Intellectual Commons And The Law

‘With clarity and sophistication, Antonios Broumas presents a bold new theory of intellectual commons and powerful arguments for a new body of supportive law. This book not only reveals the misleading logic of intellectual property law in our time; it reveals the rich possibilities for constructive change that legally protected commoning can bring. Highly recommended!’ — David Bollier, Director, Reinventing the Commons Program, Schumacher Center for a New Economics. ‘Liberating the Intellectual Commons from the fetters of capital accumulation and appropriation, would give us a renaissance of creative energies and empowered communities: exactly what the world needs to move away from the social and ecological devastations of our times. This book is a thoughtful and compelling argument for making this possible through the works of the law and the redesign of public domain as a common space.’ — Massimo De Angelis, Professor of Political Economy and Social Change, Co-director of the Centre for Social Justice and Change, University of East London. ‘In this pioneering book, Antonios Broumas argues that philosophically, morally, politically and economically we are in urgent need of a new legal regime that recognizes the intellectual commons, peer production and sharing as the primary practices of intellectual production, distribution and consumption. I cannot imagine a more urgent task today. A legally protected intellectual commons will lead to greater scientific and cultural innovation and creativity and will lead to an urgently needed second Enlightenment. This book should be read by lawyers, critical theorists, economists and the many professionals of science, culture and the academy.’ — Costas Douzinas, Professor of Law, Birkbeck, University of London. ‘Antonios Broumas’ book is an excellent critical analysis of the cultural commons and a must-read for everyone interested in understanding what the commons, the cultural commons, and the digital commons are all about. This work brilliantly outlines the foundations of an empirically grounded critical theory of the commons and the cultural commons in the context of the interactions of law and society.’ — Christian Fuchs, Professor of Media and Communication Studies, author of Communication and Capitalism: A Critical Theory (2020). ‘Broumas takes us on a spellbinding tour of how and why the law could and should change to accommodate the creative multitude, which engages into an emerging mode of production. He tells a vibrant story that makes us shout: “Lawmakers of the world, unite!”’ — Vasilis Kostakis, Professor of P2P Governance, Tallinn University of Technology, Faculty Associate at Harvard Law School. At the cutting edge of contemporary wealth creation people form self-governed communities of collaborative innovation in conditions of relative equipotency and produce resources with free access to all. The emergent intellectual commons have the potential to commonify intellectual production and distribution, unleash human creativity through collaboration and democratise innovation with wider positive effects for our societies. Contemporary intellectual property laws fail to address this potential. We are, therefore, in pressing need of an institutional alternative beyond the inherent limitations of intellectual property law. This book offers an overall analysis of the moral significance of the intellectual commons and outlines appropriate modes for their regulation. Its principal thesis is that our legal systems are in need of an independent body of law for the protection and promotion of the intellectual commons, in parallel to intellectual property law. In this context, the author of the book proposes the reconstruction of the doctrine of the public domain and the exceptions and limitations of exclusive intellectual property rights into an intellectual commons law, which will underpin a vibrant non-commercial zone of creativity and innovation in intellectual production, distribution and consumption alongside commodity markets enabled by intellectual property law.

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.

Leading scholars of intellectual property and information policy examine what the common law can contribute to discussions about intellectual property's scope, structure and function.

ÔIntellectual Property in Common Law and Civil Law presents the perspectives of common as well as civil law, on global IP LawÕs most pertinent issues ranging from inventive step all the way to injunctive relief. Edited by Professor Takenaka, director of the University of WashingtonÕs renowned Center for Advanced Studies and Research on IP (CASRIP), the book assembles deep but easy to read essays by some of the worldÕs leading IP scholars. In short, IP LawÕs most important issues from a global perspective; by the worldÕs leading scholars, yet in a nutshell. Excellent!Õ Ð Christoph Ann, Technische UniversitŠt Mÿnchen, Germany Despite increasing worldwide harmonization of intellectual property, driven by US patent reform and numerous EU Directives, the common law and civil law traditions still exert powerful and divergent influences on certain features of national IP systems. Drawing together the views and experiences of scholars and lawyers from the United States, Europe and Asia, this book examines how different characteristics embedded in national IP systems stem from differences in the fundamental legal principles of the two traditions. It questions whether these elements are destined to remain diverged, and tries to identify common ground that might facilitate a form of harmonization. Containing the most current and up-to-date IP issues from a global perspective, this book will be a valuable resource for IP and comparative law academics, law students, policy makers, as well as lawyers and in-house counsels.

ÔThere is no issue more fundamental to the growth of the open source society than a more mature and penetrating understanding of the nature of the nonprofit organization in a digital culture. Professor LeeÕs book is essential reading to this fundamental topic, beautifully written and brilliantly conceived.Õ Ð Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School, US ÔJyh-An Lee provides the first comprehensive account of nonprofit organizations and their overlooked role in setting (and working around) intellectual property policy. The reader will find a wealth of information and a novel theory of NPOs as part of the IP ecosystem.Õ Ð Mark A. Lemley, Stanford Law School, US Over the past twenty years, a number of nonprofit organizations (NPOs), such as Creative Commons, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Free Software Foundation have laid essential building blocks for intellectual-commons as a social movement. Through a detailed description of these NPOs and a series of in-depth interviews with their officials, this book demonstrates that NPOs have provided the social structures that are necessary to support the production of intellectual commons. By illustrating NPOsÕ role in shaping the commons realm, this book provides a new lens through which to understand the intellectual-commons environment. Protecting intellectual commons has been one of the most important goals of recent innovation and information policies. This book focuses on the NPOs that occupy an increasingly critical and visible position in the intellectual-commons environment in recent years. This detailed study will appeal to academics in intellectual property and internet law, nonprofit organizations, academics and professionals, and those involved in the Free Culture and Open Source Software Movement.

A consensus has recently emerged among academics and policymakers that US copyright law has fallen out of balance. Lawmakers have responded by taking up proposals to reform the Copyright Act. But how should they proceed? This book offers a new and insightful view of copyright, marking the path toward a world less encumbered by legal restrictions and yet richer in art, music, and other expressive works. Two opposing viewpoints have driven the debate over copyright policy. One side questions copyright for the same reasons it questions all restraints on freedoms of expression, and dismisses copyright, like other forms of property, as a mere plaything of political forces. The opposing side regards copyrights as property rights that deserve—like rights in houses, cars, and other forms of property—the fullest protection of the law. Each of these viewpoints defends important truths. Both fail, however, to capture the essence of copyright. In Intellectual Privilege, Tom W. Bell reveals copyright as a statutory privilege that threatens our natural and constitutional rights. From this fresh perspective come fresh solutions to copyright’s problems. Published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

As a result of the digital revolution and the ever-increasing use of the internet, discussions around the conflict between copyright and the public domain are more prevalent than ever before. While these discussions have been hotly debated by legal scholars and in blogs and online forums, Terms of Use is one of the first books to concentrate on the conceptual foundations of the public domain. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Eva Hemmungs Wirtén reveals the nineteenth-century origins of contemporary phenomena such as blogs, wikis, the "Creative Commons," as well as the "Open Source" and "Open Access" movements. Hemmungs Wirtén examines topics as diverse as the pharmaceutical uses of plants, the patenting of DNA sequences, and Disney's reworking of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Books in order to provide a frank theoretical discussion of how nature and culture have been transformed into intellectual property. Timely and provocative, Terms of Use will challenge and inspire readers by providing an original and innovative approach to the understanding of the public domain and its origins.