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The Idea Of Intellectual Property

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The idea of intellectual property has many correlations with the concept of the marketplace of idea. According to a common argument, intellectual property rights spark innovation, creating positive economic growth and benefits for all. Because the marketplace comparison is an economic one, there is a tendency to tie intellectual property with the marketplace of ideas. The key argument arises whether ideas- intangible resources, can be protected as property using the same concepts and social processes that protect tangible property. The concept of property stems from scarcity. Which is, the basic economic problem that results from people having unlimited wants but limited resources. Scarcity doesn’t explicitly mean unattainable or …show more content…

Humans are lazy. People prefer satisfying their needs and wants the easiest way that they can. The question then becomes whether an individual should be given societal protection through an artificial scarcity. Why is there such a large plea for these protections? One possibility might be because individuals prefer to get something for nothing, however still push for maximum efficiency. Intellectual property rights are monopolies, in the sense that they indirectly take away labor in order to preserve energy flows.
Imagine what the future may be like in fifty years with continual technological advances and the possibility of creating intelligent machines that can construct roads, plant and produce foods, and even build homes. Eventually, individuals will have little to no contribution in these processes. These technologies will eventually appear as perpetual motion because individuals will receive something for spending little to no time or energy. If all of our wants and needs were readily available, we would then start to question the use of a monetary exchange system. Now, what would the incentive be for protecting intellectual property rights? There most likely wouldn’t be one and every inventor will create for the sole purpose of creating. This possible, future, scenario is exactly where we are headed regarding intellectual property rights. Everybody wants to make the

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