Chapter 3: Intellectual Property in Cyberspace
What is Property?Ownership of Property implies
certain rights, including use, manage, possess, exclude, and derive income.
Intellectual property consists of Intellectual Objects such as
musical compositions, poems, novels, inventions, product formulas, computer
programs, etc.
An important difference between physical and intellectual property is that
intellectual property can be easily reproduced.
Justification and Protections for PropertyThere are several
Moral Justifications for Property:
- Labor-Desert Theory: a person should benefit from their labor.
- Personality Theory: creations are a part of your personality.
- Utilitarianism: rewards for individuals are necessary for the
good of all.
Legal Protections for intellectual property include:
- Copyrights to protect literature, music, software, etc.
- Patents to protect inventions.
- Trademarks to protect business logos, slogans, etc.
Copyright protections has important limitations:
- Exceptions for Fair Use and First Sale.
- Limited (but generous) time limitations.
- Protects only Expression but not basic Idea.
Legislation and LitigationThere have been several landmark
laws and cases
Other Property Issues in CyberspaceOther important issues:
- Patenting business methods.
- Trusted systems.
- Ownership of domain names.
- Deep linking.
- Abuse of metatags.
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