The term Intellectual Property was deliberately chosen and promoted by lobbyists to portray trademarks, copyrights and patents as a kind of inalienable property: to make people feel that the control over ideas and expressions created by these laws is both natural and absolute. The term is now written into international law, a tribute to the power of publishing, pharmaceutical and chemical industry lobby groups, and their vision of the global south being forced to pay long term rent to the US and Europe for utilising our intellectual creations.

Trademarks and copyright are used to protect internationally recognisable brands. They also control iconic aspects of our culture. Whether a pop song like Thriller, or franchises like Star Wars, important shared references in our collective experience are commercially controlled and restricted. There is an obvious tension between restrictions on publication and our free expression. While copyright and trademark laws are meant to avoid these problems, by allowing ‘exceptions’ with regard to comment and news reporting for instance, these do not work as well as they should. There are deep problems with two broad areas of copyright…

continues at IP and Censorship | The Occupied Times.