Bio Nebraska Featured in Omaha World-Herald for National IP Month
Executive Director Rob Owen was featured in the Omaha World-Herald’s Public Pulse section in recognition of National IP Month.
Halloween a great time to celebrate intellectual property
As Halloween approaches, Nebraskans are busy carving jack-o’-lanterns, stocking up on candy corn, and bracing for a few good scares. But there’s one thing that shouldn’t haunt us this season: losing our best ideas. In addition to being Bioscience Month in Nebraska, October is National Intellectual Property (IP) Month — a perfect time to celebrate America’s one-of-a-kind system that protects innovation, rewards creativity, and fuels our local economies.
It’s easy to forget that even some of Halloween’s most beloved traditions started with protected ideas. The modern jack-o’-lantern design was patented in the 1890s, and candy corn — that sweet, polarizing fall classic — is the product of a patented process first created in the late 1800s. These little inventions remind us how American ingenuity, backed by a strong IP system, has shaped not only our economy but our culture, too.
Here in Nebraska, that spirit of invention runs deep. From Edwin Perkins’ creation of Kool-Aid in Hastings to the legendary Reuben sandwich born at Omaha’s Blackstone Hotel, Nebraskans have long turned bright ideas into household names. Today, our state’s innovators — from ag-tech startups in Lincoln to biotech firms in Omaha — continue to build on that legacy. Each of them depends on America’s IP system to protect their work, attract investment, and keep good jobs growing right here at home.
Without those protections, innovation would be like a haunted house with the doors left wide open — inviting others to sneak in and steal what’s inside. But thanks to America’s commitment to safeguarding ideas, inventors, artists, and entrepreneurs can share their creations with confidence.
So this Halloween, as you light your jack-o’-lantern and sneak another piece of candy corn, remember: our nation’s IP system keeps the tricks out of innovation — and ensures the treats keep coming for Nebraska and beyond.
