My Idea or Yours? The Ownership of Ideas

Essay
The boom in the intellectual property market will not reap rewards for us all

Andrew BrownSaturday November 19, 2005The Guardian

The difference between ideas and things is obvious as soon as someone hits you over the head with an idea - so obvious that until recently it was entirely clear to the law. Things could have owners and ideas could not. Yet this simple distinction is being changed all around us. Ideas are increasingly treated as property - as things that have owners who may decide who gets to use them and on what terms...(more)

Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Owning ideas

technorati tags:patents, ownership, Amazon, Google, copyright, intellectual property