Idea Lawyer Blog

A light hearted article in the Boston Globe about Shame virally spread on the Internet as a creative punishment for intellectual property theft. Sadly, even though the article is aimed at new attorneys and law students, it could be a bit more definite about US history. It is a nice bit of US law to note the US Consitution was the first to provide any protection - limited monopolies- for intellectual property. I suppose a link or two would make me happy, instead of a sort of glib skimming around of celebrity IP problems, like Madonna leaving Warner.
Thanks to some Bookgroup Another Saturday afternoon on the Internet (with Access to some terrific libraries) in 2004, here is a nice arrangement of the correspondance between Jefferson and Madison. Madison penned the Constitution while Jefferson was in France.
Jefferson to Madison dated July 31, 1788 (before the Constitution was fully Ratified and during the drafting of the Bill of Rights)
"I sincerely rejoice at the acceptance of our new constitution by nine states. It is a good canvas, on which some strokes only want re-touching. What these are, I think are sufficiently manifested by the general voice from North to South, which calls for a bill of rights. It seems pretty generally understood that this should go to juries, habeas corpus, standing armies, printing, religion and monopolies. I conceive there may be difficulty in finding general modification of these suited to the habits of all the states. But if such cannot be found then it is better to establish trials by jury, the right of Habeas corpus, freedom of the press and freedom of religion in all cases, and to abolish standing armies in time of peace, and monopolies, in all cases, than not to do it in any... The saying there shall be no monopolies lessens the incitements to ingenuity, which is spurred on by the hope of a monopoly for a limited time, as of 14 years; but the benefit even of limited monopolies is too doubtful to be opposed to that of their general suppression."

Madison's response to Jefferson dated October 17, 1788 :

"With regard to monopolies they are justly classed among the greatest nuisances in government. But is it clear that as encouragements to literary works and ingenious discoveries, they are not too valuable to be wholly renounced? Would it not suffice to reserve in all cases a right to the public to abolish the privilege at a price to be specified in the grant of it? Is there not also infinitely less danger of this abuse in our governments than in most others? Monopolies are sacrifices of the many to the few. Where the power is in the few it is natural for them to sacrifice the many to their own partialities and corruptions. Where the power, as with us, is in the many not in the few, the danger can not be very great that the few will be thus favored. It is much more to be dreaded that the few will be unnecessarily sacrificed to the many."

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Isaac McPherson, Monticello, August 13, 1813: even land requires governmental monopoly protection to secure to the land owner.

"It is agreed by those who have seriously considered the subject, that no individual has, of natural right, a separate property in an acre of land, for instance. By an universal law, indeed, whatever, whether fixed or movable, belongs to all men equally and in common, is the property for the moment of him who occupies it; but when he relinquishes the occupation, the property goes with it. Stable ownership is the gift of social law, and is given late in the progress of society."