Thinking, buying, selling: Intellectual property rights in political economy

New Political Economy

Volumn 3, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 59-78

  May, Christopher ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0009886897     PISSN: 13563467     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13563469808406333     Document Type: Article

References (106)

1. J. Yates in Milar v. Taylor (1769) Y Burr 2303, quoted in F. W. Grosheide, 'When Ideas Take the Stage' (Opinion), European Intellectual Property Review, No. 6 (1994), p. 220.
2. Professor Walter Hamilton, cited in J. E. Cribbet, 'Concepts in Transition: The Search for a New Definition of Property', University of Illinois Law Review, No. 1 (1986) p. 4.
3. For instance, see Susan K. Sell, 'Intellectual Property Protection and Antitrust in the Developing World: Crisis, Coercion, and Choice', International Organisation, Vol. 49, No. 2 (1995), pp. 315-49, which presents a useful account of the gaps between legislation and implementation of IPR policy in developing countries, the United States' responses, and the power relations this reveals.
4. Andrew Reeve, Property (Macmillan, 1986) p. 7.
5. Ibid.
6. Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation (Beacon Press, 1957).
7. Andrew Reeve, 'The theory of property: beyond private versus common property', in: David Held (Ed.), Political Theory Today (Polity Press, 1991), p. 91.
8. Kurt Burch, 'The "properties" of the state system and global capitalism', in: Stephen Rosow et al. (Eds), The Global Economy as Political Space (Lynne Rienner, 1994), pp. 37-59.
9. For a similar approach, see T. G. Palmer, 'Are Patents and Copyrights Morally Justified?', Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1990), pp. 817-65.
10. J. Waldron, The Right to Private Property (Clarendon, 1988), pp. 33-7.
11. This is a position I share with James Boyle, Shamans, Software and Spleen: Law and the Construction of the Information Society (Harvard University Press, 1996).
12. Christopher May, 'Strange Fruit: Susan Strange's Theory of Structural Power in the International Political Economy', Global Society: The University of Kent Journal of International Relations, Vol. 10, No. 2 (1996), pp. 167-89. Originally the knowledge structure was laid out in Susan Strange, States and Markets (Pinter, 1988).
13. Christopher May, 'Strange Fruit: Susan Strange's Theory of Structural Power in the International Political Economy', Global Society: The University of Kent Journal of International Relations, Vol. 10, No. 2 (1996), pp. 167-89. Originally the knowledge structure was laid out in Susan Strange, States and Markets (Pinter, 1988).
14. May, 'Strange Fruit'.
15. Gianfranco Poggi, The Development of the Modern State (Hutchinson, 1978), p. 103.
16. See the editor's 'Introduction: legitimacy and modernity', in: William Connolly (Ed.), Legitimacy and the State (Blackwell, 1984).
17. Phillip Corrigan & Derek Sayer, 'How the law rules: variations on some themes in Karl Marx', in: Bob Fryer, Alan Hunt, Doreen McBarnet & Bert Moorhouse (Eds), Law, State and Society (Croom Helm, 1981), p. 33.
18. See, for instance, the discussion of law in Anthony Giddens, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory (Cambridge University Press, 1971), pp. 154-9. David Suganman, 'Theory and practice in law and history', in: Fryer et al., Law, State and Society is a useful guide to ways of thinking about the interaction between law and economy more generally.
19. See, for instance, the discussion of law in Anthony Giddens, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory (Cambridge University Press, 1971), pp. 154-9. David Suganman, 'Theory and practice in law and history', in: Fryer et al., Law, State and Society is a useful guide to ways of thinking about the interaction between law and economy more generally.
20. Burch, 'The "properties" of the state system and global capitalism', pp. 47ff.
21. Ibid.; C. Donahue Jr., 'The future of the concept of property predicted from its past' and T. C. Grey, 'The disintegration of property', both in: J. Pennock & J. W. Chapman (Eds), NOMOS XXII: Property (New York University Press, 1980), pp. 31-2 and 71-2 respectively; and Alan Ryan, 'Property', in: T. Ball et al. (Eds), Political Innovation and Conceptual Change (Cambridge University Press, 1989). pp. 317-19.
22. Ibid.; C. Donahue Jr., 'The future of the concept of property predicted from its past' and T. C. Grey, 'The disintegration of property', both in: J. Pennock & J. W. Chapman (Eds), NOMOS XXII: Property (New York University Press, 1980), pp. 31-2 and 71-2 respectively; and Alan Ryan, 'Property', in: T. Ball et al. (Eds), Political Innovation and Conceptual Change (Cambridge University Press, 1989). pp. 317-19.
23. Ibid.; C. Donahue Jr., 'The future of the concept of property predicted from its past' and T. C. Grey, 'The disintegration of property', both in: J. Pennock & J. W. Chapman (Eds), NOMOS XXII: Property (New York University Press, 1980), pp. 31-2 and 71-2 respectively; and Alan Ryan, 'Property', in: T. Ball et al. (Eds), Political Innovation and Conceptual Change (Cambridge University Press, 1989). pp. 317-19.
24. Ibid.; C. Donahue Jr., 'The future of the concept of property predicted from its past' and T. C. Grey, 'The disintegration of property', both in: J. Pennock & J. W. Chapman (Eds), NOMOS XXII: Property (New York University Press, 1980), pp. 31-2 and 71-2 respectively; and Alan Ryan, 'Property', in: T. Ball et al. (Eds), Political Innovation and Conceptual Change (Cambridge University Press, 1989). pp. 317-19.
25. Fernand Braudel, Civilisation and Capitalism, Vol. II, The Wheels of Commerce (William Collins, 1982), pp. 403-8 and passim.
26. Henri Lefebvre, The Production of Space (Blackwell, 1991).
27. Burch, 'The "properties" of the state system and global capitalism', p. 47.
28. G. Modelski & W. Thompson, Leading Sectors and World Powers (University of South Carolina, 1996) contains extensive material on the gradual emergence of a global economy.
29. Reeve, 'The theory of property', p. 112.
30. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down (Temple Smith, 1972); and R. Schlatter, Private Property: The History of an Idea (George Allen & Unwin, 1951).
31. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down (Temple Smith, 1972); and R. Schlatter, Private Property: The History of an Idea (George Allen & Unwin, 1951).
32. D. Vaver, 'Intellectual Property Today: Of Myths and Paradoxes', Canadian Bar Review, Vol. 69, Part 1 (1990), p. 100.
33. Burch, 'The "properties" of the state system and global capitalism', p. 51; and Ellen Meiksins Wood, 'The Separation of the Economic and the Political in Capitalism', New Left Review, No. 127 (1981), pp. 80ff.
34. Burch, 'The "properties" of the state system and global capitalism', p. 51; and Ellen Meiksins Wood, 'The Separation of the Economic and the Political in Capitalism', New Left Review, No. 127 (1981), pp. 80ff.
35. On the development of the law merchant at an international level, see A. Claire Cutler, 'Artifice, Ideology and Paradox: The Public/private Distinction in International Law', Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 4, No. 2 (1997), pp. 261-85.
36. Reeve, Property, and Alan Ryan, Property and Political Theory (Blackwell, 1984) are good places to start. See also Lawrence Becker, Property Rights: Philosophic Foundations (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977) and C.B. Macpherson (Ed.), Property: Mainstream and Critical Positions (Blackwell, 1978), both of which lay out the arguments clearly.
37. Reeve, Property, and Alan Ryan, Property and Political Theory (Blackwell, 1984) are good places to start. See also Lawrence Becker, Property Rights: Philosophic Foundations (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977) and C.B. Macpherson (Ed.), Property: Mainstream and Critical Positions (Blackwell, 1978), both of which lay out the arguments clearly.
38. Reeve, Property, and Alan Ryan, Property and Political Theory (Blackwell, 1984) are good places to start. See also Lawrence Becker, Property Rights: Philosophic Foundations (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977) and C.B. Macpherson (Ed.), Property: Mainstream and Critical Positions (Blackwell, 1978), both of which lay out the arguments clearly.
39. Reeve, Property, and Alan Ryan, Property and Political Theory (Blackwell, 1984) are good places to start. See also Lawrence Becker, Property Rights: Philosophic Foundations (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977) and C.B. Macpherson (Ed.), Property: Mainstream and Critical Positions (Blackwell, 1978), both of which lay out the arguments clearly.
40. Grey, 'The disintegration of property'.
41. Thus Marx argues that property is transient. See Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (Progress Publishers, 1974), pp. 88ff.
42. Macpherson, Property, p. 3.
43. Donahue, 'The future of the concept of property predicted from its past'.
44. Karl Marx & Frederick Engels, The German Ideology (Lawrence & Wishart, 1965), pp. 81-88.
45. Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, especially pp. 92ff, 111ff & 267ff.
46. Macpherson, Property, p. 7.
47. Ibid., pp. 9-10.
48. Reeve, 'The theory of property', p. 99. Thus Proudhon's famous assertion that 'all property is theft'. However, as Stirner immediately noted, to recognise the concept of 'theft' is to recognise the prior validity of the notion of property.
49. See P. Marshall, Demanding the Impossible: History of Anarchism (Fontana, 1993), p. 239.
50. Reeve, 'The theory of property', pp. 112-14.
51. Reeve, Property, p. 50.
52. D. Saunders, 'Purposes or Principle? Early Copyright and the Court of Chancery', European Intellectual Property Review, No. 12 (1993).
53. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, p. 5.
54. Becker, Property Rights, pp. 24-31.
55. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, pp. 28-9. Locke's discussion of property can be found in John Locke, Two Treatises on Government (Cambridge University Press, 1988), second treatise, ch. iv.
56. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, pp. 28-9. Locke's discussion of property can be found in John Locke, Two Treatises on Government (Cambridge University Press, 1988), second treatise, ch. iv.
57. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, pp. 54-5.
58. Becker, Property Rights, p. 36.
59. Locke, Two Treatises on Government, p. 290, second treatise, section 31.
60. Locke, Two Treatises on Government, p. 293, second treatise, sections 36, 37, 47 and 48.
61. C. B. Macpherson, The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism (Clarendon, 1962), p. 199.
62. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, discusses the problems and provides an eloquent critique, as does Becker, Property Rights, pp. 36ff.
63. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, discusses the problems and provides an eloquent critique, as does Becker, Property Rights, pp. 36ff.
64. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, pp. 118ff; and G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy of Right (Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. 40ff [Abstract Right, subsection I Property].
65. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, pp. 118ff; and G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy of Right (Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. 40ff [Abstract Right, subsection I Property].
66. Shlomo Avineri, Hegel's Theory of the Modern State (Cambridge University Press, 1972), p. 136.
67. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, p. 134.
68. Avineri, Hegel's Theory of the Modern State, pp. 135-41.
69. Ryan, Property and Political Theory, p. 161.
70. Ibid., pp. 162-5; see also David McLellan, Marx's Grundrisse (Paladin, 1973), especially section 5, pp. 81ff and section 15, pp. 115ff.
71. Ibid., pp. 162-5; see also David McLellan, Marx's Grundrisse (Paladin, 1973), especially section 5, pp. 81ff and section 15, pp. 115ff.
72. This argument is developed more fully in Ryan, Property and Political Theory.
73. K. R. Minogue, 'The concept of property and its contemporary significance', in: Pennock & Chapman, NOMOS XXII, pp. 13-14. Direct quotations in the following paragraph are all from this source.
74. Ibid., p. 14.
75. That this issue has reached the popular consciousness is suggested by Kathryn Bigelow's recent movie Strange Days, which revolves around the stealing of people's perceptions/experiences by technology and their subsequent resale.
76. I should add that there are areas such as trade secrets and privacy which can be subsumed within a broad notion of intellectual property. I leave aside these aspects not because they are unimportant, but because space is limited.
77. Vaver, 'Intellectual Property Today'.
78. Ibid., p. 104.
79. Chris Farrands, 'The globalisation of knowledge and the politics of global intellectual property', in: Eleanor Kofman & Gillian Youngs (Eds), Globalisation: Theory and Practice (Pinter, 1996).
80. Vaver, 'Intellectual Property Today', p. 126.
81. E. C. Hettinger, 'Justifying Intellectual Property', Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 1 (1989), pp. 45-7.
82. Interestingly in Continental Europe the law of droit de suite, where an artist (or their estate) receives a 7 per cent 'tax' when a work is sold between third parties at auction, can be seen as a sort of IPR, though different from copyright or patent. European Union harmonisation will introduce this possibility into Anglo-Saxon law, but will probably be subject to some resistance from the London auction houses. See 'Is London done for?', The Economist, 26 July 1997, p. 72.
83. Boyle, Shamans, Software and Spleens, p. 158 and passim.
84. P. E. Geller, 'Must copyright be for ever caught between marketplace and authorship norms?', in: B. Sherman & A. Strowel (Eds), Of Authors and Origins (Clarendon, 1994), pp. 168-70.
85. Boyle, Shamans, Software and Spleens, p. 206, footnote 13.
86. Ibid., pp. 175-6 and passim.
87. Palmer, 'Are Patents and Copyrights Morally Justified?', pp. 864-5.
88. See also D. A. Nance, Owning Ideas', Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1990), pp. 757-73.
89. A. A. Quaedvlieg, 'The economic analysis of intellectual property law', in: W. F. Korthales Altes et al. (Eds), Information Law Towards the 21st Century (Kluwer, 1992), p. 38.
90. See Vaver, 'Intellectual Property Today' for a clear and extensive exposition of this argument.
91. Mark Poster, The Mode of Information: Poststructuralism and Social Context (Polity Press, 1990).
92. John Frow, 'Information as Gift and Commodity', New Left Review, No. 219 (1996), p. 90.
93. Viktor Burgin, End of Art Theory (Macmillan, 1986), especially pp. 29-50.
94. Pamela Samuelson, 'Is Information Property? (Legally Speaking)', Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery, Vol. 34, No. 3 (1991) [Available at the ACM World Wide Web site].
95. This is the central claim of much of the literature on internet copyright issues. Perhaps the most famous intervention in this debate is J. P. Barlow, 'The Economy of Ideas: A Framework for Rethinking Patents and Copyrights in the Digital Age' [available at WIRED online through Questel-Orbit [1993] and many other sites].
96. Nance, Owning Ideas', pp. 758-9.
97. Hettinger, 'Justifying Intellectual Property', p. 35. See also B. Martin, 'Against intellectual property' [available from the author at Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Wollongong, New South Wales NSW 2522, Australia, e-mail: .
98. Hettinger, 'Justifying Intellectual Property', p. 35. See also B. Martin, 'Against intellectual property' [available from the author at Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Wollongong, New South Wales NSW 2522, Australia, e-mail: .
99. Barlow, 'The Economy of Ideas'.
100. Hettinger, 'Justifying Intellectual Property', p. 38.
101. Martin, 'Against intellectual property'.
102. Palmer, 'Are Patents and Copyrights Morally Justified?', pp. 830 and 833-4.
103. Martin Khor, 'Intellectual Property: Tightening TNC Monopoly on Technology', Third World Network Features, No. 667/90 [Syndicated 1990] (emphasis added).
104. Hettinger, 'Justifying Intellectual Property', pp. 40 and 47-9.
105. This issue is sometimes raised in the discussions of Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) but most often only as a rhetorical device.
106. K. Maskus, 'Normative Concerns in the International Protection of Intellectual Property Rights', World Economy, Vol. 13 (1990), p. 387.