The Case Against Intellectual Property

Introduction According to a common argument, the presence of strong intellectual property rights spurs innovation, which leads to higher economic growth and increasing benefits for all. The argument seems coherent: the establishment of secure property rights is a fundamental pillar of a well functioning market economy. No economic agent exercises productive effort without the certainty of controlling its fruits. What is true for physical effort must be true for the intellectual one: if strong property rights provide good incentives for the production of potatoes, they must also provide good incentives for the production of ideas. Why then do we argue a "case against intellectual property?" Are we arguing that, while stealing potatoes is bad, stealing ideas is good? We are not. Economic efficiency, and common sense, argue that ideas should be protected and available for sale, just like any other commodity. But "intellectual property" has come to mean not only the right to own and sel