Originality™

The origins of originality

Our love of originality is itself relatively new. We have the 18^th century Romantics with their emphasis on the individual, emotion and creativity to thank for it. Before the Byrons and Wordsworths elevated originality, we were content with the adaptations, iterations and improvements that allowed folk traditions to evolve. Ironically, the Romantics were suspicious of science and industrialisation, the focus of so much creativity, invention and Intellectual Property registration today.

The Romantics would no doubt find fault with 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.” That may sound like a low bar, but it’s an improvement on the more puritan ‘sweat of the brow’ principle it replaced where it was the hours and effort that went into an idea, not the creativity, that established its ‘originality’.

Ideas, no matter how “crude, humble or obvious”, may pass the legal test for originality. But we’d argue that in ideas, there’s a difference between the new and the original.

Originality is more than simple novelty: it’s a genuine spark of imagination, not just a flash in the pan. Original ideas are meaningful and resonant.

The scramble for IP

Original or just novel, it’s easy to convince ourselves that the aperture for ownable ideas is narrowing. In 2021, 18.1 million trademarks were filed, 3.4 million patents applied for and 1.5 million industrial designs registered. Those numbers may make the aspiring inventor despair. To us, though, they reveal an inspiring truth. Yes, it is getting harder to originate ownable IP. But the fact that trademark and patent registrations increase year-on-year shows how fertile and rich our imaginations really are.

Even the most radical idea owes a debt to what went before; the ‘shoulders of giants’ Newton credited standing on to see further and imagine new laws of nature. For creative minds, IP helps draw the line between inspiration and imitation. Success, the saying goes, has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. The Intellectual Property courts are full of those claiming paternity rights to successful ideas. Confronted by copyright claims, creative minds like Ed Sheeran now not only register their original ideas, but film the creative process that led to them.

What is a ‘good’ idea?

In the ideas business, the wastage is phenomenal. That’s not because the ideas generated by blue sky sessions and invitations to think outside-the-box are not new. It’s because they lack the power and appeal of a true original. Just as the art world uses the word to differentiate genuine pieces from fakes, forgeries and imitations, we all instantly recognise the hallmarks of an original idea. It has the depth of something genuine and authentic. At Heavenly, we call these ‘generous ideas’. Ones rich in potential, simple in expression and as inspiring to others as they are inspired themselves.

Dr Samuel Johnson understood the formula. Never one to let the mediocre go un-ridiculed, his pithy review of a would-be author’s work pointed out: “Your manuscript is both good and original. But the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good”. We’d argue that in defining originality, ‘good’ has another meaning. Original ideas have the power to do good. They speak to our needs and emotions.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the internet, refused to patent his original idea and instead gifted it the world (thank you Sir Tim!). When Jonas Salk – creator of the polio vaccine – was asked who owned the patent, he said “Well…the people. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” Originality and such big-hearted philanthropy don’t have to go hand-in-hand, but by definition ‘good’ ideas are an improvement on what came before. They are relevant, useful and improve our lives.

As marketing folk we often talk about targeting unmet needs. Originality finds a compelling way to meet those needs. The iPod was not the first MP3 player. The iPhone was not the first mobile phone. Apple’s originality lay in its focus on our experience and emotions. It used design as a language to speak to those emotions.

Originality: innovation with heart

Companies can be quick to cloak originality in the over-used language of innovation. In our experience, an original is worth ten innovations. Sharing the story of your company’s original insights and the products or services they gave birth to – putting your audience in touch with your originality – will win you more supporters than promises of R&D investment and continuous improvement.

That doesn’t mean marketers have to look backwards to their origins and tell the story of their founder’s humble beginnings in a garage workshop (although that worked for Hewlett Packard). Our work for the Royal Armouries in Leeds used originality to make a museum of historic weapons relevant and accessible to new generations. The simple, original idea? To become a champion against knife crime and lead an amnesty that would see dangerous weapons put where they belong: in an armoury, not on the street.

True originality may be difficult, but that is what makes it valuable and worth pursuing. So the next time you hear the lament of the unimaginative – ‘Oh, there’s nothing new under the sun!’ – take it as your cue. To put meaning before novelty, insight before innovation. And be that rarest of things: an original.