COMMENT James Boyle: Give me liberty and give me death?
Richard Epstein: A reprise on open source software
Intellectual property often creates strange bedfellows on the left and the right sides of the political spectrum. On the left, many socialists oppose private property in all its forms. On the right, some libertarians, such as Tom Bell of Chapman Law School, are deeply suspicious of the use of intellectual property to block the right of other individuals to think and speak as they choose. While they regard private property as acceptable for physical resources that cannot be used by everyone at once, they draw the line at intellectual property, which can be copied at close to zero cost.
