Intellectual Property And Immorality

"This book argues that certain intellectual creations should not receive copyright or patent protection because they are harmful to society. It posits that the theories of intellectual property and the Intellectual Property Clause of the U.S. Constitution suggest this conclusion. The book responds to counterarguments: namely, that denying protection might increase the output of objectionable works, that other laws should address the moral problems; and that intellectual property functions better under a laissez-faire approach. After responding to these arguments, the book considers the roles of government actors in denying protection. It argues that courts should exercise their powers of equity to deny relief for works that are connected to unlawful acts of the rights-holder, and that courts should exercise their constitutional powers to deny protection for specific categories of harmful expressions and inventions. Next, the book considers whether Congress has constitutional authority to deny protection for works that it considers to be immoral. In concluding that Congress does have such authority, the book sets forth specific criteria that Congress should apply in exercising its moral discretion. Finally, the book considers whether denying intellectual property protection on moral grounds would violate the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. It concludes that principles of free speech afford Congress considerable discretion to deny patent protection but only narrow discretion to deny copyright protection. It also concludes that the Free Speech Clause is consistent with judicial denial of protection for the limited categories of works that fall outside the Intellectual Property Clause"--

Introduction -- Moral limitations in IP theory -- Arguments against denying protection -- The problem of judicial moral discretion -- Works involving unlawful conduct -- Judicial history on unlawful works -- The progress provision as a limitation -- Progress, science, and useful arts -- Legislating morality -- Free speech -- Tying it all together.

Are intellectual property rights a threat to autonomy, global justice, indigenous rights, access to lifesaving knowledge and medicines? The essays in this volume examine the justification of patents, copyrights and trademarks in light of the political and moral controversy over TRIPS (the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). Written by a distinguished international group of experts, this book draws on the latest philosophical work on autonomy, equality, property ownership and human rights in order to explore the moral, political and economic implications of property rights in ideas. Written with an interdisciplinary audience in mind, these essays introduce readers to the latest debates in the philosophy of intellectual property, whether their interests are in the restrictions that copyright places on the reproduction of music and printed words or in the morality and legality of patenting human genes, essential medicines or traditional knowledge.

"The relevance of intellectual property (IP) law has increased dramatically over the last several years. Globalization, digitization, and the rise of post-industrial information-based industries have all contributed to a new prominence of IP law as one of the most important factors in driving innovation and economic development. At the same time, the significant expansion of IP rules has impacted many areas of public policy such as public health, the environment, biodiversity, agriculture, information, in an unprecedented manner. The growing importance of IP law has led to an exponential growth of academic research in this area. This Book offers a comprehensive overview of the methods and approaches that can be used to address and develop scholarly research questions related to IP law. In particular, this Book aims to provide a useful resource that can be used by IP scholars who are interested in expanding their expertise in a specific research method or seek to acquire an understanding of alternative lenses that could be applied to their research. Even though this Book does not claim to include all existing research methodologies, it represents one of the largest and most diverse compilations, which has been carried out to date. In addition, the authors of this Book comprise an equally diverse group of scholars from different jurisdictions, backgrounds, and legal traditions. This diversity, both regarding the topics and the authors, is a fundamental feature of the Book, which seeks to assist IP scholars worldwide in their research journeys." --

The essays collected in this volume cover a wide range of ethical theories and draw on a variety of issues in intellectual property law. There are a number of substantial contributions on such topics ranging from the justification of intellectual property rights and the ethical underpinnings of familiar legal concepts, to the ethical dimensions of the encounter between intellectual property law and new geographies, spaces and cultures.

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.

This incisive book explores the ways in which the major notions of fairness, morality and ordre public can be used both to justify and to limit intellectual property rights. Written by an international team of experts in the field, it provides varied and sometimes divergent perspectives on how these notions are applied to different rights and in different contexts.