Global Intellectual Property Rights

The most immediate benefit of global intellectual property (IP) rights is the protections and liberties that are offered to the individual who established a particular IP. Because of the inherent intangibility of certain IPs, such as music or software, these rights serve to clarify who, in fact, owns the idea.  The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) would be one of the most prevalent examples of an organization that challenges violations of rights such as copyright infringement. The case they brought against Napster, the original incarnation of which is a now-defunct music sharing website, in 2000 decided that the sharing of the various music files was in violation of music copyrights, which Napster was complicit in. 

However, it begs the question as to whether or not the users of this service would have violated the rights of the creator. Essentially, it depends on the musician’s chosen form of copyright. If the musician in question has a creative commons license on their work, the user would have to use the product as it was distributed in its original form without alteration. Despite this lawsuit, there was a certain lack of nuance in this ‘strong-arm’ approach. Presently, this licensing is much more beneficial for less famous artists. Global intellectual property rights are undergoing a necessary change in order to stay protective in an increasingly digital age where it is easier to publish artistic works.

This capacity for freedom certainly extends beyond the music, or art in general, industry, and to all intangible assets such as computer business software, which is in all respects an IP. There is an argument to be had over the merits of free software. Ironically, “The Euro Linux Alliance argues that only free software ‘preserves privacy, individual liberties, and the right for every citizen to access public information’” (Evans, 2002, para. 1). This argument encourages ease of use and availability which, in turn, encourages innovation.

Reference

Evans, D. S. (2002). Who owns ideas? The war over global intellectual property. Foreign Affairs. Retrieved June 5, 2013, from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/58450/david-s-evans/who-owns-ideas-the-war-over-global-intellectual-property