Intellectual Property vs. The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind

What is the opposite of the concept of intellectual property? Is it our cultural commons? The public domain? Are those expressions synonymous? Does the public domain have a value? Ought the public domain be safeguarded, stewarded, nurtured, and developed? Or ought society parcel the public domain into private concerns governed by market forces? Or ought we seek a balance between intellectual property and our cultural commons / the public domain? How? And why?

Although this discussion will consider the intricate roles of the public domain and intellectual property in general, we will focus on patent and trademark issues (a followup discussion on October 12th will addresses copyright issues in more depth (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/202762302/)).

What limits should be placed on patents? Do property rights need to be balanced with the public domain? What is the nature of that balance? Is our cultural heritage a function of both the property rights of individuals and companies and our collective rights in the public domain? How ought these rights be balanced?

Is a "sealed crustless sandwich ... comprised of at least jelly" a valid extension of property rights for an S&P 500 firm like Smucker's? What are the limitations on property rights argued in Thomas Jefferson's letter to Isaac McPherson (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mtj.mtjbib020976)? In what ways should our patent system deviate from Jefferson's reasoned suggestions?

Why do we have a "homestead law for the English language" known as trademark? Shouldn't words be kept in the public domain for all to use in whatever way they want? When ought we permit private interests to limit how others can use certain English words?

These and related questions come from James Boyle's insightful exploration of our patent, copyright, and trademark system in the book The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind (2008). Familiarity with the book is unnecessary as all concepts will be explained in plain terms. This discussion will focus on the Preface, Chapters 1, 2 and 7.

Our discussion like Boyle's book will be an introductory exploration of these topics: we will attempt to show how basic and easy to understand the world of patent law can be. Or at least we will try to make good on Boyle's argument on p. xiii: "The central issues of intellectual property are not technical, abstruse, or arcane. ... at the heart of intellectual property law are a set of ideas that a ten-year-old can understand perfectly well."

Download a free copy of Boyle's book "The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind" (2008). (http://www.thepublicdomain.org/download/) The book can also be purchased from your favorite bookseller.

http://www.thepublicdomain.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/publicdomaincover1.jpg

This discussion will focus on patents and trademark. It is the first in a series of three topics based on James Boyle's book. In October, the next in the series, will explore the copyright system (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/202762302/). Finally, in November there will be one on the creative commons (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/203019712/) (an initiative that James Boyle contributes to which uses our property rights legal system to help free the commons of the mind).

This discussion will build upon previous discussions that I have led on technology. If you want to get an inkling for some of the other resources I've consulted over the past few years as I work to understand technology better, read the descriptions and comments for these previous Thinking Society events:

• Engineering Failures & Society (8 May 2011) (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/17217567)

• The Nature of Technology (8 July 2012) (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/43823422)

• The Essential Engineer (13 Jan 2013) (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/90830862)

• Design Thinking (9 Mar 2013) (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/98153372)

• Technology and Invention in Finance (16 Feb 2014) (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/160217332)

• Design and the Sciences of the Artificial (13 April 2014) (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/168945862)

• Innovation (17 Aug 2014) (https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/events/176276822)