LISNews: Librarian News

Against intellectual property is an interesting chapter out of the book Information Liberation by Brian Martin. This chapter is interesting in that he makes a strong case against IP. It\'s a long and well argued chapter.

\"There is a strong case for opposing intellectual property. Among other things, it often retards innovation and exploits Third World peoples. Most of the usual arguments for intellectual property do not hold up under scrutiny. In particular, the metaphor of the marketplace of ideas provides no justification for ownership of ideas. The alternative to intellectual property is that intellectual products not be owned, as in the case of everyday language. Strategies against intellectual property include civil disobedience, promotion of non-owned information, and fostering of a more cooperative society.