The tale of the snake and the elephant: Intellectual property expansion under informational capitalism |
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| Authors: | Mariano Zukerfeld |
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| Institution: | 1. National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina and Science, Technology &2. Society Center, Maimonides University, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Abstract: | While macro theorists of informational capitalism have tended to consider intellectual property in a vague and general way, intellectual property researchers have tended to focus on extremely specific issues. What gets missed is an understanding of intellectual property as a system and its relationship with the totality of capitalism. Starting from a cognitive materialist approach, this article offers a systematic account of the recent expansion of intellectual property rights. Thereafter, it situates the data on the expansion of intellectual property vis-à-vis the transition from industrial to informational capitalism and relates that expansion specifically to informational productive processes. It concludes with a general proposition about the relationship between the changes of stage in capitalism and the institutions of intellectual property. |
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| Keywords: | Informational information capitalism knowledge society patents copyrights trademarks |
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