OCTOBER 2, 2008

Patents Hit Hollywood

Intellectual property hits the silver screen this Friday as Greg Kinnear stars in Flash of Genius, the true story of Robert Kearns, a Midwestern college professor/part time inventor who created the intermittent windshield wiper only to get into a patent dispute with Ford. According to the Patent Baristas, the main issue of contention was the uniqueness of the intermittent wiper:

Ford argued that Kearns’ patents were overly broad and therefore invalid…  Ford had contended the patent was invalid because the windshield system contained no new concepts. But Kearns argued a new combination of parts made his invention unique.

When I first heard about this movie, I was shocked that a studio would invest in a movie about intellectual property.  As the Patent Baristas say, “not too many movies have patent infringement as the major plot line.”

I think this goes to show that more people are starting to pay attention to intellectual property claims. Whether it’s patent issues with the Nintendo Wii, disputes between Tiffany and eBay or disputes between artists and the McCain campaign, these issues are out there and garnering public interest.

It will be interesting to see how the public views Ford following this release. Will people display apathy toward the difficult patent dispute or will this be a bad piece of PR news for the company?

According to Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Moore:

Ford sees no value in rehashing the history of a case that has already been resolved in a court of law almost 20 years ago.  . . .  It’s a movie.

However, the question remains to be seen if Ford is alone in this sentiment.