≡ Menu

Kinsella: “Intellectual Freedom and Learning Versus Patent and Copyright”

Play

My article, “Intellectual Freedom and Learning Versus Patent and Copyright,” was published today in Economic Notes (No. 113, Jan. 18, 2011), a publication of the UK-based Libertarian Alliance. (This article is based on my speech of Nov. 6, 2010, at the 2010 Students for Liberty Texas Regional Conference, University of Texas, Austin; audio and video versions may be found here; see also below.) [It was previously published on Mises.org; archived comments below; also at Libertarian Standard]

Mises Academy: Stephan Kinsella teaches Libertarian Legal TheoryIn my various publications and speeches about intellectual property (IP), I’ve approached it from a variety of angles. In this article, I consider the role of information and learning, and the role of property rights, in human action. I use a praxeological analysis to argue that human action employs scarce resources or means, but that action is guided by non-scarce ideas and knowledge. Property rights are recognized in means because they are scarce; but ideas are not scarce things: they are infinitely reproducible. The growing body of knowledge is a boon to mankind. Property rights is needed for scarce means so that they can be peacefully and productively used in action; property rights in ideas restricts, impairs, and impedes learning and the use of information to guide one’s actions. Copying information and ideas is not stealing. Learning is not stealing. Using information is not trespass. In this article, I urge young libertarians to stay on the vanguard of intellectual freedom, and to fight the shackles of patent and copyright.

Incidentally, my 6-week Mises Academy course “Libertarian Legal Theory: Property, Conflict, and Society” starts at the end of this month (Jan. 31-Mar. 11, 2011). I describe it in my article “Introduction to Libertarian Legal Theory,” Mises Daily (Jan. 3, 2011).

[Mises Blog cross-post]

Archived comments:

Beefcake the Mighty January 18, 2011 at 1:16 pm

I wonder how long it will take Silas to make his usual assinine statements. We know he won’t bother actually reading this paper.

Reply

Stephan Kinsella January 18, 2011 at 1:37 pm

He’s been banned from the blog.

Reply

Beefcake the Mighty January 18, 2011 at 1:41 pm

No kidding? What was the final straw? Of course, now he’s crowing about how he’s “won”, that he was banned because his “arguments” couldn’t be refuted, etc. Just can’t win with that guy.

Reply

Stephan Kinsella January 18, 2011 at 2:16 pm

I’m really not sure. It wasn’t my doing (though he outrageously accused me of being behind it, even though I argued in previous bans to have him reinstated).

Where’s he crowing about it?

Reply

Beefcake the Mighty January 18, 2011 at 2:19 pm

I don’t actually know that he is; I’m just speculating that he’s viewing this as a badge of honor thing. In the interest of fairness, I retract any suggestion that he is crowing about it (although I can make informed guesses based on his previously observed behavior).

Reply

Colin Phillips January 19, 2011 at 5:52 am

That seems like a mistake. First of all, I’m sure he’s intelligent enough to get around the ban if he wants to, secondly, given his vitriolic temperament it is almost certain that he will do so, and simply use someone else’s name, like that person pretending to be Dave Narby does.

I’m pleased to hear it was not your doing, Stephan.

Reply

Stephan Kinsella January 19, 2011 at 2:23 pm

He’s gone by various nyms–John Sharp, Person, Richard Harding. Who knows what others he has.

Reply

Matt January 18, 2011 at 4:00 pm

Aww, I think I learn as much from the arguments with Silas as from the articles themselves….

Reply

matskralc January 19, 2011 at 3:28 pm

Yeah, I’d say two things have formed the largest parts of my current thinking on IP:

1) Kinsella’s book, articles, blog posts, etc.

2) Peter Surda’s responses to Silas.

Reply

Andras January 19, 2011 at 1:30 am

Sad!

Reply

AskanIPquestion January 19, 2011 at 8:00 am

hmm as an objectivist he has to obey the wish of mises.org. Remember: IP dictates everything.

But I agree with others here: If someone that eager to spread the objectivist word is “banned” he will try and find a way to get back. Therefore it would be better imho to let him back here under his “real” name.

Reply

Dick Fox January 19, 2011 at 8:59 am

It is amusing when I debate this issue, economists who deal with scarce resources are always concerned with increasing the supply to increase production and reduce production costs. Yet, when they deal with IP, non-scarce resources, they are constantly attempting to reduce the supply and by doing so reduce the production based on the supply and increase the cost. Seems kind of “non-economic” to me.

It simply makes no sense to me. It is like stimulating the economy by rationing air.

Reply

Edgaras January 20, 2011 at 1:59 pm

hehe spot on.

Reply

George “Mr. Patent Assistance” Montana September 9, 2011 at 11:46 am

Personally, I like to take ideas and improve upon them. I was once told that if you can take a million dollar idea and make it 10% better, you can make additional millions.

and here:

Intellectual Freedom and Learning versus Patent and Copyright

December 15, 2010 by 

SHARE IT:

2010 Students For Liberty -Texas Regional ConferenceAs noted in my post Kinsella Speech at Students for Liberty – Texas Conference (Austin), on “Intellectual Freedom vs Patent and Copyright”, last month I delivered the speech “Intellectual Freedom and Learning versus Patent and Copyright,” for the 2010 Students For Liberty Texas Regional Conference, University of Texas, Austin.

As noted on the website of the Foundation for a Free Society, the video of my talk is now available, as is the audio.

{ 8 comments }

Seattle December 15, 2010 at 1:36 am

Wow, you look a LOT better with your glasses on.

DixieFlatline December 15, 2010 at 1:52 am

Stephan is looking pretty handsome in these videos!

Stephan Kinsella December 15, 2010 at 9:12 am

Ha! Thanks. I did lose 25 lbs on a crash diet recently.

benjamin December 15, 2010 at 9:53 am

sadly… I can not hear the audio track. It is so low that I have my volume up all the way and can barely make out anything he is saying. is this fixable???

Stephan Kinsella December 15, 2010 at 10:22 am

Hmm, I can hear it fine–it’s a bit low, but listenable. In any case, I have no way to do anything about it.

Nielsio December 15, 2010 at 6:33 pm

The audio is only on the left channel. Looks like for some reason you only have your right channel up.

Edgaras December 15, 2010 at 2:52 pm

great lecture :)

Peter Surda December 28, 2010 at 11:50 am

I second that.

Share
{ 1 comment… add one }

Leave a Reply

© 2012-2025 StephanKinsella.com CC0 To the extent possible under law, Stephan Kinsella has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to material on this Site, unless indicated otherwise. In the event the CC0 license is unenforceable a  Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License is hereby granted.

-- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright