Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property is a term to put patent law, copyright, trademarks and similar rights under one hat. The problem is that all of these rights lay on different foundations. In most of the cases IP means copyright but often the term is used in lobbying to extent copyright thinking to patent law. Intellectual Property implies the "property" theory which has no foundation in the patent sphere. In European acedemics or legal pratice the term is hardly used, in the US it is widely adopted. In lobbying it is quite popular. The new EU constitution also concludes that Intellectual Property has to get protected. It is a subclause of property protection.
Many critics such as Richard Stallman strongly resist the terminology.
Quotes
The term confuses "right" with "property" and it is this that makes it dangerous. All of a sudden your copies is not your property anymore.
- This is a good way of explaining: Look at your wall, i bet you have some paintings painted by others hanging there, those paintings are your property, though you do not have the copyright for them, the same goes for data in your computer sent to you over the net, it is your data.
(it works just as good to substitute paintings with books in the above example - it is your books.)
Similar terms
- Exclusive rights - the proper term in economics
- Immaterial Monopoly Rights - put forward by opponents
- PCT = patents, copyrights, trademarks, used in the UN sphere. Unfortunately it also stands for patent cooperation treaty.
- Immaterial Privilege
