On the Idea of Owning Ideas: the philosophical foundations of intellectual property


Book Description

The recent proliferation of intellectual property has caused much public disagreement over the nature and legitimacy of owning immaterial goods. How is it that we believe in ownership of intangible, abstract goods like music, software and design, and even colors and smells? Who came up with the idea of legally owning ideas, and which rationales are behind it? The author, Roland Spitzlinger, investigates the philosophical foundation and legitimacy of intellectual property rights. He takes the reader back to the historical roots of patents in the sixth century B.C.E. and asks if traditional property regimes can really be extended to non-material goods. What can we learn from arguments proposed by John Locke, G.W.F. Hegel and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and how could their thoughts help to better understand the ongoing dispute between supporters and critics of patent and copyright law today? This book is aimed at those interested in the philosophical discussion of intellectual property rights, a concept that has entered all aspects of modern life and which is likely to cause ever growing social and political disturbance in the years to come.




A Philosophy of Intellectual Property


Book Description

Are intellectual property rights like other property rights? More and more of the world’s knowledge and information is under the control of intellectual property owners. What are the justifications for this? What are the implications for power and for justice of allowing this property form to range across social life? Can we look to traditional property theory to supply the answers or do we need a new approach? Intellectual property rights relate to abstract objects - objects like algorithms and DNA sequences. The consequences of creating property rights in such objects are far reaching. A Philosophy of Intellectual Property argues that lying at the heart of intellectual property are duty-bearing privileges. We should adopt an instrumentalist approach to intellectual property and reject a proprietarian approach - an approach which emphasizes the connection between labour and property rights. The analysis draws on the history of intellectual property, legal materials, the work of Grotius, Pufendorf, Locke, Marx and Hegel, as well as economic, sociological and legal theory. The book is designed to be accessible to specialists in a number of fields as well as students. It will interest philosophers, political scientists, economists, legal scholars as well as those professionals concerned with policy issues raised by modern technologies and the information society.




Intellectual Property and Open Source


Book Description

"Clear, correct, and deep, this is a welcome addition to discussions of law and computing for anyone -- even lawyers!"-- Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society If you work in information technology, intellectual property is central to your job -- but dealing with the complexities of the legal system can be mind-boggling. This book is for anyone who wants to understand how the legal system deals with intellectual property rights for code and other content. You'll get a clear look at intellectual property issues from a developer's point of view, including practical advice about situations you're likely to encounter. Written by an intellectual property attorney who is also a programmer, Intellectual Property and Open Source helps you understand patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and licenses, with special focus on the issues surrounding open source development and the GPL. This book answers questions such as: How do open source and intellectual property work together? What are the most important intellectual property-related issues when starting a business or open source project? How should you handle copyright, licensing and other issues when accepting a patch from another developer? How can you pursue your own ideas while working for someone else? What parts of a patent should be reviewed to see if it applies to your work? When is your idea a trade secret? How can you reverse engineer a product without getting into trouble? What should you think about when choosing an open source license for your project? Most legal sources are too scattered, too arcane, and too hard to read. Intellectual Property and Open Source is a friendly, easy-to-follow overview of the law that programmers, system administrators, graphic designers, and many others will find essential.




Intellectual Property and Information Control


Book Description

Computer technology and the proliferation of digital networks have radically altered how ideas and information are gathered and manipulated and generated new conflicts between public use and private rights. These conflicts raise serious problems: Are abstract ideas and information proper subjects of ownership? What role should privacy rights play? How does the violation of intellectual property rights compare morally to the violation of physical property rights? Now available in paperback, Intellectual Property and Information Control provides answers and strategies for dealing with these and other questions while mounting a philosophical defense of rights to intellectual and intangible property.As the book shows, a policy that allows too much access may stymie innovation and cause individuals to isolate themselves. At the other extreme, huge, multinational corporations may hold as intangible property vast amounts of knowledge, including sensitive personal information. Through discussions of patent law, fair use, and practical problems such as privacy in the workplace, Moore demonstrates that intellectual and intangible property rights exist along with privacy rights. The latter will sometimes constrain what can be done with the former.




Against Intellectual Property


Book Description




Foundations of Intellectual Property


Book Description

This book is meant to provide a ... collection of commentaries on the topic of intellectual property. [The] goal has been to bring together ... influential writings on patent, copyright, trademark and design protection, beginning with early material from the seventeenth century and continuing into the contemporary law review literature. -Pref.




Justifying Intellectual Property


Book Description

In a sophisticated defense of intellectual property, Merges draws on Kant, Locke, and Rawls to explain how IP rights are based on a solid ethical foundation and make sense for a just society. He also calls for appropriate boundaries: IP rights are real, but they come with real limits.




LEGO and Philosophy


Book Description

How profound is a little plastic building block? It turns out the answer is “very”! 22 chapters explore philosophy through the world of LEGO which encompasses the iconic brick itself as well as the animated televisions shows, feature films, a vibrant adult fan base with over a dozen yearly conventions, an educational robotics program, an award winning series of videogames, hundreds of books, magazines, and comics, a team-building workshop program for businesses and much, much more. Dives into the many philosophical ideas raised by LEGO bricks and the global multimedia phenomenon they have created Tackles metaphysical, logical, moral, and conceptual issues in a series of fascinating and stimulating essays Introduces key areas of philosophy through topics such as creativity and play, conformity and autonomy, consumption and culture, authenticity and identity, architecture, mathematics, intellectual property, business and environmental ethics Written by a global group of esteemed philosophers and LEGO fans A lively philosophical discussion of bricks, minifigures, and the LEGO world that will appeal to LEGO fans and armchair philosophers alike




Who Owns You?


Book Description

Who Owns You? is a comprehensive exploration of the numerous philosophical and legal problems of gene patenting. Provides the first comprehensive book-length treatment of this subject Develops arguments regarding moral realism, and provides a method of judgment that attempts to be ideologically neutral Calls for public attention and policy changes to end the practice of gene patenting




Propertizing European Copyright


Book Description

With an acceleration in the last decades, the language of property, piracy and theft has become mainstream in copyright matters. Scholars have argued that this latent propertization has progressively led to the undue expansion of copyright and an enclosure of knowledge, causing clashes with users’ fundamental rights and EU social and cultural policies. Challenging the validity of such critiques, Propertizing European Copyright demonstrates that these distortive effects are only the result of mishandled property rhetoric and that a commitment to copyright propertization could enable a more internally consistent and balanced development of EU copyright law.