INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

31 JANUARY

COMP 381

Ownership and property Rights of ownership: Blackstonian

BundleExclude anyone from the propertyUse it as sees fitReceive income fromTransfer property to someone else

Intellectual property: intellectual objects

What is Intellectual Property?

Physical objects Zero-sum gain: one user at a timeSignificant cost in both development and

replication Intellectual objects

Used by many at onceSignificant cost in development, marginal

cost in replication

Is Intellectual Property Different than Real Property?

Need for Protection

Bentham: knowledge of future ownership is incentive to increase value

Landes/Posner: need to recover the development costs

Locke’s Labor-Desert TheoryHegel’s Personality TheoryUtilitarian: greatest good

Ethical Support for IP

Locke

Natural right to the fruits of your laborLabor unpleasant, therefore reap rewards

Lockean provisoOnly take what you need

Assumption of plenitude

Hegel

Property rights essential for personal expression

What we produce is an extension of our personality

Utilitarianism

Provide enough protection to make large investments worthwhile

Free flow of ideas First amendment freedom of speech Creative ideas build on society and

cultureNoel Capon

Ethical Support against IP

Copying copyrighted materials Using copyrighted materials Digital rights management Business method patents and e-commerce Ownership of domain names Hyperlinks Metatags

Ethical Dilemmas

Copyright Patent Trademark

Legal Protection

Copyright Term Extension Act1790: 14 + renew1909: 28 + renew1976 : author + 50, corporate 751998: author + 70, corporate 95

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1996)CopyingEnabling copying

Copyright

Physical objectsProcess, machine or composition of matterNOT laws of nature, scientific principles,

algorithms Criteria

NovelNot previously describedNon-obviousUseful

Patents

Word, phrase or symbol “Pithily” identifies Infringement: used by someone else Dilutions

Blurring – dissimilar productsTarnishment – negative or compromising

Trademarks

Responsibility of those enabling itSoftwareNetwork providers

Cases: softwareNapsterGrocksterBit Torrent

Cases: network providersVerizon

Copying copyrighted materials

Sampling: small bits of musicGood Copy, Bad CopySteal This Film II

Digital manipulation

Using Copyright Material

Lessig’s law and codeDigital is easier to reproduce, distribute, …Software or hardware to protect

But allows content provider to constrain who can use

○ Fair use○ DeCSS case

track who is viewing

Digital Rights Management

Processes vs. algorithms Ease of use Examples

Name Your Price (Priceline)One-click (Amazon)

Business Process Patents

Cybersquatting.net, .org, .com, …Punctuation (hyphenation, etc.)Phrases, nicknames

Parody, criticism, complaint (cybergriping)Property rights vs. free speechBringing people to the site under false

pretensesIncluding the name in the url vs. appearing to

be the site

Domain Names

Responsibility to usersMaking it clear that its another siteProtection from inappropriate material

Responsibility to other site ownersBypassing advertisements

○ Ticketmaster and Microsoft

Hyperlinks

What are they?Invisible content used for searching and

advertising Geting more leverage

Search enginesBanner ads

TechniquesMultiple tags to get more leverageTags that are unrelated

Metatags