Intellectual property

2010-11-15T17:21:10Z

209.64.25.3: /* Arguments in favour of Intellectual Property */

'''Intellectual property''' is [[property]] in [[idea]]s or patterns. Intellectual property laws grant [[monopoly|monopolies]] to originators of ideas, giving them a legal [[right]] to [[initiate]] [[force]] (through the [[state]]) against anyone making use of the idea without the permission of the originator of that idea.

Modern [[libertarian]]s, such as [[Stephan Kinsella]] and [[Jeffrey Tucker]], consider the term to be self-contradictory, because ideas and patterns are not [[scarcity|scarce]] or [[rivalry|rivalrous]], so logically cannot be [[ownership|owned]].

==Types of Intellectual Property==

Intellectual property usually refers to [[patent]]s, [[copyright]]s and [[trademark]]s. It can also include [[trade secret]]s, [[libel]]{{dubious}} and [[slander]]{{dubious}}.

==History of Intellectual Property==

Patents emerged as a form of protection for [[mercantile]]s. Copyrights are rooted in control and [[censorship]] of ideas.

==Views on Intellectual Property==

Intellectual property is a regularly debated subject among libertarians.

*Stephan Kinsella and Jeffrey Tucker are two of the most prominent strong opposers of all forms of intellectual property.
*[[Murray Rothbard]] was opposed to patents, but he believed that a weak form of copyrights could be enforced through [[contracts]].
*[[Ludwig von Mises]] and [[F. A. Hayek]] were largely opposed to intellectual property.
*[[Ayn Rand]] was an enthusiastic supporter of intellectual property.

==Arguments against Intellectual Property==

===Ethical===

Stephan Kinsella's seminal article, ''[[Against Intellectual Property]]'' outlines the modern libertarian case against all forms of intellectual property.<ref>[http://mises.org/journals/jls/15_2/15_2_1.pdf Against Intellectual Property], Stephan Kinsella</ref> Kinsella's paper focuses on the [[ethics|unethical]] nature of intellectual property rights. They are always in opposition to real material [[property rights]]. They are a straightforward government grant of [[monopoly]] to a favored producer.

===Utilitarian===

Since advocates of intellectual property generally appeal to [[utilitarianism]] (that 'nothing will be created' if creators are not granted a monopoly over their creation), [[Michele Boldrin]] and [[David Levine]] have examined, in their book ''[[Against Intellectual Monopoly]]'',<ref>[http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/general/intellectual/againstfinal.htm Against Intellectual Monopoly], Michele Boldrin and David Levine</ref> the [[empirical]] evidence for this claim. They find that, rather than stimulating creativity and innovation, intellectual property laws - especially patent laws - usually inhibit creativity and innovation.

==Arguments in favour of Intellectual Property==

According to Murray Rothbard, only activities which are not consonant with the free market would be outlawed by the market. In terms of copyright, when a person writes a work and imprints "copyright" on it, he sells it ''on condition'' that the buyer not reproduce the work for sale. By buying the copyrighted work, the buyer implicitly agrees to this condition and is contractually obligated to uphold it. Patents that go beyond this restriction of the copyright contract to prevent people who ''independently'' arrive at the same invention from using and selling that invention are punishing an act that is not implicit theft, and hence would not be outlawed by the free market; thus, patents become a state grant of exclusive monopoly privilege, incompatible with the free market. <ref>"Patents and Copyrights," ''Man, Economy, and State (with Power and Market)'', 745-754 - [http://mises.org/rothbard/mes/chap10e.asp#7._Patents_Copyrights]</ref>

Ayn Rand argues that, since ideas must originate from the mental effort of an individual (or group of individuals), that originator holds the exclusive property rights to the product(s) of his labor. While one cannot copyright ''theoretical'' knowledge - discoveries of facts or truths of reality not previously known - he can claim the right to an ''invention'', the ''practical application'' of that knowledge. Since the object that is patented might not have existed without the inventor, and the object copyrighted would not have existed without the creator, the ideas behind such created objects are the property of their originators. <ref>“Patents and Copyrights,” ''Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal'', 130 - [http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/patents_and_copyrights.html]</ref>

==References==
<references/>
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Intellectual property