Patents are theft - and have nothing to do with free markets.
Whenever negative effects of the patent system become visible, people from the left blame "capitalism."
Here's an examination from a libertarian natural rights perspective.
Misconceptions About "Intellectual Property"
Unfortunately, there are frequent misconceptions about patents (and other "intellectual property") even within the libertarian camp.
Let's go back to basics: What is property? Why is property important from a libertarian perspective?
A Thought Experiment: Crusoe Economics
Two castaways, Bob and Alice, are stranded on opposite sides of a deserted, barren island and know nothing of each other. To avoid starvation after their supplies run out, both start farming and continuously expand their fields.
When they meet in the middle after some time, Bob still has supply difficulties. Alice, however, has developed an irrigation system in the meantime and gets by reasonably but not excessively well with her fields.
Bob's Options
To improve his supply situation, Bob now has several options:
- He uses land that Alice previously cultivated
- He takes Alice's finished produce
- He copies Alice's irrigation system
Options 1 & 2: Obvious Conflict
In cases 1 and 2, the conflict with Alice is obvious. Land and crops are scarce goods.
The libertarian solution to this conflict is property.
Bob and Alice are each owners of the land they first cultivated through "homesteading." (The exact conditions for homesteading differ depending on the libertarian author, but that's irrelevant here.)
Property in the crops grown on it follows from ownership of the land (according to Objectivism also from labor investment...).
So if Bob forcibly appropriates farmland or crops from Alice and thus violates her property, that is theft.
Option 3: Copying the Irrigation Technique
If Bob chooses the third option and also applies the irrigation technique developed by Alice, he can improve his supply situation without harming Alice.
She can continue exactly as before without any disadvantage.
Alice might now be annoyed that she spent a long time tinkering with the irrigation system and Bob simply copies it without thinking for himself. But to prevent him from doing so, she would have to prevent him from building something with his hands on his field.
Obviously an infringement on Bob's property rights.
What Are Patents Really?
Patents are nothing else: a prohibition for other market participants to freely utilize their own resources technically.
Patents (and other "intellectual property") have absolutely nothing to do with the libertarian concept of property.
Conclusion
From a libertarian natural rights perspective, patents are a violation of property rights, not their protection. They prevent people from freely using their own property - their hands, their land, their materials.
The conflict here doesn't arise from scarcity of resources, but is artificially created through state coercion. That is the opposite of free markets.
Note: I will address the utilitarian arguments like "who would do research if anyone can copy it" in a future post.
