title: Is the Non-rivalrousness of Intellectual Objects a Problem for the Moral Justification of Economic Rights to Intellectual Property?
abstract: It is often argued that the fact that intellectual objects-objects like ideas, inventions, concepts, and melodies-can be used by several people simultaneously makes intellectual property rights impossible or particularly difficult to morally justify. In this article, I assess the line of criticism of intellectual ownership in connection with a central category of intellectual property rights, economic rights to intellectual property. I maintain that it is unconvincing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Sciences and Philosophy, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland, varelius@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Varelius
mesh_terms: D006806:Human Rights / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D018973:Intellectual Property; D009014:Morals; D010067:Ownership / Q000941:ethics