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"What the patent and copyright laws acknowledge is the paramount role of mental effort in the production of material values; these laws protect the mind’s contribution in its purest form: the origination of an idea. The subject of patents and copyrights is intellectual property.

 

An idea as such cannot be protected until it has been given a material form. An invention has to be embodied in a physical model before it can be patented; a story has to be written or printed. But what the patent or copyright protects is not the physical object as such, but the idea which it embodies. By forbidding an unauthorized reproduction of the object, the law declares, in effect, that the physical labor of copying is not the source of the object’s value, that that value is created by the originator of the idea and may not be used without his consent; thus the law establishes the property right of a mind to that which it has brought into existence.

 

It is important to note, in this connection, that a discovery cannot be patented, only an invention. A scientific or philosophical discovery, which identifies a law of nature, a principle or a fact of reality not previously known, cannot be the exclusive property of the discoverer because: (a) he did not create it, and (B) if he cares to make his discovery public, claiming it to be true, he cannot demand that men continue to pursue or practice falsehoods except by his permission. He can copyright the book in which he presents his discovery and he can demand that his authorship of the discovery be acknowledged, that no other man appropriate or plagiarize the credit for it—but he cannot copyright theoretical knowledge. Patents and copyrights pertain only to the practical application of knowledge, to the creation of a specific object which did not exist in nature—an object which, in the case of patents, may never have existed without its particular originator; and in the case of copyrights, would never have existed.

 

The government does not “grant” a patent or copyright, in the sense of a gift, privilege, or favor; the government merely secures it—i.e., the government certifies the origination of an idea and protects its owner’s exclusive right of use and disposal."

-AR

 

We have a "why" so let's try to figure out the "how".

 

What is the Objective way to implement Intellectual Property rights?

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I'm surprised you even agree with Rand here, Harrison.

Rand argued that it is the act of creation which distinguishes an invention from a discovery. Patents and copyrights, she argues, only apply to that which did not exist in nature. Notice the role of the law of causality in this.

Man A discovers item X. Man A writes a book about X. What does A own? What he was the cause of. The book he wrote about X (he has copyright). That he was the one who discovered X. But X is not his property - he did not cause X.

Man B invents item Y. Man B creates item R (R being a practical application of Y), and brings it to market. What does B own? He owns R and a patent for Y - because B was the cause of R and Y. Notice that a condition of owning a patent for Y is the creation of R.

If you agree with how Rand is applying the law of causality here, you are contradicting what you have written elsewhere. To be consistent you would have to claim someone who discovered X would own it, that the fact he didn't create it and that it existed in nature regardless of him would be irrelevant. You would claim that his writing a book about X would extend his ownership from only the book to X as well. Or have you since changed your mind?

Would a person who discovered X be allowed to charge people for X, even though it was not his mind (nor his physical actions) which brought it into existence? The answer is in the quote above, but I wonder what answer you will give.

Edited by Jon Southall
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There's a history to this issue, on this forum, which I assumed some familiarity with when I wrote the OP.  That was clumsy of me and I'm sorry for the consequent confusion.

I don't agree with Rand about this and I don't believe that a valid answer can ever be given to the OP, because I think that Rand's formulation of Intellectual Property rights "works in theory, but not practice".  So when I ask how it should be practiced, this is not an entirely genuine question.  I sincerely wish to know what answers others may give, but not for the implied reasons.

I think of it as an experiment.

 

You may think of it as a challenge, if you like.

 

Would a person who discovered X be allowed to charge people for X, even though it was not his mind (nor his physical actions) which brought it into existence? The answer is in the quote above, but I wonder what answer you will give.

Under Rand's formulation, no; the only ideas you can claim to own are those which you think of, yourself.  No scientific knowledge can be owned, regardless of the expenses of gaining it.

 

Rand said of patents and copyrights:

"By forbidding an unauthorized reproduction of the object, the law declares, in effect, that the physical labor of copying is not the source of the object’s value, that that value is created by the originator of the idea and may not be used without his consent; thus the law establishes the property right of a mind to that which it has brought into existence."

 

To paraphrase:

"By allowing the unauthorized communication of discoveries, the law declares, in effect, that the mental labor of identification is not the source of the discovery's value. . . "

 

But that line of reasoning requires us to define how you measure the value of an idea, per IP.

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