The Perfect Storm: Intellectual Property and Public Values

Abstract

This short conference paper considers how the contemporary discourse surrounding Intellectual property law (especially copyright) may be harming all concerned. That is, because of wildly divergent (and often objectively unsupportable) positions taken by both copyright owners and consumer advocates, the zone of uncertainty in the law has increased. And as uncertainty increases, both sides are hurt. The paper end with a call for a higher level of discourse, and a query regarding whether all concerned might be better off trading rights for certainty.

Keywords: intellectual property, copyright, public values, fair use