The Intellectual Commons: Toward an Ecology of Intellectual Property

Front Cover
Lexington Books, 2005 - Computers - 221 pages
The rapid emergence of digital media has created both new economic opportunities and new risks for authors, publishers, and users in regards to intellectual property. There is a theoretical conflict raging between those who believe "information should be free" and those attempting to protect intellectual property through surveillance and control of access. The Intellectual Commons works to develop a theory of intellectual property that is based on a theory of natural rights that assumes the existence of a "natural world" of intellectual resources. Chett Mitchell develops a moral framework that makes cooperation among the groups involved rather than conflict central to understanding intellectual property rights. Drawing on early modern theorists such as Grotius, Pufendorf, and Locke as well as the intellectual theory of copyright put forth by L. Ray Patterson, Mark Rose, and Michel Foucault, Intellectual Commons presents a way to bring IP theory and practice together. This book is an important addition to the intellectual property debate and a must for law students, communication theorists, and any person interested in the future of digital media rights.

From inside the book

Contents

Introduction
1
Authors and Commons Two Visions of Intellectual Property Rights
13
An Overview Of Intellectual Property
25
Two Moments in the History of Copyright
33
The Natural History of Intellectual Property
45
Commons The Third Form Of Property
67
The Intellectual Commons
87
The Commons in History
109
Ethical Issues of Patent Law Equity and the Intellectual Commons
153
Conclusions and Critique
173
Economics Some Definitions
187
Property Ownership and Rights A Framework
193
The Statute of Anne
201
Bibliography
207
Index
217
About The Author

Social Utility and the Rise of the Imperial Author
125
The Author Metaphor
139

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About the author (2005)

Chett Mitchell is Adjunct Faculty at University of Notre Dame and Indiana University at South Bend.