All Posts Tagged With: "intellectual property"
Open-Source Software: Who Needs Intellectual Property?
The market for open-source software—uncopyrighted, freely reproducible computer programs—is not well understood by economists. A central source of surprise is that innovation can thrive in a market without traditional intellectual property (IP). But as we argued in a 2005 unpublished paper, “Perfectly Competitive Innovation,” as a matter of theory there is no reason to believe [...]
1Jan2007 | Michele Boldrin | 3 comments | ContinuedMises on Copyrights
The widespread reproduction and “sharing” of copyrighted music on the Internet led a friend to ask me what Ludwig von Mises would have thought about the situation. The more I pondered the question, the more I concluded that Mises would have considered this just another case where copyright law must play catch-up with new technology. [...]
1Jun2004 | Bettina Bien Greaves | 2 comments | ContinuedRebel Code: Inside Linux and the Open Source Revolution
Perseus Publishing • 2001 • 334 pages • $27.50 Reviewed by Andrew Morriss During the Microsoft antitrust trial a great deal of ink was spilled in the press over Microsoft’s alleged monopolization of various markets and its practices in marketing both its browser (Internet Explorer) and its operating systems (such as Windows 2000). Although Judge [...]
1May2002 | Glyn Moody | 0 comments | ContinuedRights in Ideas Infringe Rights in Tangible Property
Ilana Mercer is a freelance editorial columnist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Prior to the U.S. Court of Appeal’s decision in the Napster case, all indications were that the parties to the litigation were adjusting to a reality in which copyright might become a thing of the past. TVT Records, one of the largest U.S. [...]
1Jul2001 | Ilana Mercer | 21 comments | ContinuedThe Philosophical Influence Behind the Microsoft Trial
Barbara Hunter is an advanced level computer support specialist at a large law firm. “. . . trial moves rapidly on when the judge has determined the sentence beforehand.” —spoken by Malvoisin in Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe It may seem that the Microsoft antitrust trial was anything but rapid, but a closer examination reveals a [...]
1Oct2000 | Barbara R. Hunter | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Efficiency of Natural Rights
The Hobbesian contention that an almost biological conflict of interest exists between human beings, who must compete for scarce necessities, is a stumbling block for those who espouse natural rights. Certainly, it is a common avenue of attack used by critics of natural law. They demand to know how, in a Hobbesian state of nature, [...]
1Dec1997 | Wendy McElroy | 1 comment | ContinuedHome, Home on the Internet
Dr. Boustead, who recently received his doctorate in economics, is interested in law and economics. Sometimes, all you really need is a better fence. While that advice seems sensible for an 1880s cattle rancher, it might appear less relevant to a pioneer on a novel frontier like today’s Internet. After all, straying cattle hardly compare [...]
1Nov1996 | Thomas Boustead | 1 comment | Continued-
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