Intellectual Property in the Information Age

By: Roberta Katz PhD

Narrated by: Roberta Katz PhD

Technological changes associated with the Information Age have forced us to revise our traditional methods of doing business. From an intellectual property standpoint, some of these changes have been beneficial - but some have been problematic. Our courts and legislative bodies must grapple with current and anticipated technologies in order to protect intellectual property in today's - and tomorrow's - arena. Roberta Katz, Senior Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel at Netscape, explains the ways in which law has responded to cultural change and outlines the current state of these various developments as they continue to rise in importance.

(P) and ©1997 Stanford Alumni Association

Not cutting edge

What disappointed you about Intellectual Property in the Information Age?

My project teams and I have to tackle IP issues every day, so I thought an academic primer on IP rights would be helpful. I was disappointed. The speaker has a very narrow and terribly incorrect view of his business clients. He says the only people who deal with IP are attorneys wearing green shades huddled by themselves in a corner of the law department. I guess he never gets out of his office much. It doesn’t get any better. The content is just not practical for people who actually have to work or want to know more about dealing with IP rights.

What didn’t you like about the narrator’s performance?

He was out of touch with the business world.