Dear Taylor Swift, You recently wrote an open letter to Apple, Inc. (To Apple, Love Taylor) where you spelled out your decisions on why you will not be allowing them to stream your album, 1989, without paying you for the
Intellectual Property 
My letter to the NY Times re: Why laid off American workers can’t find jobs
Re: The Perils of Globalization Dear Sirs: I believe that Binyamin Appelbaum may have unwittingly answered his own question about why American workers who lose their jobs-as illustrated by the former Maytag employees in Galesburg, Illinois-have such a difficult time
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Pop Art and Intellectual Property
One of the most iconic painters of the 20th century was Roy Lichtenstein, a New York based artist who, alongside Andy Warhol, came to fame as one of the defining voices in the American Pop Art movement. Pop Art was
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An Intuitive Guide to Intellectual Property
These days, everyone and their mother seems to have an opinion on intellectual property. This has its positives and negatives. The positives are that the more people are aware of the issues affecting society, the more likely they are to
IP Holders Want It Both Ways
The debate over intellectual property has been a divisive sticking point within the libertarian community for some time. The framers of the U.S. Constitution recognized, for what appear to be purely pragmatic reasons, that some level of patents should be
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America’s Electronic Police State
Reprinted from FEE.org The modern surveillance state is referred to as an electronic police state because it uses technology to monitor people in order to detect and punish dissent. The authorities exert social control through spying, harsh law enforcement, and
The Impossibility of Owning Sound
A lot of libertarians get confused when it comes to copyright law and the legitimacy of enforcing it. Being fervent evangelists for property and private ownership, they believe that copyright laws somehow protect the property of the copyright holder. Most
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Patents and Birdmen
In his new book “Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtis, and the Battle to Control the Skies”, Lawrence Goldstone tells the story of the feud between America´s two early air pioneers. The interesting part of the book is not the
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Scarcity, Monopoly, and Intellectual Property
Reprinted from Mises.org A Libertarian Critique of Intellectual Property.By Butler Shaffer. Mises Institute, 2013. 62 pages. Few topics in recent years have aroused as much interest among libertarians as intellectual property. What place, if any, would IP — patents, copyrights,
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Intellectual Property and Comparative Advantage
People like Intellectual Property laws because they do not grasp how we, ourselves, are beneficiaries of other people’s productivity. We have a tendency to sue and chase after people who “stole ideas”. We praise “originality” and demonize copying, because we
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Copyright Law Reform? Elementary.
Good news for all you aspiring fan fiction writers out there! At long last, 125 years after Arthur Conan Doyle first set pen to paper to craft “A Study in Scarlet,” the beloved detective archetype “Sherlock Holmes” is entering the
Copyrights and Lyric Sites
Ever since Napster made all of us reconsider our preconceived notions about music distribution, and indeed, the nature of music storage itself, artists have been in a tizzy over copyright violations. It’s understandable. They fear that their incomes are being
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A Rejoinder to LaSorsa: The Historical Intentions of Copyright
Recently, Brian LaSorsa wrote an article for the Mises Daily titled, “Lawyers, Film, and Money: Copyrighting the First Movies.” It opens up with the statement, “Copyright originated hundreds of years ago as a legal and economic tool meant to protect
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Hacking Law and Governance with Startup Cities
Reprinted from the Freeman Outside of Stockholm, vandals and vines have taken over Eastman Kodak’s massive factories. The buildings are cold metal husks, slowly falling down and surrendering to nature. The walls are covered in colorful (and sometimes vulgar) spray
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Does Innovation Require the Patent Office?
Reprinted from Laissez Faire Today Two years ago, I spoke to a gentlemen who had started and sold four companies. He was currently working on a new project that sounded very promising (for all I know, he has already sold
Intellectual Property: A Classical Liberal and a Libertarian Assessment
Many contemporary theorists and commentators frame the question of intellectual property as a question of ownership over ideas. In this framework, a new product is seen as an embodiment of a new idea. Producing multiple copies of a new product is
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Cleaning Up After Robert Wenzel’s Drive-By Against IP
The following is adapted from a recent presentation at a Mises Toronto Pub night. Let me start off by saying I have a lot respect for Robert Wenzel. Robert Wenzel is the editor and publisher of EconomicPolicyJournal.com, a very popular—and
Paul’s Mistake on RonPaul.com
*Update- In light of Lew Rockwell’s recent post and Robert Wenzel’s article, I will address new concerns soon in another piece. I also thank Wenzel for his response as libertarianism is a political theory that, like other theories, needs discussed
Mises Meet in Toronto this Tuesday!
If you’re in the Toronto area, come out to the Pauper’s Pub this Tuesday, February 5th, at 7 p.m.! Come meet other Austrian- and libertarian-minded people in the city and share your gripes against fiat money and passion for private
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Austrian AV Club - Stephan Kinsella
Redmond is the director of the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada.
