Physicalism in Intellectual Property: 17th Annual International Intellectual Property Lecture

On 12 March 2024 the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (CIPIL) held the 2024 Annual International Intellectual Property Lecture, delivered by Professor Oren Bracha (William C. Conner Chair in Law, The University of Texas, Austin).Abstract: It is a universal truism that the subject matter of modern intellectual property law is intangible information. Yet the field is haunted by a stubborn specter of physicalism. Time and again, courts and commentators engage in reasoning that relies on physicalist and quasi-physicalist assumptions or fails to absorb the implications of the intangible object of property. This happens in a wide variety of contexts, spanning from the patentability of DNA sequences to copyright infringement by training Generative Artificial Intelligence systems. The lecture explores persisting physicalism in intellectual property law, diagnoses its sources, and argues that we should go beyond it.For more information see:https://www.cipil.law.cam.ac.uk/