Information and Intellectual Property Protection: Evaluating the Claim that Information Should be Free

Abstract:
The claim “information should be free” (hereinafter ISBF) has become a rallying cry for those who believe intellectual property rights are illegitimately protected by the state. In this essay, I will attempt to (1) determine what ISBF means (which will require determining what the concept-term “information” means as used in ISBF); (2) evaluate what kind of support there is for ISBF; (3) determine whether ISBF conforms to ordinary views about the propriety of certain restrictions on the free flow of information; and (4) determine whether ISBF provides good reason for thinking that legal protection of intellectual property rights is illegitimate. I will argue that the most charitable interpretation of ISBF lacks adequate support in mainstream moral views and thus cannot ground a wholesale challenge to the legitimacy of intellectual property rights. Author : Kenneth Himma | Source : Berkeley Center for Law and Technology

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