Value of IEOR 190G

IEOR 190G: Patent Engineering was a great class that I would recommend to everyone in my network, whether he/she is a student or a professional. The reason being is that I learned about the power of patents--as both a driver of innovation and a impediment of innovation :


ENCOURAGING INNOVATION
The original intent of the patent system was to provide inventors with the opportunity to protect their works of innovation. For the most part, patents have done exactly that, allowing their authors to maintain rights to their inventions for 20 years. Furthermore, patent auctions have enabled the free trade of patents, giving inventors the opportunity of liquidating their IP whenever they wish.

While there have been controversy surrounding the inefficiency of the USPTO and the malicious activity following the sale of patents at auctions, these two concepts have pushed potential inventors to continue with their work without fear of another entity stealing their hard work. Thus, the patent system provides peace of mind to the inventor and patent auctions incentivize inventors (on top of the possible sales of the product) to continue innovating.

Learning about how patents encourage innovation is extremely important, as in the competitive world in which we live, patents are essential in protecting and refining our innovations. This class has taught me the importance of filing applications early, clearly defining the invention in the application, and finding/reaching out to the right resources to speed the process along.

PREVENTING INNOVATION
Patent trolls have been around for as long as the patent system has. Since then, all malicious patent trolls (shell companies that have no operating activities other than suing actual companies) have impeded innovation. They have effectively reinstilled fear into the patenting industry by threatening companies with trumped-up lawsuits. For small companies, this could spell death as the settlement fees can consume a significant percentage of resources. For large companies, the financial impact is not as bad, but effects on reputation and resources that could otherwise go to more productive activities are not to be ignored.

Learning this in IEOR 190G is weighs very heavily on me, as the startup at which I am working is wrestling with a potential lawsuit from a patent troll. Learning the methods to combat these malicious entities was extremely enlightening and serves as a great foundation on which to build defenses against external threats.

Collaborative Learning Using Social Media

Collaborative learning is an idea founded on the belief that learning is a "naturally social act in which the participants talk among themselves" and "it is through the talk that learning occurs." Many people believe the following about learning:

1. Learning is an active process 
2. Learning requires learners to process and synthesize information
3. Learners benefit when exposed to diverse viewpoints 
4. Learning flourishes in a social environment
5. Learners are required to articulate and defend their ideas
6. Learners converse with peers, present and defend ideas, exchange diverse beliefs, question conceptual frameworks, and are actively engaged.

Traditional learning (lecture from a teacher to a student) does not fully meet some criteria and completely fails to meet others. For example, most lectures do not encourage participation, especially those of large class sizes. Most lectures also do not allow students to synthesize information; they generally require students only to regurgitate information in exams. In other words, lecturing is a one-way street that allows information flow to operate in one direction which generally "works" (as it has been for hundreds of years) but is not ideal.

On the other hand, learning through social media meets all 6 criteria mentioned above in the following ways:

1. Participants actively blog, tweet, video-blog, and reply
2. Participants read others' posts and then write their own either in response or separately
3. Social networks are open to people of all ages, races, ethnicity, and religions 
4. Social networks are platforms that create social environments
5. Participants regularly attack, defend, and clarify others' and their own posts
6. Participants have tens to hundreds of people with which they communicate, debate, exchange ideas, question frameworks, and engage