this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
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Libertarian Discussion

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Can you own an idea? (lemm.ee)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/libertarian
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[–] sugar_in_your_tea 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

No. But you can have government/societal protections for sharing an idea.

I personally think IP law should have a fairly limited duration, only long enough for the holder to establish first mover advantage as a reward for publicly sharing details. Initial ideas:

  • copyright - revert to the original 14 year duration (in the US), and consider going lower (like 10 years); derivative works should be encouraged
  • patents - 5-7 years from application, one time renewal if it takes longer to bring to market
  • trademark - current rules are fine, they're basically protecting against fraud

But none of this concerns ownership, but instead legal protections for sharing.