The Intellectual Commons: Toward an Ecology of Intellectual Property

by Henry C. Mitchell

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739113424
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/16/2005
Series:	Lexington Studies in Social, Legal, and Political Philosophy
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.54(d)

About the Author

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

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Introduction
Chapter 3 Authors and Commons: Two Visions of Intellectual Property Rights
Chapter 4 An Overview of Intellectual Property
Chapter 5 Two Moments in the History of Copyright
Chapter 6 The Natural History of Intellectual Property
Chapter 7 Commons: The Third Form of Property
Chapter 8 The Intellectual Commons
Chapter 9 The Commons in History
Chapter 10 Social Utility and the Rise of the Imperial Author
Chapter 11 The Author Metaphor
Chapter 12 Ethical Issues of Patent Law: Equity and the Intellectual Commons
Chapter 13 Conclusions and Critique
Chapter 14 Appendix A - Economics: Some Definitions
Chapter 15 Appendix B - Property, Ownership, and Rights: A Framework
Chapter 16 Appendix C - The Statute of Anne