Intangible Property: Privacy, Power, and Information Control

Abstract

This article offers an explication and defense of a Lockean model of intangible property. My goal is not to defend this model against all comers — rather, I will begin with weak, and hopefully, widely shared assumptions, sketch a theory based on these assumptions, and then proceed to the more meaningful task of analyzing a number of issues related to information control. Simply put, I will argue that individuals can own information about themselves and others. Moreover, I will make a case for limiting what can be done with intangible property based, in part, on privacy rights.