Related:
- The Problem with Intellectual Property (on Hegel’s “personality theory” of IP)
- Defamation as a Type of Intellectual Property
- The Overwhelming Empirical Case Against Patent and Copyright
- Galambos posts
Juan I. Núñez, “Counterfeit Property: The Ethics and Contradictions of Intellectual Property,” Libertarian Alliance (UK) (29 October, 2025):
Intellectual property (IP) law is a near-universal feature of the modern world. Through international bodies like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and treaties such as the Paris Convention, a global enforcement regime has steadily been constructed since the late 19th century up until today. Such is the perceived importance and reach of IP that even nations nominally opposed to private property, like the former Soviet Union, have historically ratified and participated in this system, serving as a testament to IP’s uniquely resilient status.[1]
Few concepts in the modern world are as overlooked, and as unquestioned, as intellectual property. It has become a sacred cow, protected by the cultural assumption that owning an idea is ethically indistinguishable from owning a house. And while the origins of this belief are complex, its hold on the public imagination is undeniable. It is not merely a law, but an intuition, deeply ingrained by the sheer inertia of its existence.
Arguments for intellectual property typically spring from three philosophical wells. First are the utilitarians, who argue that IP is a necessary legal construct to incentivize innovation and the creation of art. Second is the Hegelian defense, which justifies IP through the metaphysical claim that a creator’s will is objectively embodied in their ideas—IP as a moral necessity. Finally, and most central to our discussion, is the Lockean or natural rights tradition, which contends that creators have a just property right in their work as an extension of their person.
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