the release of a new survey detailing a critical shortage of cancer drugs in American hospitals, a variety of misunderstandings have converged to make the patent system an undeserving scapegoat for the issues at hand.

The current class of U.S. legislators is keenly aware of the role intellectual property plays in supporting global competitiveness, as evidenced by the passage of the first large-scale patent system reforms in five decades with the America Invents Act. However, reports have emerged to suggest that Congressional leaders may be willing to limit the functionality of current intellectual property frameworks in the interest of economic security.

As world leaders return to their respective countries following the recent G-8 summit, intellectual property protection is expected to be on the minds of many as they set agendas for the rest of the year. According to IP Watch, delegates agreed that more effective patent management frameworks will be needed to eliminate the scourge of counterfeit medicines.