Rethinking the ownership of information in the21st century: Ethical implications

  • Authors:

  • Tomas A. Lipinski;Johannes Britz

  • Affiliations:

  • Center for Information Policy Research, School of Library and Information Science, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, USA. E-mail: tlipinsk@csd.uwm.edu;Department of Information Science, School of Information Technology, University of Pretoria, South Africa 0002. E-mail: britzh@postino.uzp.ac.za

  • Venue:
  • Ethics and Information Technology
  • Year:
  • 2000

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Abstract

This paper discusses basic concepts and recentdevelopments in intellectual property ownership in theUnited States. Various philosophical arguments havepreviously been put forward to support the creation andmaintenance of intellectual property systems. However, in an age of information, access toinformation is a critical need and should beguaranteed for every citizen. Any right of controlover the information, adopted as an incentive toencourage creation and distribution of intellectualproperty, should be subservient to an overriding needto ensure access to the information. The principlesunderlying intellectual property regimes in the UnitedStates recognize and embody this. In addition, thephilosophical/ethical dimensions of this debate couldalso be structured to support this attitude as well. Intellectual property is fast becoming digitalproperty. New technologies allow owners to extendtheir control of both legitimate uses and misuses ofthe intellectual property. Recent trends demonstratethat the access principle has not always beenparamount in judicial or legislative applications. Thetrend rather is to allow a proprietarianism factor todominate the analysis. Finally, several principles areforwarded which would assist adjudicators and policymakers in reaffirming the basic purpose of theintellectual property law, which is to benefit thepublic at large.