Two Challenges to the Idea of Intellectual Property
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23198212 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laura Biron (St. John's College of Nursing, corresponding author) |
| Editors | Sherwood J B Sugden |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 93 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 382-394 |
| Publication date | 2010-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Monist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-9662 • E-ISSN: 2153-3601 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5840/monist201093322 |
| OpenAlex | W2335332558 |
| Language | DE |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 5 |
Although the expression 'intellectual property' is widely used, it could be argued that the very idea of intellectual property is incoherent. After all, ideas are not like land, houses or clothing; surely they are not the sorts of things that can be owned? I shall examine two arguments - one ontological, one jurisprudential - that put pressure on the coherence of the idea of intellectual property, both leading to the conclusion that intellectual property rights are not genuine property rights, but rights to monopolies. In setting up and responding to the first argument, I discuss the applicability of the type/ token distinction to intellectual property law; a distinction I also appeal to as a way of clarifying my response to the second argument.
Analytic philosophy · Contemporary philosophy · Epistemology · Intellectual property · Metaphysics · Philosophy of mind · Philosophy of science · Political science · Property (philosophy) · Sociology · Law · Legal principles and applications · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Reproductive Health and Technologies
| Citations per year | 0.31 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2013 - 2025 (13) |
| Highly cited | No |