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.
• Cutting edge collection of essays moves beyond familiar justifications for IP based on desert or on utility • Interdisciplinary approach covers moral and political philosophy, economics, law, literary theory, anthropology and geography • Sophisticated and nuanced treatment of the potential benefits and limitations of intellectual property
Contents
Introduction Annabelle Lever; 1. Autonomy, social selves and intellectual property claims John Christman; 2. Corrective justice and intellectual property rights in traditional knowledge Stephen R. Munzer; 3. 'The genetic code is 3.6 billion years old: it's time for a rewrite': biotech patenting in the twenty-first century Graham Dutfield; 4. On the value of intellectual commons James Wilson; 5. Copyright infringement as compelled speech Abraham Drassinower; 6. Public reason, communication and intellectual property Laura Biron; 7. 'Sharing v. free riding: the case of P2P transmission of MP3 files' Geert Demuijnck; 8. 'The virtuous p(eer)' David Lametti; 9. Intellectual property rights and the TRIPS agreement: an overview of ethical problems and some proposed solutions Jorn Sonderholm; 10. Designing a successor to the patent as second best solution to the problem of optimum provision of good ideas Alexander Rosenberg.
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