Justifying Intellectual Property

by Robert P. Merges

Overview

In a sophisticated defense of intellectual property, Merges draws on Kant, Locke, and Rawls to explain how IP rights are based on a solid ethical foundation and make sense for a just society. He also calls for appropriate boundaries: IP rights are real, but they come with real limits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674266087
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	06/13/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	422
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Robert P. Merges is Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Professor of Law and Technology, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and co-founder of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction: Main Themes 1

Part 1 Foundations

2 Locke 31

3 Kant 68

4 Distributive Justice and IP Rights 102

Part 2 Principles

5 Midlevel Principles of IP Law 139

6 The Proportionality Principle 159

Part 3 Issues

7 Creative Professionals, Corporate Ownership, and Transaction Costs 195

8 Property in the Digital Era 237

9 Patents and Drugs for the Developing World 270

10 Conclusion: The Future of Property 289

Notes 313

Index 403

Editorial Reviews

In this book, which promises to be a landmark in the field, Merges presents a wide-ranging and highly insightful synthesis of three strands of property-related philosophy in order to provide a grounding for mid-level principles of intellectual property.
-- Henry E. Smith, Harvard Law School

A new Bible for Intellectual Property...At the fundamental level, Merges relies upon deontological ethics derived from Locke (justification for appropriation), Kant (individual freedoms), and Rawls (distributive justice). By threading together these historic lines of thought, Merges provides an ethical foundation both for the establishment of property rights for creative contributions to society as well as for substantive limits to those rights. Justifying Intellectual Property is a fascinating book...[It] offers a new framework for understanding intellectual property with a particular focus on why it makes sense to offer property rights for creative enterprises.
-- Dennis Crouch PatentlyO.com

From the Publisher

A new Bible for Intellectual Property...At the fundamental level, Merges relies upon deontological ethics derived from Locke (justification for appropriation), Kant (individual freedoms), and Rawls (distributive justice). By threading together these historic lines of thought, Merges provides an ethical foundation both for the establishment of property rights for creative contributions to society as well as for substantive limits to those rights. Justifying Intellectual Property is a fascinating book...[It] offers a new framework for understanding intellectual property with a particular focus on why it makes sense to offer property rights for creative enterprises.

PatentlyO.com - Dennis Crouch

In this book, which promises to be a landmark in the field, Merges presents a wide-ranging and highly insightful synthesis of three strands of property-related philosophy in order to provide a grounding for mid-level principles of intellectual property.

Henry E. Smith

A new Bible for Intellectual Property...At the fundamental level, Merges relies upon deontological ethics derived from Locke (justification for appropriation), Kant (individual freedoms), and Rawls (distributive justice). By threading together these historic lines of thought, Merges provides an ethical foundation both for the establishment of property rights for creative contributions to society as well as for substantive limits to those rights. Justifying Intellectual Property is a fascinating book...[It] offers a new framework for understanding intellectual property with a particular focus on why it makes sense to offer property rights for creative enterprises.
— Dennis Crouch

PatentlyO.com