I. General Introduction
Tiffany Leung and Anthony Rosborough
A. Basic Principles of Intellectual Property
To the ordinary passerby, the term “intellectual property” may seem to be an abstract phrase that applies to the world of “academics” and “professionals”—a world beyond that of “ordinary individuals.” However, intellectual property (IP) is, in fact, deeply woven in people’s daily lives.
Consider an object with which most of us are familiar: a video game. When an individual purchases a video game, they acquire ownership of a digital copy of the game, which they can then download onto the game console they own to play. However, even if they own the copy of the game, they have no right over the game’s IP. The content of the game, such as the character designs or background music, are copyrighted by the game company. The player cannot reproduce or upload the game’s contents onto the Internet without the owner’s permission, or else they will infringe on the owner’s copyright. They cannot use the logo design of the game on similar merchandise without permission, or else they will infringe on the company’s trademark rights and copyright. No other game manufacturer can construct or sell a video game console with the same functionality, since this right is reserved for the patent holder. Nor can they reproduce the console’s aesthetic appearance onto another product, since this right is reserved for the industrial design holder. Evidently, many different forms of IP rights can overlap and co-exist in single commonplace objects.
IP and Society
IP, however, is not just a static, finite category of assets that exist in our world. Each new technological development requires us to further create and clarify its boundaries. Take the rise of virtual reality, for example. This technology has generated new questions about the limits of trademark rights and copyright. Do IP rights (IPRs) granted to a trademark holder extend to the virtual world?
In addition, we have begun to more critically assess IPRs and their role in social justice. An area rife with social justice issues is the relationship between IPRs and traditional knowledge. When the basis for many IPRs depends on assigning rights to a single holder, how is this compatible with an Indigenous communi-ty’s collective traditional knowledge on medicinal uses for plants? If a researcher appropriates and uses this knowledge to create a product, which they subsequently patent, what recourses can the Indigenous community ask for, since the community did not patent this knowledge?
Issues between IP and access to knowledge, as well as access to medicine, continue to be controversial. How does one balance copyright with access to knowledge? What implications do stricter copyright laws have on access to information? Should governments favour the rights of copyright holders, or the rights of the public to an accessible body of valuable knowledge? Similarly, how should we regulate IP to achieve an appropriate balance