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From progress to innovation : neoliberalism and the expansion of intellectual property
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Figueroa Zimmermann, Felipe (2020) From progress to innovation : neoliberalism and the expansion of intellectual property. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3678811~S15
Abstract
Intellectual property law [hereon IP] is a particularly dynamic area of capitalist development. While the presence of IP in modern societies is pervasive, scholarly accounts of its explosive growth remain historically and disciplinarily bounded. This dissertation seeks to craft a more thorough account of the expansion of IP, by (1) tracing the changes in the concept of property in modern legal, economic and political discourse; (2) linking these conceptual changes to the process of expansion of IP; and (3) investigating the two-way relationship between the process of expansion of IP and the conceptual shifts in ownership.
The methodology of this desk-based research involved first surveying the literature regarding the expansion across disciplinary boundaries, covering mainly economics, political science and legal theory. Next, the dominant explanations given in each discipline to account for IP expansion were identified and contrasted in their strengths and weaknesses to integrate them by using methods adapted from conceptual history (mainly Begriffsgeschichte and the Cambridge Historical School). Four results chapters explore a series of political controversies linked to conceptual innovation starting in the late 19th century and covering the 20th century. The approach showcases how the network of concepts to which we owe our current understanding of IP developed in a context of social, political and economic turmoil. Our perspective regarding the political significance of IP is thus illuminated by the consideration of the historical context.
A key finding is that the expansion of IP was made possible by a series of conceptual changes that resulted from the ideological efforts of neoliberals to rethink the conceptual categories of classical liberalism during the first decades of the 20th century. Building on this, x the work offers a prognosis of where the concept of property might be headed, as well as a normative evaluation of these developments.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory K Law [LC] > K Law (General) K Law [Moys] > KB General and Comparative Law |
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| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Intellectual property, Intellectual property -- History -- 20th century, Intellectual property -- Economic aspects, Intellectual property -- Political aspects, Neoliberalism | ||||
| Official Date: | October 2020 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
| Theses Department: | Department of Sociology | ||||
| Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
| Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
| Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Fuller, Steve, 1959- ; Gane, Nicholas, 1971- | ||||
| Sponsors: | Chile. Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica ; Chile. Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo | ||||
| Format of File: | |||||
| Extent: | x, 266 leaves | ||||
| Language: | eng |
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