KOL253 | Berkeley Law Federalist Society: A Libertarian’s Case Against Intellectual Property

Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 253. I spoke today on “A Libertarian’s Case Against Intellectual Property,” at the Federalist Society, University of Berkeley-California. It was well-organized and there was a perceptive and interesting critical commentary by Professor Talha Syed. This is the audio I recorded on my iPhone; video below; line-mic'd audio here. The youtube version (audio here) and the line-mic'd version both truncate about 30 seconds too early. My own iphone version (which is used for this podcast) includes those extra comments, and this is included in the transcript as well, below. Transcript below. My speaking notes pasted below. Youtube: https://youtu.be/EWM39RyMNaM   SPEAKING NOTES A Libertarian’s Case Against Intellectual Property Stephan Kinsella Kinsella Law Practice, Libertarian Papers, C4SIF.org with critical commentary by Professor Talha Syed UC-Berkeley Law School Federalist Society Oct. 11, 2018 General background: A Selection of my Best Articles and Speeches on IP Intellectual Property: Legal rights enforced by law having to do with products or creations of the mind, the intellect patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret semiconductor maskwork, boat hull designs, database rights, moral rights, right to one’s “likeness,” reputation rights (defamation, libel and slander, law) punishment for depicting religious figures in drawings “cultural appropriation” Why IP? Ayn Rand "Patents are the heart and core of property rights." … "Intellectual property is the most important field of law." US Commerce Dept. Study 2012 purporting to show that “intellectual Property-Intensive Industries” Contribute $5 Trillion, 40 Million Jobs to US Economy” [USPTO/Commerce Dept. Distortions: “IP Contributes $5 Trillion and 40 Million Jobs to Economy”] 2018 Nobel Laureate in Economics Paul Romer: economic growth — and the technological innovation it requires — aren't possible under perfect competition; they require some degree of monopoly power [patents] [Douglas Clement, Creation Myths: Does innovation require intellectual property rights?; Some studies: patent trolls alone cost $29 billion and total costs much higher globally ($1 Trillion/year, or more, given the “cumulative” effect of innovation) [Reducing the Cost of IP Law;Costs of the Patent System Revisited] US continually foisting higher patent and copyright protections on other countries via trade agreements and treaties, e.g. NAFTA, USMCA, TPP (“IP Imperialism”) Copyright distorts culture and threatens Internet freedom (censorship, takedown notices) [“Death by Copyright-IP Fascist Police State Acronym”; “SOPA is the Symptom, Copyright is the Disease: The SOPA Wakeup Call to Abolish Copyright,” “Where does IP Rank Among the Worst State Laws?”, “Masnick on the Horrible PROTECT IP Act: The Coming IPolice State” ] It’s important to get this issue right I’m an IP lawyer and also a libertarian since high school (1982) [How I Became A Libertarian] My IP struggle: problems with Rand, researching the issue Tom Palmer, Wendy McElroy, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Mises Finally realized IP is unjustified around the time I passed the patent bar (1994) Given my knowledge of IP law I spoke and wrote more and more on this topic, even though I’m more interested in other areas of libertarian legal theory But I’ve found that sorting out this issue is crucial and helps sort out many other legal and policy issues property and rights theory, Contract, fraud, causation and the law, and the nature and source of wealth and human prosperity [See my...