Harvesting the uncollected fruits of other people’s intellectual labour
Keywords:
patents, wastage, free-riding, public domain, benefiting from scientific advancementAbstract
Intellectual property regimes necessarily create artificial scarcity leading to wastage, both by blocking follow-up research and impeding access to those who are not able to pay the full retail price. After revising the traditional arguments to hinder access to people’s intellectual labour, we examine why we should be more open to allow free-riding of inventive efforts, especially in cases where innovators have not secured the widest access to the fruits of their research. We do so by questioning the voluntariness involved in the consumption of objects of innovation, restating the positive social externalities that arise when wider access to the fruits of innovation is facilitated, and examining the eventual harms innovators face.Published
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Acta Bioethica is edited by the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethical Studies of the University of Chile and published under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International license.Intellectual property::The submission and evaluation of the manuscripts received implies that the author (s) declare that they are original and exclusive owners of the author's economic and moral rights over the article, in accordance with the provisions of Law 17.336 on Intellectual Property (Chile) In case of having used outside works in the creation of the article, in whole or in part, they declare that they have the respective authorizations or licenses of use of their respective owners or that their use is expressly protected by law.The author expressly releases from any subsequent responsibility to the Interdisciplinary Center of Studies in Bioethics of the University of Chile, for any legal, regulatory or contractual infraction that eventually commits or has committed in relation to the work, being obliged to repair any damage that results from the Infringement of these or other rights.The author authorizes the Interdisciplinary Center of Studies in Bioethics of the University of Chile, in order that, by itself or through third parties expressly authorized by it, exercise the rights that are specified below, with respect to the article sent:Publication, edition, reproduction, adaptation, distribution and sale of reproduced copies, including making available to the public online by electronic or digital means, of the article, in Castilian language, in any known territory, And for all types of printed edition in paper and electronic or digital, by its inclusion in the journal Acta Bioethica or another publication that publishes the Center.This authorization is conferred on a non-exclusive, free, indefinite, perpetual and non-revocable basis, as long as the corresponding rights subsist and release the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethical Studies of the University of Chile from any payment or remuneration for the exercise of Rights.The authors retain their copyright on their works, being able to reuse them as they decide.
