Intellectual Property at a Crossroads: Why History Matters

Intellectual property is at a crossroads today. As the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights noted in its final report, “[o]ver the last twenty years or so there has been an unprecedented increase in the level, scope, territorial extent and role of IP right protection.” From the rapid privatization and commodification of information to the creation of property rights in bioengineered microorganisms and lifeforms, recent developments in the intellectual property field have sparked major controversies, calling into questions our values, worldviews, and the way society protects and incentivizes human creations and innovations. To grapple with these difficult questions, courts and commentators have turned to history for guidance and support