TY - JOUR
T1 - "I have a patent lawyer on my payroll" : intellect v. intellectual property rights : a battle over the cultural commons
AU - Arvanitakis, James
PY - 2004
Y1 - 2004
N2 - Over the last 20 years, markets have come to dominate the way ‘resources’ are managed. The expansion of the market doctrine has at its core the belief that appropriate private property rights are the best way to promote innovation and protect freedoms. The scramble over private property rights is now well entrenched in the intellectual property arena, with countless examples of patents entering areas that once seemed inconceivable. This article moves from Bollier’s (2002) discussion of the concept to argue that intellect, rather than being a commodity that is promoted by private property rights, is rather a commons – more specifically a ‘cultural commons’. As such, the process of commodification turns intellect into intellectual property – limiting its availability. As a commons, if intellect is to be promoted, it must be open and shared in the public sphere. In contrast to the ongoing commodification of all aspects of life, social movements and academics are beginning to rediscover the commons. This rediscovery now takes the battle between the dominant forces of free market fundamentalism and those who oppose them, into the cultural sphere.
AB - Over the last 20 years, markets have come to dominate the way ‘resources’ are managed. The expansion of the market doctrine has at its core the belief that appropriate private property rights are the best way to promote innovation and protect freedoms. The scramble over private property rights is now well entrenched in the intellectual property arena, with countless examples of patents entering areas that once seemed inconceivable. This article moves from Bollier’s (2002) discussion of the concept to argue that intellect, rather than being a commodity that is promoted by private property rights, is rather a commons – more specifically a ‘cultural commons’. As such, the process of commodification turns intellect into intellectual property – limiting its availability. As a commons, if intellect is to be promoted, it must be open and shared in the public sphere. In contrast to the ongoing commodification of all aspects of life, social movements and academics are beginning to rediscover the commons. This rediscovery now takes the battle between the dominant forces of free market fundamentalism and those who oppose them, into the cultural sphere.
KW - inellect
KW - intellectual property
KW - marketing
KW - patents
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/36907
M3 - Article
SN - 1023-9499
JO - Pacific Journalism Review
JF - Pacific Journalism Review
ER -