Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2010
Abstract
This paper uses an anthropological definition of culture to examine the intensification of intellectual property policing, coupled with an expansion of its definition. These are ACTA’s aims. I argue that acts of sharing lie at the root of communication; humans must share in order to learn. Furthermore, symbols change their meaning as they circulate in different cultural contexts. Therefore, in denying the fundamental importance of sharing and local interpretation, ACTA will not only fail spectacularly as a policy document. It will also fuel a “war” on file-sharers, users of generic medicines, and manufacturers, sellers, and buyers of imitative goods and services – in sum, a large portion of the world’s population. This avoidable war will be costly, and it will be detrimental to public interests and global health.
Recommended Citation
Dent, Alexander. 2010. Flouting the Elmo Necessity and Denying the Local Roots of Interpretation: "Anthropology's" Quarrel with ACTA and Authoritarian IP Regimes. PIJIP Research Paper no. 3. American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC.