Intellectual Property Argument

One side of the Intellectual Property argument is that anyone who creates something should have the end-product protected from theft, imitation, and a use that may not have been originally foreseen. In other words, companies as well as individuals who have created something, hardware or software, even though it may exist only on a disk, (as long as it is more than an idea- but produced, or plans drawn up, copyright or patented) are entitled to the fruits of their labors or research.

The other side of this argument results in companies utilizing what is described as "Tarzan economicsa..Desperately holding on to one vine- their old business model- until they can grab hold of the next one" (Levy, 2001, p. 60). While Levy deals primarily with the effect of Napster on the music and recording industry, perhaps the most serious battle about Intellectual property comes with the AIDS crisis, especially in poorer nations. The argument here is clear: the pharmaceutical companies who spend billions on R & R feel they are entitled to earn a fair profit from the results of that ER & D, even if it means maintaining prices at a level many poor people (and nations) cannot afford to pay. According to Taylor (2001):

Oxfam and allied aid organizations have recently accused the international pharmaceutical industry of using its influence to maintain a worldwide system of intellectual property law and enforcement that is now denying the world's poor access to essential medicines and blocki

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g and distributing generic versions of their drugs is doing a form of "pill-busting"- trying to lower the price, reduce profit, and in the end, not really satisfying anyone. Rights of innovators, therefore, must be weighed against public needs and ability to pay for "protected" goods. Profitability is healthy, of course, but not at the outrageous pricing policies that are damaging to nations' health. Of course, while much recent news focuses on the pharmaceutical industry, this represents only one aspect of the battle over intellectual property, and the right to protect creativity against knock-offs, imitators and hackers. There are two important technologies involved in the fight for, or against, intellectual property rights as well as its limitations. The Napster case, already mentioned earlier, is merely one such contentious argument currently. The original idea which made Napster a world-wide phenomenon was that its software technology afforded everyone an opportunity to literally copy popular music by the world's most famous artists. The courts finally decided that to copy without a license was illegal, and Napster has had to re-configure its software. However, "the entertainment industry's ultimate line of defens

Category: Government - I