Theories of Intellectual Property
William Fisher

The term "intellectual property" refers to a loose cluster of legal doctrines that regulate the uses of different sorts of ideas and insignia.  The law of copyright protects various “original forms of expression,” including novels, movies, musical compositions, and computer software programs.  Patent law protects inventions and some kinds of discoveries.  Trademark law protects words and symbols that identify for consumers the goods and services manufactured or supplied by particular persons or firms.  Trade-secret law protects commercially valuable information (soft-drink formulas, confidential marketing strategies, etc.) that companies attempt to conceal from their competitors.  The “right of publicity” protects celebrities’ interests in their images and identities.

The economic and cultural importance of this collection of rules is increasing rapidly.  The fortunes of many businesses now depend heavily on intellectual-property rights.  A growing percentage of the legal profession specializes in intellectual-property disputes.  And lawmakers throughout the world are busily revising their intellectual-property laws.[1]

Partly as a result of these trends, scholarly interest in the field has risen dramatically in recent years.  In law reviews and in journals of economics and philosophy, articles deploying "theories" of intellectual property have proliferated.  This essay canvasses those theories, evaluates them, and considers the roles they do and ought to play in lawmaking.

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