The concept of property is as old as civilization. As people acquired possessions or inhabited land or shelters, they sought to secure these items for personal or collective use. Customs and rules evolved to define ownership and specify the rights and responsibilities that attached to ownership. In conjunction especially with developments in science and technology, property has taken on intellectual forms that embody ethical stances and have policy implications.

From Property to Intellectual Property

The definition of property evolved as society invented or identified new things that can be owned. Property rights began with the physical or concrete, such as land, and eventually expanded to include more intangible or abstract phenomena (Horwitz 1992). Interference with such rights shifted from a physical invasion to interference with a proprietary right or a decrease in market value.

Property rights are a series of formal and informal rules governing what owners...