The relationship between liberty and morality can be described briefly in the following manner: morality without liberty is impossible, and liberty without morality is very fragile.
Tag: intellectual property
IP is the Enemy of Technological Progress
I was recently asked whether I thought intellectual property (IP) encourages or inhibits innovation. I believe the latter for several reasons, but first, let’s cover some background.
So-Called Intellectual Property
Property ownership is central to liberty and civilization. Property rights prevent conflict over the use of scarce resources. Ironically, the term “intellectual property” (aka “IP”) represents a hodgepodge of concepts that generally introduce artificial scarcity and needless conflict.
Property and Ownership
To claim ownership of your body implies independent agency and liberty. It also implies that you have a right to exclude others from possessing, using, or controlling your body. In other words, your body is your property.
The 10 Hottest New and Improved Businesses and Industries of a Win-Win World
Send him mail. “Win-Win World” is an original column appearing sporadically on Thursdays at Everything-Voluntary.com, by Russell L. Roth. Russell is a 30-year marketing veteran and graduate of Jay Snelson’s “Science of Human Interaction” course (he calls it “Win/Win 101”). He has owned and operated businesses in advertising, real estate and internet marketing. He holds…
Property vs. Intellectual Monopoly
Editor’s Pick. Written by Dan Sanchez. Property must be distinguished from monopoly. They are often conflated because they both involve exclusive rights. But they are importantly different. Property is an exclusive right to use a particular means. Monopoly is the exclusive right to use any means in a certain way. Property is the exclusive right…
When Your Resources or Not Really Yours
In a response to a Mises Scholars Google group post on intellectual property, I wrote: One moment I may configure my resources in any pattern of my choosing. The next moment (after you file at the patent office), I may only configure my resources in any pattern of my choosing, minus one. Just like that,…
Intellectual Property is Not True Property
Editor’s Pick. Written by David S. D’Amato. In a world where the “new economy” — the Information Age’s digital one — has rendered traditional capital goods such as heavy machinery significantly less important, issues surrounding intellectual property are arguably more urgent than ever before. The course that the political class has chosen in its analyses…
Intellectual Property and Mind Control
Editor’s Pick. Written by Foo Quuxman. Much has been said about the problems of intellectual property here and elsewhere which I won’t go into today, however there is one implication of IP that I have not noticed in any of the writings of the anti-IP thinkers Property is defined as the exclusive right to possess…
Intellectual Property Cannot Be Property
Editor’s Pick. Written by Joseph Diedrich. What is property? More specifically, at its essential theoretical core, beyond the artifice of legal fiat, what is property? Somewhat broadly, property is anything that satisfies each of the following requirements: property is scarce; property possesses objective (intersubjectively ascertainable) borders; and property has a determinable temporal genesis. The theory…