Everything we do in life concerns knowledge. Some understanding of the subject is required to accomppish anything with it.
If we broaden this outlook we see that in essence life is about knowledge! When you know something well you can excel at it. Also you are less likely to become effect of it.
Now in this world of patents and rights the question arises: who owns any piece of knowledge?
Interesting question. However patents and intellectual ‘Property’ actually control usage of certain knowledge for commercial ends, NOT ownership of that knowledge!
Yes! You can own and should own any knowledge you garner. Its just that for business reasons etcetera we have some limitations of using certain pieces of knowledge for commercial purposes. That is by agreement and just by living in a country and being a citizen you are inplicitly agreeing to some things, we usually call these things laws.
However you can actually own any piece of knowledge! What does owning knowledge mean? It means that you can think with it as your own, work out further ideas with it as your own, and develop your own new ideas from it, as your own. You may even develop your own intellectual property this way.
The important concept here is you own all knowledge you can lay your hands on. You can think with it and build your own ideas. Just keep in mind that if something is patented then you can’t use it commercially, but you can still get good new ideas from it.
Owning your knowledge means taking full responsibility for it and means you can really use it and create actual effects from it in the world outside.
Owning your knowledge makes you effective with it, and is the only real way to succeed with it.
Learn lots of things and never stop learning, but make sure you own your knowledge!