3 ms·
Sort of, but we normally think of monopolies in terms of controlling a market. If I own a car, I may have a "monopoly" over a subsequent sale of that particula
by andrewfong 13y ago
Sort of, but we normally think of monopolies in terms of controlling a market.
If I own a car, I may have a "monopoly" over a subsequent sale of that particular car, but it's an extremely limited market with n = 1. And the rationale for protecting my property rights here isn't just theft of my car would deprive me profits from resale, but that it would deprive me of actually using the car and driving around.
In contrast, intellectual property concerns the control of a particular market where n > 1. Copyright isn't necessary to protect my ability to use a particular copyrighted work -- I can still read my book, write sequels, etc. even if someone infringes. Rather, the rationale for copyright is to enable me to capture 100% of the profit from any market for my copyrighted work -- i.e. a monopoly.