The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society
The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society
Intellectual Property in the Information Age: The Politics of Expanding Ownership Rights
Intellectual Property in the Information Age: The Politics of Expanding Ownership Rights
Shamans, Software, and Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society
Shamans, Software, and Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society
Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace
Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace
Regulating Cyberspace: The Policies and Technologies of Control
Regulating Cyberspace: The Policies and Technologies of Control
Digital Copyright
Some information is too dangerous to be on the internet
ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society
Are intellectual property rights compatible with Rawlsian principles of justice?
Ethics and Information Technology
The ethics of online anonymity or Zuckerberg vs. "Moot"
ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society - Selected Papers from The Ninth International Conference on Computer Ethics: Philosophical Enquiry
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This paper uses two recentworks as a springboard for discussing theproper contours of intellectual propertyprotection. Professor Lessig devotes much ofThe Future of Ideas to demonstrating howthe expanding scope of intellectual propertyprotection threatens the Internet as aninnovation commons. Similarly, ProfessorLitman's message in Digital Copyright isthat copyright law is both too complicated andtoo restrictive. Both authors contend that asa result of overprotecting individual rights,creativity is stifled and the vitality of theintellectual commons is in jeopardy. It isdifficult to evaluate the claims and policyprescriptions of these books without someappreciation for the moral foundations ofintellectual property. The utility and labordesert theories remain the two most prominentin the Anglo-American tradition. Afterexploring those theories, we argue for a secureregime of protection based on the Lockeanvision that property rights are justly deservedas a reward for labor that creates value. However, as Locke's famous proviso implies,even a natural property right is not absoluteand must be balanced by regard for the publicdomain. But a natural right cannot besacrificed simply to advance technologicalinnovation or to achieve marginal social andeconomic gains. While we agree with Lessig andLitman that recent legislation goes too far weconclude the essay by attempting to illustratethat some of their policy recommendations errin the opposite direction by underprotectingvalid property rights.