|
If intellectual property is property in the strict sense, and thus copyright violation is stealing in the strict sense, then why is the right of ownership to this kind of property limited in duration? After I die, the ownership of my house can be transfered from one generation of my descendants to the next in principle forever. Not up to 70 years after my death (or 50 in the UK). If I am a "thief" to violate the copyright of an author in the 69th year after his or her death, why am I suddenly not a thief if I do so in the 70th year?
As a society, we have decided that it is in the general interest to grant the author or inventor a limited-time monopoly for his or her works. The fact that the duration of the monopoly is limited implies that this is not a right according to nature, but only a privilege granted for society's benefit.
|