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ORIGINALITY IS UNIQUE ― What do we mean by originality? Where did that concept come from, and how does it help us? by Steve Copestake Owner, Acuity Marketing & Communication Pte Ltd
T
he 18th century Romantics have a lot to answer for. Their pre-occupation with the individual, emotion and creativity marked something of a watershed from a time when you and I were much more used to the kind of adaptations, iterations and improvements that allowed mere tradition to evolve. It was a turning point not without irony as the Byron’s and Wordsworth’s were inherently sceptical of the process of science and its industrial application, the focus of so much of today’s creativity, invention, and Intellectual Property (IP) registration. Fast forward to 2023, and the threshold set for originality by the Supreme Court in the US. To be considered original, an idea “must possess some creative spark no matter how crude, humble or obvious it might be.” It’s basically a legal litmus, limited in scope perhaps, but by introducing the ‘c word’ (creativity) it takes a step beyond the more puritan ‘sweat of the brow’ principle it replaced where it was hours and effort invested that established whether something was ‘new’.
46 / orient-magazine.com
Issue 94 / September 2023