Criticism of Intellectual Property

October 4, 2008
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts

Some critics of intellectual property, such as those in the free culture movement, characterize it as intellectual protectionism or intellectual monopoly, and argue that the public interest is harmed by protectionist legislation such as copyright extension, software patents and business method patents. Although the term is in wide use, some critics reject it altogether. These critics advocate referring to copyrights, patents and trademarks in the singular and warn against abstracting different laws into a collective term.