3 ms·
Intellectual property law adds the force of the state to concepts/ideas/media/etc that originated by the sweat of my brow, to encourage the creation of more, an
by npsimons 12y ago
Intellectual property law adds the force of the state to concepts/ideas/media/etc that originated by the sweat of my brow, to encourage the creation of more, and to enable me to make a living from it.
Except that little pesky thing called the constitution doesn't call it intellectual property (rightly so), and the purpose is not to enable making a living from ideas (which doesn't follow; just because someone has a copyright or patent, doesn't mean they'll make a living from those ideas, and not having a copyright or patent doesn't preclude them from making a living off their ideas). The wording is pretty explicit: "to advance science and the useful arts."