Are “Intellectual Property Rights” morally justified?
Random May 4th, 2007 - 1,757 viewsI was cleaning out some files on my PC and came across a paper that I wrote for a philosophy class a few semesters ago. Not surprisingly, the philosophers I read had difficulty finding moral justification for our current Intellectual Property regime.
Briefly, the paper argues that Intellectual Property rights can only be justified as a “recipient rights.” A bearer of a recipient right is entitled to some reward, but it’s difficult to determine the form of the reward, or who the duty-bearer is (e.g. who should pay them). Since IP can’t be justified as anything but a recipient right, it is unethical for right-bearers (IP owners) to demand retribution from a particular individual. Thus I, as an individual, do not owe the RIAA anything. If I download an MP3 they cannot ethically demand payment from me (by suing me, for example).
You can download the paper here [HTML Version].
May 14th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Well, people can always believe they have some kind of cosmic-given right. The real challenge is to somehow prove that, more so demonstrate their rights are being infringed on.
Unfortunately legal disputes aren’t moral, ethical or emotional issues, although that doesn’t stop some people from taking a moral, ethical or emotional stand. Whether they’re moral, ethical or what not depends on what side of the fence one chooses to be on.
Just my useless 2 cents. :P
May 14th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Yea, you’re right. People believe all sorts of crazy things, and legality and morality are _definitely_ two very different things (I, for one, believe it is possible for something to be illegal, but not immoral - though Socrates would disagree).
The study of morality is, supposedly, the pursuit of “truth.” What people believe, how people feel about it (emotionally), or whether something is illegal has little bearing on morality. Law, however, is deeply rooted in ethics. Philosophers tend to be a few (hundred) years ahead of the politicians though :).
This is somewhat academic, but ultimately the morality of something does _not_ depend on what side of the fence you’re on. Opinions may differ, but in the end someone must be right. And figuring out who is right is what philosophy is all about!