Creativity or Coercion: Alternative Perspectives on Rights to Intellectual Property

Part one of this paper considers the question of property rights in general and asks how such rights can be justified, contrasting Consequentialist with other approaches and concludes that it is impossible to avoid a broadly Consequentialist approach. Part two considers the question of intellectual property (IP) and asks how property rights justifications apply to it. The basic economics if IP is indispensable in this discussion. Finally, part three, considers IP in the light of modern technological developments. I conclude that the real dangers lie more in the specific ways government and special interests respond to this technology than from the nature of IP rights themselves. Peter Lewin is a Clinical Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management. His research and publications are varied but usually contain aspects of policy analysis. His recent work focuses on the use of knowledge by the business firm.