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"The debates outlined in this book will be of vital concern for years to come."—Shane Mulligan, Political Studies Review
"Excellent.... a historically grounded appreciation of the contemporary political economy of intellectual property rights. [This] well-written and detailed account suggests that the future of intellectual property law will be as contested as its past."—Duncan Matthews, E.I.P.R.
"Any[one] interested in issues of intellectual property rights must have historical precedent firmly in hand: and there’s no better place to obtain the whole of this precedent than in Intellectual Property Rights: A Critical History.... A ‘must’ for any college-level audience addressing the issue of who owns the rights to intellectual discoveries -and how."—Diane C. Donovan, Midwest Book Review
"The two leading scholars of intellectual property rights in international relations join forces to create a definitive political economy: historically informed, theoretically sophisticated, and politically insightful." —Robert A. Denemark, University of Delaware
With intellectual property widely acknowledged today as a key component of economic development, those accused of stealing knowledge and information are also charged with undermining industrial innovation, artistic creativity, and the availability of information itself. How valid are these claims? Has the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement ushered in a new, better era? Christopher May and Susan Sell trace the history of social conflict and political machinations surrounding the making of property out of knowledge.
Ranging from ancient commerce in Greek poems to present-day controversies about online piracy and the availability of AIDS drugs in the poorest countries, May and Sell present intellectual property law as a continuing process in which particular conceptions of rights and duties are institutionalized; each settlement prompts new disputes, policy shifts, and new disputes again. They also examine the post-TRIPs era in the context of this process. Their account of two thousand years of technological advances, legal innovation, and philosophical arguments about the character of knowledge production suggests that the future of intellectual property law will be as contested as its past.
ISBN 9788130908090
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Pages : 264
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