Big Think

Ken Adelman: Well I think the innovation of America is phenomenal. And what we have to do is preserve the intellectual property rights, which people are stealing around the world. And that is in terms of movies. That’s in terms of music. That’s in terms of pharmaceuticals. That’s in terms of a lot of products, because 40% of the American economy is bound up in intellectual property. That’s what we do. And it’s a great line from Henry V that we talked about this morning that fits in that, even though certainly Shakespeare was not an intellectual property attorney. It’s “All things are ready if our minds be so.” What he’s saying is when all’s said and done, the creativity and motivation of the human mind is what really produces things. And you look at that back to Israel. Israel has no resources. And all these countries . . . You know, God in His infinite wisdom took all these Arab countries and gave them oil underneath the ground. In Israel they have nothing. And Israel’s economy is certainly . . . per capita ________ is higher than Portugal’s or Spain’s these days. It contributes enormously innovation, I think because of human capital. That’s what we . . . that’s what the world lives on these days.

Recorded on: 7/2/07