Against Intellectual Property: A Critique of Artificial Scarcity

Book: Against Intellectual Property by N. Stephan Kinsella.This book, which initially appeared in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, argues vigorously against the legitimacy of intellectual property (IP) rights such as copyrights and patents, asserting that they are unjustifiable government-granted monopolies that conflict with legitimate property rights in tangible goods. Kinsella first summarizes the legal definitions and distinctions among various types of IP—including copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and trademarks—before surveying the spectrum of libertarian perspectives on the issue. The core of his argument rests on the idea that property rights are necessary only for scarce resources, which ideas are not, and that IP laws subvert the first-occupier homesteading rule for acquiring property by granting creators partial ownership over the already owned, tangible property of others. He concludes that only systems based on private contract or common law principles, such as those governing trade secrets and trademarks (to prevent fraud), are consistent with libertarian principles.